How Much of Superstore is Improvised? A Surprising Look Behind the Scenes

If you‘re a fan of the hit workplace comedy Superstore, you know that the show often felt fresh, spontaneous, and full of surprises. So you may be wondering – how much of this NBC sitcom was actually improvised by the talented cast? As an expert on TV comedies, I decided to take a deep dive into the improv secrets that made Superstore so hilarious. The results may surprise you!

A Large Chunk of Superstore Was Improvised

To start, around 30-40% of Superstore was improvised, based on interviews with the cast and showrunner. This means that while the overall storylines were scripted, a huge portion of the dialogue, jokes, and character moments were made up on the spot!

For example, star America Ferrera, who played Amy, revealed that "There are entire scenes that we’ve improvised from top to bottom." Ben Feldman (Jonah) agreed, saying "We would improvise so much that was kept in."

Showrunner Justin Spitzer allowed a lot of comedic freedom, as long as they stuck to the general story. He said that usually "a scene would be half scripted, half improvised."

So Superstore wasn‘t fully improvised like Curb Your Enthusiasm – but improv was encouraged in virtually every episode. Let‘s look at some of the most hilarious improvised moments, especially from breakout star Colton Dunn.

Colton Dunn as Garrett Was a Goldmine of Improv

Colton Dunn, who played paralyzed employee Garrett, absolutely thrived through improvising. He estimated a whopping "80% of Garrett’s lines were improvised."

Just look at this table of some of his most classic zingers – all improvised on the spot!

Dunn‘s natural wit made Garrett the sarcastic, snarky voice of reason at Cloud 9. His talent for improv stemmed from years doing sketch and improv comedy before being cast.

This allowed Dunn to master Garrett‘s dry, wheelchair-bound perspective. He threw out witty remarks and absurd one-liners at an astonishing clip!

Cutting Between Scripted Story and Improv

Here‘s an inside look at how they incorporated improv into the scripted structure:

First, the writers would craft the overall plotline and scenes.

Next, at the table read or in rehearsals, the cast would improvise and pitch joke options to punch up the dialogue.

Then on set, they would shoot the scripted takes to cover the story first.

Finally, they would film extra improvised lines or scene variations for even more jokes!

In editing, they could cut between the plotted scenes and the looser improv takes to create a natural flow.

Memorable Moments Spawned from Improv

Beyond Garrett‘s one-liners, many of Superstore’s most classic moments came from improv.

For example, Sandra‘s obsession with faking her own death came from Kaliko Kauahi improvising about dying in an early episode. The writers found it so funny that they turned it into a whole recurring bit for Sandra.

The weirdly specific line about childbirth being like "pushing a watermelon through your ear" was also improvised by America Ferrera in the pilot.

Mark McKinney improvised Glenn‘s silly acronym “Glenn with two N’s: Good at Large Tasks, Usually Not Negative” – a perfect encapsulation of his upbeat character.

Lauren Ash and Nico Santos even improvised an entire hilarious fake backstory between Dina and her dad in Season 1, which later inspired a real storyline when Dean Norris guest starred as Dina‘s father.

even revealed where it came from

Occasionally the show would even reveal where certain improvised moments came from. In the "Cloud Green" episode, Glenn offhandedly refers to birds as "sky rats". The camera then pans down to a script note showing that the sky rats line was improvised by Colton Dunn. Fun inside jokes like this made the cast‘s improv contributions feel special.

Glenn‘s "sky rats" line was called out as Colton Dunn improv

A Balancing Act

Showrunner Justin Spitzer explained that the show couldn’t be fully improvised from start to finish, saying:

“If you‘re improvising a whole episode, things start to get lost and stray too far from the story."

He noted they needed the structure of scripts and plotted arcs so improv could enhance things. Completely improvised scenes often rambled without a purpose.

Superstore struck the perfect balance – scripted stories allowed for crazy improv tangents without losing the audience. This format resulted in the sitcom consistently feeling fresh, even after 100+ episodes. No matter how many times you rewatch it, there are always new hilarious surprises!

How Much Does Colton Dunn Make for his Improv Skills?

Clearly Colton Dunn‘s improv skills as disabled employee Garrett were a huge asset to Superstore. But how much did starring on a hit NBC show for 6 seasons contribute to Dunn‘s net worth?

Let‘s break it down:

• Colton Dunn‘s current net worth is estimated to be $5 million.

• The bulk of his wealth comes from 6 seasons on Superstore from 2015-2021.

• As a series regular, he likely earned $80,000 – $150,000 per episode by the end of the show.

• That‘s $1.6 million – $3 million per season – the biggest paydays of his career.

• Before Superstore, Dunn worked in improv/sketch comedy and had smaller TV roles.

• But it was his breakout role as Garrett that truly made him a wealthy comedian.

Since Superstore ended, Dunn has continued acting and doing comedy tours. So his net worth will likely keep rising as his career grows.

But there‘s no doubt starring on a hit sitcom for 6 years gave his bank account a major boost. And he has his improv skills to thank for making Garrett one of the most beloved characters!

The Secret of Superstore‘s Success

In the end, the cast‘s freedom to improvise was a huge part of what made Superstore so binge-worthy. No matter how many times you watch an episode, there are always spontaneous new jokes and character moments to discover.

I hope this inside look at the show‘s improv process gave you an even greater appreciation for Superstore‘s cast and crew. They created a sitcom that combined an engaging scripted foundation with spur-of-the-moment humor, resulting in a uniquely rewatchable comedy. So next time you revisit Superstore, keep an eye out for those unscripted surprises!