Farewell, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

by Dancin' Dan

When the history of Peak TV is written, there better be a whole chapter devoted to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. That Aline Brosh McKenna and Rachel Bloom's musical comedy managed to last four seasons on The CW is amazing enough. But doing so with a diverse cast, while constantly pushing the boundaries of what network television would allow to be broadcast in prime time, taking anti-feminist tropes and twisting them around until they become feminist, and spotlighting mental health issues in a sensitive, impactful way is a miracle.

On Friday night, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend aired its series finale. Magically, the show was able to end on its own terms, giving us the full four-season arc its creators had always envisioned. And what an arc it's been [SPOILERS AHEAD]...

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Soundtracking: "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" - Season 3

by Chris Feil

Save for recognizing our beloved Big Mouth, this year’s Original Music and Lyrics nominees are a bit of an underwhelming assemblage. So rather than examine this lineup, let’s take a look at one of the more egregious omissions: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Now, Emmy already has a lamentable history in overlooking the show - and never more so than voters completely ignoring this third season’s multi-layered and vital look at mental illness. But the original song category has made some curious decisions in regards to the show. Season two’s nominated “We Tapped That Ass” is delightful but soft compared to other options. We can’t really begrudge the season one nomination of swooner “Settle For Me” but where was series-defining genius of “You Stupid Bitch”? The song category is perhaps proof that Emmy voters just don’t get the highwire act that this show pulls off...

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Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (S1.E3-4)

We're encouraging you to watch season 1 of Crazy Ex Girlfriend before the show returns in the fall. It's one of the best comedies on television and a musical, our most beloved entertainment genre. We previously covered the first two episodes so here's two more...

Both Rebeccas - the neuroses only multiplied with age

S1:E3 "I Hope Josh Comes To My Party" 

In which Rebecca throws a housewarming party despite not knowing anyone in town and childhood trauma from party-throwing. Josh saves her from humiliation. Let's rank the crazy...

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Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (S1. E1-2)

You know what's crazier than leaving a half a million salary in NYC to move to West Covina, California (2 hours from the beach! - 4 in traffic) on the off chance your ex boyfriend from teen summer camp might be interested in reviving your fling as an adult? Not much. But it is crazy that The Film Experience didn't adopt Crazy Ex Girlfriend in the way it adopted Smash since musicals are kind of our thing (well, one of our things). Over the past two weeks I accidentally ended up rewatching the first five episodes again with friends who hadn't seen them so they're fresh in mind. So with Season 1 now on Netflix, let's catch up before Season 2 arrives in October.

S1:E1 "Josh Just Happens to Live Here!"

In which Rebecca randomly spots her first love in the street and takes it as a sign that she should follow him to West Covina, California, leaving her entire successful New York City life behind.  Let's rank the crazy... 

Greg: Yes, like a date because you're pretty and you're smart and you're ignoring me so you're obviously my type.
Rebecca: I'm sorry what were you saying?
Greg: Perfect.  

Relatably Foolish (Or as Norman likes to say 'We all go a little mad sometimes')
Greg, a bartender, falls hard for Rachel at first sight when she barely looks at him, and talks incessantly about his friend Josh...

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Emmy FYC: Supporting Actress in a Comedy - Donna Lynne Champlin in "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"

Emmy nomination voting begins Monday. For the next week or two we'll be sharing FYCs of some kind. Here's Dancin Dan...

Let's get one thing out of the way first: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend deserves Emmy nominations for pretty much every category in which it's eligible. Golden Globe winner Rachel Bloom gave the most fearless, consistently great performance on TV this year as Rebecca Bunch, an attorney from New York who had a nervous breakdown and moved to West Covina, CA to chase after her ex-boyfriend from summer camp (Vincent Rodriguez III, taking a bland character and shading him just enough to make him more and more worthy of Rebecca's obsession). Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna created the musical comedy that fans of the genre have been waiting for, cleverly challenging expectations at every turn while maintaining a consistent level of quality that has eluded TV's other attempts at the genre (sorry, Glee and Smash).

But if the show can only get one nomination, the one I'm hoping for most - aside from Bloom, who will get and deserve plenty of articles like this until the nominations are announced - is for Donna Lynne Champlin as Best Supporting Actress. Champlin plays Paula, the office manager Rebecca's new law firm. In the pilot episode, Paula becomes as obsessed with Rebecca as Rebecca is with Josh...

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