Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist is a joyful show about characters finding music in their lives, but it's also a show about dying and the grief of those left behind. On the surface, this is a wild combination -- telling joyful stories about death is a tricky line to walk. However, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist handles this difficult combination with skill, creating an unlikely, grief-rich comedy that is deep and meaningful while also celebratory.
In the series premier, Zoey experiences an earthquake while in an MRI machine, leaving her the somewhat inexplicable power of hearing people sing their inner emotions. Not only does this give Zoey private information about how people in her life are feeling -- she learns her best friend is in love with her, that her boss is unsatisfied by her marriage and that her brother is apprehensive about having a kid -- but it tasks her with helping people do something about their problems.
While Zoey is being serenaded by coworkers and family members, she's also watching her father slowly die. He developed a rare neurological condition that has left him unable to move on his own or talk, leaving his family to care for him during his decline. His impending death weighs heavily on Zoey and her family, and impacts the relationships she makes even outside of the house.
Zoey bonds with the man she's been crushing on at work over the death of his father. Simon's father died by suicide and in the subsequent months, he's been having trouble processing his grief. While Zoey's father is still alive, she has been working through the grief of soon losing him and can understand what Simon's going through better than anyone else. This shared connection provides Zoey the first real opportunity she has to talk to this man she's been crushing on, and even though the subject matter is heavy, the end result is a bond that gets the couple talking.
Other episodes focus on how the family is processing this struggle, showing Zoey's mom feeling unappreciated for the all the work she does but also her hesitance to continue pursuits that had once been joint efforts between her and her husband. Death becomes the backdrop against which all of the family's actions occur, but also a shared connection they have. Their stories are tinged with sadness, but they also have a shared community, allowing them to share other grievances and sing other songs.
When Zoey's father dies in the season finale, the family processes the funeral through a heart-rending version of "American Pie," with a meticulously-crafted single-shot scene showing the family interacting with friends and funeral attendees while focused only on singing. It's a perfect encapsulation of the funeral experience, where it's comforting to be with friends but also hard to be fully present. Turning this extraordinarily sad moment into a musical also makes the scene more palatable for viewers.
Death and grieving play a role in almost every episode of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, and even as Zoey processes her colleagues' songs, their actions are always tempered through her lens of grief. It gives the show an opportunity to introduce comedic situations and funny dialogue while ensuring that each episode and all of Zoey's actions have weight. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist becomes a place to both laugh and absolutely cry, at every single episode.
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist shows how dying can lead to entertainment -- not because death itself is funny, but because this universal phenomenon gives audiences a touchstone to relate to the storylines and makes them feel more meaningful. Approaching grief with the joyfulness of song provides viewers some catharsis, showing one way to process difficult emotions while making the show a joy to watch.