“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” Concludes with Emotional Finale

Zoey finale

In an emotional and heartfelt finale, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist depicts the devastating role of grief and loss in FTD as the family at the center of the show says goodbye to their father, who has progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

The new NBC series, which premiered in January, follows a young woman who gains the ability to hear the innermost thoughts of people around her as songs and musical numbers. The show’s creator, Austin Winsberg, drew inspiration for the show from his late father’s journey with PSP.

Winsberg spoke with Variety about the decisions behind the show’s finale and his desire to stay true to his family’s experience with the disease. He shares how his father’s condition declined rapidly – he died within nine months of diagnosis – and reflects on ways the show has helped him to process his own feelings of grief.

“Every week, it felt like we were losing another ability [and] dealing with something new, something more to cope with and handle,” he says in the interview. “I felt like I just wanted to portray it in the way that it happened in our house … I just wanted to be true to the stories and the experiences that I went through.”

While it is unclear if the show will be back for a second season, Winsberg remains “cautiously optimistic” about the prospect.

“I think that’s a big concept and a big idea for season two, which is, how do we move on?” he recently told POPSUGAR. “And how do we live, and what does the new normal look like after the person who was so important and so integral in our life is gone?”

The series is available to stream on Hulu and YouTube.

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