Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
A lawyer follows her ex to California in a musical comedy-drama.
via Wikipedia: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend · see source
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is an American romantic musical comedy-drama television series that aired on The CW from October 12, 2015, to April 5, 2019. Created by Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna, the show stars Bloom as Rebecca Bunch, a lawyer who moves from New York City to West Covina, California, to pursue an ex-boyfriend. Despite low ratings, it earned critical acclaim, a cult following, and multiple awards including Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Critics Choice Award.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Romantic comedy
- Black comedy
- Satire
- Comedy drama
- Cringe comedy
- Musical
- Creator
- Rachel Bloom; Aline Brosh McKenna
- Composer
- Adam Schlesinger
- Jerome Kurtenbach (pilot only)
- Tom Polce - Score (all seasons)
- Frank Ciampi - Score (all seasons)
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 4
- Episodes
- 62
- Executive producers
- Aline Brosh McKenna
- Rachel Bloom
- Marc Webb
- Erin Ehrlich
- Sarah Caplan
- Michael Hitchcock
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Rebecca Bunch, a Yale- and Harvard-educated lawyer in New York City, panics upon receiving a promotion and flees her office, encountering Josh Chan, whom she briefly dated as a teenager. Josh mentions moving back to West Covina, California, and Rebecca follows him, taking a job at Darryl Whitefeather's law firm while befriending paralegal Paula and neighbor Heather. She pursues Josh despite his girlfriend Valencia, and begins an on-again-off-again relationship with Josh's friend Greg. In season two, Rebecca starts a tumultuous romance with Josh after Valencia leaves him, Greg departs for business school, and Nathaniel Plimpton becomes a partner at the firm. Josh leaves Rebecca at the altar. In season three, Rebecca attempts suicide, receives a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, and begins managing her mental health. After pushing her stalker Trent off a roof, she pleads guilty and goes to jail. In season four, Rebecca is released, quits her law job, and faces pressure to choose between Josh, Nathaniel, and Greg. She decides she does not yet know herself and spends a year focusing on her emotional needs and songwriting, ending with her about to perform her own song publicly.
Production
The series was originally developed for Showtime, which produced a pilot but opted not to proceed on February 9, 2015. The CW picked it up on May 7, 2015, expanding the format from half-hour to one hour and adjusting content for broadcast television. Shortly before the premiere on October 5, 2015, The CW ordered five additional scripts, and on November 23, 2015, ordered another five episodes, raising the total.
Themes
A central theme of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is its portrayal of mental illness and treatment, which has received widespread praise from industry and fandom. Rebecca's psychological development is paralleled by other major characters—Valencia, Paula, Darryl, Greg, Nathaniel, Scott, and Heather—who also suffer from psychological traumas influencing their personalities. The show's fandom engages in discussions of mental illness, social stigmas, and treatment. Another defining feature is its frank portrayal of female sexuality and the reproductive system, normalizing topics such as clitoral stimulation and menstruation without judgment. In the episode 'To Josh, with Love', characters discuss female sexuality openly. Paula's abortion in season two is treated with focus on emotional impact rather than shame. Parenting is a major theme, with characters like Rebecca, Paula, Nathaniel, Darryl, and Greg shaped by inattentive or emotionally abusive parents, affecting their self-esteem and personalities.
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