For any of you poor, deprived souls who don’t know, last night was the Season 3 premier of Crazy Ex Girlfriend!
Those familiar with the show will know why I was hyped out of my mind on Friday the 13th. (By the way, not a good omen for the first episode.) Crazy Ex Girlfriend may not be a series that everyone on earth has heard of, but it deserves the level of recognition that Orange Is The New Black and Game of Thrones receive. It is the greatest comedic show on television today, if I may be so bold. (This is an opinion piece so yes, I can be so bold.) The show’s creator and writer, Rachel Bloom, stars as Rebecca Bunch, a successful lawyer who moves from her firm in New York City to a little town in nowhere California to be with her ex, Josh Chan, who she says “made me feel like glitter was exploding inside me”. Typical rom com about a mentally unstable girl in search for love? Yes, but no. Crazy Ex Girlfriend is anything but typical. Wether you’ve seen the show or not, here are eight reasons why everyone should watch this beautiful gift to mankind. (Disclaimer, The CW is not paying me to write an article about its series.)
1. It’s a musical!
For you Marymount theater majors out there (AKA 90% of the school) this reason alone should be a sufficient excuse to go binge the series on Netflix. But normal college females who aren’t completely obsessed with musicals, do not be alarmed. Crazy Ex Girlfriend is by no means cheesy or eye-roll inducing. Its songs recognize the absurdity of including random musical numbers in the middle of a forty minute TV episode. Unlike most of us, they’re self aware and the lyrics play off that absurdity—making for hilarious, satirical musical numbers. Most importantly, they’re catchy as heck. With each episode containing two or three songs, you’d think the creative team would get tired, but Bloom and her team somehow manage to crank out fresh, clever, and zesty songs every episode. The genres range from typical theater format (like in the opening for the season 1 premiere, WEST COVINAAAAA), to traditional sounding Jewish tunes sung by Rebecca’s mother, to a dubstep song sung by Rebecca’s boss, Daryll, called “Having a Few People Over” (it’s pretty lit).
2. It’s super clever and super dumb at the same time.
Like its musical numbers, Crazy Ex Girlfriend is unapologetically silly on the surface but bitingly intelligent and never afraid to make fun of itself—a perfect mixture for a comedy. There’s one musical in season two called “Who’s That New Guy” that’s delightfully meta (don’t worry, no spoilers), making references to the fact that it’s all just a show so the producers are trying to get good reviews and make more money. (It’ll make more sense when you get there.) While it can be cringeworthy watching Rebecca make very bad decisions in order to win Josh over, the show’s plot is intricately woven and not nearly as ridiculous as some of its jokes.
3. It makes a seemingly predictable romantic theme very unpredictable
Speaking of the plot: at first glance, Crazy Ex Girlfriend seems to resemble stories you’ve heard a million times before. Each character is one you’d meet in every rom com—the ex girlfriend who can’t move on, the super attractive love interest, the guy she constantly friend-zones, the comedic side kick, and the evil new girlfriend. We all know the story. The leading girl gets the guy to fall in love with her with the help of her bestie, happily ever after, the evil girlfriend withers and dies, and the friend-zoned guy is ignored because no one ever cares about the friend-zoned guy. If you start Crazy Ex Girlfriend expecting that narrative—all I can say is honey, you’re in for a ride. I can’t say much about each twist and turn and punch to the heart and magical fist pump moment throughout the series without spoiling it, but I can say this—romances and friendships are forged and broken, a character leaves but new ones come, and whatever predictions you have, well, you’re probably wrong.
4. Rebecca is all of us.
To quote Rebecca in the season two theme song: “I have no underlying issues to address, I’m certifiably cute and adorably obsessed!” Basically me every time I have a large, my-friends-are-concerned-for-my-health level crush. (Alas, I could not find a gif for this theme song, but you should go YouTube it. It is glorious.) Though most of us wouldn’t move across the country for a guy we dated for a few weeks in summer camp years ago, Rebecca’s obsessiveness is relatable to anyone who’s had a substantial crush at least once in her life. Like the rest of us, she’s trying to be her best self and wants everyone to love her—and is a super neurotic overachiever like myself—but can be kind of mentally unstable at times.
5. Greg. Greg is amazing.
Side note: I actually had the privilege of meeting Santino Fontana on Monday (*incoherent fangirl screaming noises*). But, alas, that is a story for another article. His character, Greg, though an extreme underachiever and grumpy person, is a fabulous human. Most notably, he sings two of my favorite songs: “Settle for Me,” an old Hollywood-style number which basically represents my love life, and “I Could If I Wanted To,” a mostly spoken song with a rock-and-roll hook which basically represents my attitude on life 50% of the time. In case you haven’t noticed, Greg is incredibly relatable and deliciously sarcastic with a done-with-life attitude that all young adults can relate to at some point. At times he seems like the only sane character in the series. He notices how reckless Rebecca’s antics are and how they tend to wreak havoc on those around her. Regardless, he remains devastatingly attracted to her. (Who doesn’t love what’s bad for them?) I always find myself feeling sorry for Greg—the poor guy is always getting screwed over by the hurricane that is Rebecca Bunch!
6. All the characters are amazing.
Every character deserves their own section in this article, but let’s be honest, if I kept listing them all it would get very exhausting for both of us. From main characters like Josh, to background characters like George—Rebecca’s co worker who everyone always forgets about—Crazy Ex Girlfriend has no shortage of gems. Rebecca’s bestie Paula is delightfully nuts and a caring mother figure towards Rebecca—though not always towards her own kids. Heather, the hip neighbor, is hilariously monotone and a typical millennial. And Rebecca’s boss, Daryll, may not be the greatest attorney, but he’s super lovable. The whole cast is incredibly talented and brings so much energy to the world of West Covina.
7. There’s a gay couple!
Now, I don’t want to spoil anything for you lovelies, but be on the lookout in Season 1 for an adorable budding romance between two supporting characters. One of them turns out to be bisexual (WOO, REPRESENT!). As if queerness in the show wasn’t enough, the appearance of a lesser represented orientation makes it even better. I don’t know about you, but I died in the best possible way.
8. It has emotional richness and relevance under its antics
Along with all of Crazy Ex Girlfriend’s zaniness, satire, and catchy numbers with tap dancing and songs about period sex (yes, those are a thing, stay tuned), there is a heartwarming level of emotional depth. The show’s emotions might be the only serious thing about it. While Rebecca’s neurotics and obsessiveness keeps us laughing, the show contains important messages about mental health. There are themes of alcoholism and marriages gone downhill, complexities in the relationship between friends who can’t live without each other, and that age-old struggle of being in an unmutual best-friend-ship. Though the show’s characters act like idiots sometimes, they each have the complexity of real, intelligent people, so you’ll feel like you’re chopping onions as they go through their struggles.
There you have it: Crazy Ex Girlfriend is the missing piece in your life. Now go tell your friends about it. Tell the world about it. And watch it, for goodness sake! For those hard-core Netflix bingers out there: if you start the 31 existing episodes soon, you should be caught up and ready for season three in no time. Now go experience the Rachel Bloom magic! I believe in you!