Who is Glenn Sturgis in Superstore?

Show

Superstore

Played by

Mark McKinney

First episode

“Pilot”Season 1, Episode 1, aired November 30, 2015

Role

Main cast

Network

NBC

Occupation

Store manager, Cloud 9 Ozark Highlands

Show run

2015 to 2021

Also known as

Glenn

Glenn Sturgis runs the Cloud 9 store in St. Louis with boundless cheer, a high-pitched voice, and very little authority. Played by Kids in the Hall veteran Mark McKinney, he is Superstore's sweetest and strangest boss.

On Superstore, Glenn Sturgis's story runs through Dina Fox (Assistant manager), Amy Sosa (Floor supervisor), Jonah Simms (Employee), Garrett McNeil (Employee), Cheyenne Thompson (Employee), and Mateo Liwanag (Employee).

Who is Glenn Sturgis?

Glenn is the store manager of Cloud 9 store 1217 on Ozark Highlands Road. He is a devout Christian whose faith comes up constantly at work, usually to the mild discomfort of his staff. He and his wife Jerusha have fostered many children over the years.

Glenn's family once ran a business called Sturgis and Sons, and on a long night locked inside the store he admits he has always felt like the black sheep of the family. At Cloud 9 he has found the community he wanted, even if his staff mostly ignore him.

Personality and comedy

Glenn is relentlessly positive, socially awkward, and easily rattled. He leads overlong team cheers, gets stage fright in front of corporate, and takes every store promotion, from Color Wars to the Olympics celebration, far more seriously than anyone else. Mark McKinney plays him with a distinctive soft, high voice and a sincerity that makes his odder moments land.

Under the goofiness, Glenn is the most protective boss anyone at Cloud 9 will ever have. He bends rules for employees in trouble, keeps secrets from corporate to protect them, and genuinely believes the store is a family. His rivalry and grudging partnership with Dina, his rule-obsessed assistant manager, is one of the show's constants.

Key storylines

At the end of season one Glenn is fired for trying to give Cheyenne paid time off after she has her baby, which sets off a staff walkout. In the season two premiere corporate offers him his job back to end the protest, and Amy and Jonah go further and stage a strike. In season three he and Jerusha learn they cannot have a baby on their own, and Dina becomes their surrogate. Their daughter Rose is born in season four, on the same day Amy has her son.

Wanting more time with his family, Glenn demotes himself to floor worker in season four, and Amy soon takes over as store manager. He later serves as floor supervisor and returns as store manager after Amy leaves in season six. In the finale's flash-forward, after the store closes, he reopens Sturgis and Sons and hires Cheyenne and Mateo to work there.

Behind the scenes and legacy

Mark McKinney, a member of the Canadian sketch troupe The Kids in the Hall and a former Saturday Night Live cast member, was cast as Glenn in March 2015, when the role was described as a religious, well-meaning store manager. He stayed with the show for all six seasons.

Glenn is a cartoonish boss who keeps revealing a big heart, and his arc from out-of-touch manager to devoted dad and humble floor worker is one of Superstore's gentlest.

Glenn Sturgis: frequently asked questions

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