‘Superstore’ Primer On Cloud 9’s Cast Of Characters: Who’s A Trained Midwife, Who Has A Gambling Issue And Who Loves Birds

Superstore used its fall finale to shed light on an iconic day in the retail calendar: Black Friday. While the staff of Cloud 9 got ill from food poisoning they somehow managed to keep the shelves stocked and the checkout lines moving. Since the show won’t be returning for new episodes until January, however, the powers that be seemed to feel a few cliffhangers were appropriate: Amy told her husband she wasn’t happy in their marriage and Dina arranged a photo lab rendezvous with Garrett.

Avid fans of the series have gained some insight into Superstore’s cast of characters with each passing episode. Since viewers have yet to see any of Cloud 9’s staff in their home lives, it’s only been in their conversations with one another that their backgrounds have been revealed. So for anyone who’s missed it, here’s a brief primer on what’s known about the women and men that keep the store running.

Amy (America Ferrera): During Season 1, Amy was taking college classes, adding to her already busy life as a Cloud 9 supervisor, mom to pre-teen Emma, and wife to Adam. You’ll never see her wear a name tag that says “Amy,” because after many years in the big box store she’s grown to dislike random customers approaching her and calling her by name. In Season 1, new employee Jonah decorated the store’s ceiling with glow-in-the-dark stickers to give her a moment of beauty. At the time of the Season 2 premiere, Ferrera told Entertainment Weekly that she didn’t know what was on the agenda for the relationship between Amy and Jonah, but throughout Season 2 their flirtation has grown stronger.

Jonah (Ben Feldman): Jonah ended up at Cloud 9 after flunking out — or burning out — of business school and driving aimlessly until he came upon the big box store. During part 1 of the fall finale “double header,” “Seasonal Help,” Jonah revealed he once had a gambling problem, having to sell his brother’s camera after an issue with online poker. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Feldman said the character is increasingly beginning to be modeled after his own personality, so much so that it’s become “a roast.”

Dina (Lauren Ash): After overtly flirting with Jonah throughout much of Season 1, Dina, the filter-less assistant manager, turned her attention to Marcus by inviting him back to her place to watch Hoosiers. Dina loves birds, so much so that she has an emotional reaction when a crow trapped inside the store in “Guns, Pills, and Birds” reached an unfortunate end. Dina proved on Halloween that her strong self-esteem isn’t limited to taking authority in the store, as she wore a sexy cop costume without missing a beat — TV Insider has a photo.

Garrett (Colton Dunn): Garrett is flirtatious, even overcoming his abrasive relationship with Dina to engage in a kiss at the end of “Black Friday.” In that episode, he also proudly announced that he would always do just enough work to not get fired. This summer, Dunn told Ebony that Garrett is “bad at his job,” but that is part of the character’s appeal.

Mateo (Nico Santos): Mateo started at Cloud 9 at the same time as Jonah, and made no secret of his desire to go far in the corporate chain. After Dina’s short-lived resignation from her role as assistant manager during Season 1, Mateo covertly worked with Garrett to design a promotional video to advance his candidacy for the job. That job eventually went to Amy before she and most of the store walked out at the end of Season 1. Mateo discovered that he is undocumented, leading him to hunt endlessly for an “I Voted” sticker during the “Election Day” episode. In Season 2, Mateo has taken up an under-the-radar relationship with the district manager, Jeff.

Glenn (Mark McKinney): The store manager, Glenn’s family owned a hardware store until competition from Cloud 9 led them to lose everything. Glenn has a not-yet-seen wife named Jerusha and more than a dozen foster children. Deeply religious but open-minded, he was fired at the end of Season 1 for giving new mom Cheyenne unapproved maternity leave. The Cloud 9 employees walked out in protest.

Cheyenne (Nichole Bloom): Heavily pregnant throughout Season 1, Cheyenne gives birth in the store. Her insistence on coming back to work the next day leads Glenn to suspend her with pay. Cheyenne reconsiders her relationship with Bo, the father of her baby, during Season 2. A gossip and observer of everything that goes on in the store, Cheyenne is the one person who seems to know her coworkers’ biggest secrets, like Mateo’s relationship with Jeff.

Sandra (Kaliko Kauahi): Quiet and often saddled with unpleasant tasks, Sandra dressed up as her nemesis, Dina, for Halloween. During the chaos surrounding Cheyenne’s false labor, Sandra offered that she was a trained midwife, but she said the words so quietly that no one heard her.

Superstore airs Thursday nights on NBC.

[Featured Image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]