The Best Show You are Probably Not Watching: Crazy Ex Girlfriend

Do you remember about 5-ish years ago when everyone was sending around that music video about a woman who wanted to have carnal relations with Ray Bradbury?  For about two weeks, it continued to show up on blogs, twitter feeds and facebook pages. People were wondering who the sassy lady in the video was and those who were particularly enamored of her humor found themselves looking up her other music video and stand-up performances. Well, the name of that sassy lady is Rachel Bloom, and it turns out that someone gave her a TV show. And that makes me happy.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Mon, 8pm, on The CW) tells the story of Rebecca Bunch, a lawyer in NYC who spends all her time working. When faced with a major opportunity for promotion, rather than feeling happy, her anxiety gets the best of her and she flees the office only to have a chance run in with an ex-boyfriend she dated in summer camp when she was a teenager. She has a short conversation with him and then is inspired by the message on an advertisement for butter to leave her life in NY to follow her ex to West Covina, California (only 2 hours aways from the beach!). The show then follows her as she starts a job at a quirky new law firm filled with weirdos (some more lovable than others), makes new friends, and find herself torn between chasing after her ex,  Josh or exploring a relationship with handsome bartender Greg (played by Santino Fontana, the voice of Prince Hans in Frozen).

What sets this show apart from other romantic comedies is a few things. First, we have Rachel Bloom playing the lead role of Rebecca. Not only is she likable and gifted with amazing comedic timing, but she is also completely relatable. She is at times awkward, self-involved, acerbic, and determined not to see the truth in her situation. But then before the episode has ended, you have a chance to see that she is also empathetic, generous, extremely smart, and totally ok with her Spanks showing. She is a lot of fun to watch and I find her completely engaging.

Another element that sets this show apart is that it features songs. I know that telling you this now is going to send a bunch of you screaming for the hills (my apologies to The Red Menace), but remember how I talked about that Ray Bradbury video at the beginning of this post? The songs are like that.  Parodying various musical genres, the songs work to show some of the crazy things that are going on in various character’s heads. Everything is kinda tongue-in-cheek and overdone, which is precisely how I prefer my musicals. If you are intrigued, I have posted the video for one of my favorite songs below:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkfSDSfxE4o]

The bonus is that since this show was originally developed for cable, you can also check out the explicit versions of these songs on Rachel Bloom’s YouTube Channel.

Interested yet?

My best advice is to watch it now. You can catch up through Hulu or watch the more recent episodes on the CW website. According to my research, Rachel Bloom’s Golden Globe nomination might not be enough to save the show from cancellation since the ratings are dangerously low compared to other CW super shows like The Flash, Arrow, or either of those shows starring groups of fashionable vampires. The rumors of a single season run have begun, so you might as well be counted while there is still time.

I’m gonna leave you with a video of my other favorite song. I highly recommend that you add this to any running or work mixes you have.   

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ix3qJPS1b4]

So anyone out there a fan of the show?  Fan of wacky musicals in general?  Roll call below or just share your own TV recommendations.