Musical dramedy Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist was one of rare shows to find new life on streaming following its cancellation on network television. The series made its way to the Roku Channel by way of a Christmas movie in order to wrap things up. And now, lead star Jane Levy has shared her thoughts on how the movie ended and whether or not it provides much-needed closure for viewers and herself.
NBC’s cancellation was heartbreaking but, by tying up some loose ends in the movie, the producers were able to give fans more of the characters they'd come to know on the NBC show. Still, some are sure to have mixed feelings regarding whether the film was an effective send-off. Jane Levy sat down with Collider to talk all things Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas, and she had an interesting way of putting things. And in doing so, she also made referenced a popular series with a famous and controversial finale:
I feel like I have annoying answers to things because I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t watch Christmas movies.’ But in terms of closure, I don’t really think about stories in terms of closure. I’m like, what is closure? What good play ends with closure? I don’t know what closure would look like to me. Even when the show was maybe canceled after Season 2, I was like, ‘Hmm, no one planned for that to be the ending, but what an interesting ending.’ I think about The Sopranos, my favorite show of all time, and do you think that got closure? I don’t know. I personally don’t look for that and I don’t really know what it means.
It's hard to wrap up two seasons worth of stories in a two-hour holiday movie. The movie ultimately ended with Max losing the powers he'd gained and realizing that he got them so he could understand what Zoey is going through. Meanwhile, the titular character learned realizing that she needs to focus on herself and those closest to her. Overall, it was a beautiful way to finish things off. And I think most would agree that it's way less controversial than the Sopranos series finale.
The ending of Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas did provide closure, at least for a number of fans, but it did also leave the door open for more stories. Jane Levy continued to discuss how things panned out, saying:
There are less questions. I thought it was really lovely, how the movie ended, where she basically says to Max, ‘Maybe all of this happened because the universe was telling me to look up.” When I read that, I was like, “Oh, look up from your computer screen to see the man sitting over there who loves you, who you obviously love too. Stop being so obsessed with succeeding and getting it right, all the time, Zoey.' I thought that was a pretty cute gesture.
Even though the future of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is up in the air at Roku, the movie did at the very least provide a truly positive ending. And we can definitely be grateful that the door is still open for more stories, as the producers will have no trouble keeping things going should the show get renewed.
Both seasons of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist are now streaming on Peacock.
