Though Blockbuster chains are closed, the store is alive and well for Randall Park.
The actor stars in Netflix's upcoming series Blockbuster, which focuses on the workers of the last remaining store of the DVD rental chain. Although the nostalgic concept was intriguing for Park, who plays the store's manager Timmy, the script was what really drew him in.
"There was just so much going on with these characters," he told Entertainment Weekly Sept. 21. "There's just so much history and so many complicated feelings, but also just feelings of real love and camaraderie…It just had so much heart. I think that that's what really sold me."
Those characters include roles played by Tyler Alvarez, Madeleine Arthur, Olga Merediz, JB Smoove and Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Melissa Fumero. Fumero will star opposite Park as Timmy's love interest and coworker, Eliza Walker.
After admitting he was "intimidated" by the actress at first, Park said he "loves" Fumero. "She just came off of this iconic comedy show that I just loved—I was such a big fan of Brooklyn Nine-Nine," he added. "When her name came up, I was like, 'Yeah, that would be great, but we're probably not going to get her, she's Melissa Fumero.' And then we got her! And she was just so great to work with."
The Fresh Off the Boat star went on to say that he's particularly excited about Blockbuster because the show dives deep into the realities of the working class.
"I feel like this show captures that perfectly and it doesn't make a huge statement about it—it just reflects the reality of our world," he explained. "We're out there and we're working and we're struggling together, and we're all friends and we get along and it's not always contentious. And sometimes it is…and sometimes it isn't, but we're all ultimately this little family."
Watch what becomes of the last Blockbuster in America when Blockbuster begins streaming Nov. 3 on Netflix.