Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on The CW from October 12, 2015 to April 5, 2019. The series was created by Aline Brosh McKenna and Rachel Bloom, who also stars as the lead role Rebecca Bunch.
Summary[]
Rebecca Bunch is a Yale- and Harvard-educated real-estate lawyer who works for a top New York City law firm. She panics when offered a partnership with the firm, and bumps into her first love from summer camp, Josh Chan, on the street. Josh tells her he could not make it in New York City and is moving back to his hometown of West Covina, California ("Just two hours from the beach, four hours in traffic"). While watching a butter spread commercial, Rebecca decides to follow Josh in search of happiness. She hops on a plane to Los Angeles, drives to West Covina, gets a job at Darryl Whitefeather's West Covina law firm, rents an apartment, and flushes all her depression and anxiety meds down the sink. She becomes friends with the firm's paralegal, Paula, and her neighbor, Heather, and begins an on-again-off-again relationship with Josh's friend Greg, all while trying to reconnect with Josh.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Bunch
- Vincent Rodriguez III as Joshua Chan
- Santino Fontana as Greg Serrano (seasons 1–2)
- Donna Lynne Champlin as Paula Proctor
- Pete Gardner as Darryl Whitefeather
- Vella Lovell as Heather Davis
- Gabriella Ruiz as Valencia Perez (main seasons 2–3; recurring season 1)
- David Hull as Josh Wilson (main season 3; recurring seasons 1–2)
- Scott Michael Foster as Nathaniel Plimpton III (main season 3; recurring season 2)
Guest starring[]
Series overview[]
Season | No. of episodes | Originally aired | Time slot | Average ratings | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | Rating (18-49) |
Viewers (millions) | |||
1 | 18 | October 12, 2015 | April 18, 2016 | Mondays 8/7c | 0.3 | 0.87[1] |
2 | 13 | October 21, 2016 | February 3, 2017 | Fridays 9/8c | 0.2 | 0.56[2] |
3 | 13 | October 13, 2017 | February 16, 2018 | Fridays 8/7c | 0.63[3] | |
4 | 18 | October 12, 2018 | April 5, 2019 | Fridays 9/8c | 0.1 | 0.41[4] |
Production[]
Development[]
The series was originally developed for Showtime, and a pilot was produced, but Showtime opted not to proceed with it on February 9, 2015. The CW picked up the series on May 7, 2015, for the Fall 2015–2016 season. The series has been extensively reworked for The CW, expanding the show format from a half-hour to a full hour and adjusting the content for broadcast television, as the original pilot was produced for premium cable. This included omitting that Rebecca had obtained an abortion before the show. On October 5, 2015, shortly before the series premiere, The CW placed an order of five additional scripts. On November 23, 2015, the CW ordered another five episodes, raising the total for season 1 to 18. On March 11, 2016, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was renewed for a second season, along with eleven other CW series. The second season commenced on October 21, 2016. The second season is shown in the UK on Netflix with episodes available the Saturday after the U.S. airdate. On January 8, 2017, The CW renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on October 13, 2017.
Casting[]
On September 30, 2014, Santino Fontana, Donna Lynne Champlin, Vincent Rodriguez III and Michael McDonald joined Rachel Bloom in the series regular cast. With the move to The CW, the series went through casting changes and McDonald departed the cast. Shortly afterwards, Vella Lovell and Pete Gardner were added as regulars; with Lovell in the role of Heather, Rebecca's underachieving neighbor; and Gardner replacing McDonald in the role of Darryl, Rebecca's new boss.
On May 23, 2016, it was announced that Gabrielle Ruiz, who portrays Valencia, was promoted to series regular for season two. In November 2016, it was announced that Santino Fontana would be departing the series, with episode four of the second season resulting as his last as a series regular.
On April 5, 2017, it was announced that David Hull and Scott Michael Foster, who portray White Josh and Nathaniel respectively, were promoted to series regulars for season three.
Reception[]
Critical reception[]
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has received critical acclaim, with critics praising the show's writing, musical numbers and Bloom's performance. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the first season received an average score of 78 based on 23 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season a 96% positive rating, with an average rating of 7.7 out of 10 based on reviews from 49 critics, with the site's consensus stating: "Lively musical numbers and a refreshing, energetic lead, Rachel Bloom, make Crazy Ex-Girlfriend a charming, eccentric commentary on human relationships."
The second season continued to receive acclaim, with Bloom, Fontana and Champlin earning particular praise. The season holds a rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 9 out of 10 based on 13 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend remains delightfully weird, engaging, and even more courageous and confident in its sophomore outing." On Metacritic, it has a score of 86 out of 100 based on 8 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
The acclaim continued with season 3; this season in particular was widely praised for its portrayal of mental illness. The performances of Bloom, Champlin and Foster were particularly praised. The chemistry between Gardner and Hull's characters was widely praised as well. The season holds a rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10 based on 15 reviews.
External links[]
- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Wiki on FANDOM
- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Wikipedia