‘DMV’ Bosses Break Down Colette & Noa’s Magic Spark at Big Sac’s Holiday Party

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for DMV Season 1 Episode 9, “The Next Window.”]

DMV‘s midseason finale saw the East Hollywood team celebrate the holiday season up in “Big Sac” as Barb (Molly Kearney) so affectionately refers to the Sacramento branch that holds their faculty’s fate in their hands.

The trek up north included Colette (Harriet Dyer), Noa (Alex Tarrant), Gregg (Tim Meadows), and Vic (Tony Cavalero), alongside Barb, making way for a six-hour journey allowing Noa to see Colette in a whole new light, especially after he and girlfriend Mary (Jessica Camacho) broke up. Once they arrive at the holiday party, Barb is eager to find the manager in hopes of persuading him to favor the East Hollywood DMV when determining which staff would get cut.

But it turns out that her best ally would be Sally (Leslie Jones), the director’s assistant at Big Sac. “Leslie was who we had in mind when we started breaking the story, and we were referring to her in the writer’s room as a Barb plus, someone who’s more Barb than Barb,” co-showrunner Dana Klein explains to TV Insider. “And Barb’s finally met her match, and someone who has as much passion about the DMV as she does.”

Bertrand Calmeau / CBS

By the end of the episode, Sally promises to put in a good word for Barb and her team regarding any future cuts, hinting that the East Hollywood branch will be safe from termination. Meanwhile, Gregg learned the truth about his new friend “Kevin,” as Vic had begun posing as the AI helpline to make his friend feel heard and not silly for mistaking the software for a real person. Klein jokes that the storyline was partially inspired by an experience she had once, as she admits, “I still don’t know to this day if I spoke to AI or an actual human, but it was a very funny thing.”

But the heart of this episode revolved around Colette’s attempt to help Noa get over his breakup, and also express her interest without seeming too desperate. Ultimately, her do-gooder heart won out over all else, and she offered advice regarding Noa’s status with Mary, earning his praise and sharing a sweet dance.

“In this episode, we really wanted to have Colette give him a bit of good advice and have him start to see her as someone who offers valuable insight,” Klein shares. “And we liked that color on her for her taking the high road, even though she does really want him for herself, that she is being a good friend in that moment.”

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“We wanted to put Colette in that spot of, what do I do here? The window is open, do I take the high road? Should I be a friend?” co-showrunner Matt Kuhn echoes. Ultimately, as Kuhn puts it, there are “bittersweet” results as Mary shows up at the East Hollywood parking lot as the team is arriving back from Big Sac, only to rekindle her romance with Noa, just moments before Colette was about to declare her true feelings for her coworker.

While Colette and Noa’s status remains uncertain, it’s clear their bond was deepened by the end of the episode, and as Klein teases, “We want to explore them getting to know each other a bit as friends in the second part of the season.” Stay tuned to see how that unfolds when DMV returns, and let us know what you thought of the holiday installment in the comments section below.

DMV, Returns Monday, February 23, 2026, 8:30/7:30c, CBS