If you like Liz Lemon, Leslie Knope, Kimmy Schmidt, or Mindy
Lahiri, then listen up, because I have a feeling you’re going to love Rebecca
Bunch. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend airs on the CW (but season one is on Netflix for all
your binge-watching needs), and it’s a fun, funky little gem of a show with real
heart- oh, and some killer musical numbers. If you still need convincing:
Rachel Bloom is the new love of your life.
Seriously, one look at her Instagram and you just know she's the kind of person you want to hang out with. This is the kind of thing she laughs at and if you laughed at that too, you already want to be her friend. Plus, she's the co-creator and star of this excellent TV show, and she is hashtag goals.
So is Rebecca Bunch!
Smart, Harvard-educated Jewish lawyer who's dealing with some issues including but not limited to her obsession with her summer camp ex-boyfriend, going so far as to move from New York City to his small California town, who also envisions her life as a series of musical numbers, is bad with money, and is overall super relatable and endearing? Deal me in.
The other characters are the opposite of terrible.
Rebecca's surrogate mom and star paralegal Paula, her unenthused student neighbor Heather, her new boss Darryl, her ex Josh and his posse of California beach bros, and her new "pal" Greg... even the "villain" of the show, Josh's current girlfriend/sexy yoga instructor Valencia, is a gem. The cast of this show is so talented and funny and together, they create a super quirky and loveable group.
Santino Fontana is legitimately a Disney prince. (No, I mean it.)
Oh, hey, Hans from Frozen! Santino Fontana plays Greg, the grouchy, cynical bartender who begrudgingly befriends Rebecca (because he has a huge crush on her) even though he repeatedly makes it clear that he thinks she's terrible. He reminds me a lot of Danny from The Mindy Project, and also he is smoking hot in an adorable way, and has the voice of an angel. Love is an open door with him, y'all.
THE. MUSICAL. NUMBERS.
Oh, I wish I could pick just one to link here. They cover all kinds of topics, from this to this, and they parody all kinds of singers, from Shakira to Fifth Harmony and all kinds in between. You like rap battles? They have a rap battle. You like Billy Joel? Boom, Piano Man. You like Old Hollywood? Look at this! Seriously, watch the show to get the full effect of how hilarious these are. I'll leave you with the Season One theme song. Just enjoy.
Female-driven comedy!
Seriously, this show is GREAT in terms of female empowerment. It's smart and self-aware, and even the title, which can definitely be called "problematic", is tongue-in-cheek. It's always Rebecca's perspective, never other people labeling her crazy or being sexist in a genuine way that isn't satire. Dang, this show is clever. You go, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
And LGBT representation that isn't seen very often!
A lot of people have pointed out that bisexual people aren't shown very often on TV. Well, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has a whole (yep, you guessed it) MUSICAL NUMBER dedicated to Darryl realizing that he's bisexual! Plus, he has a super sweet little love arc with White Josh, one of Josh Chan's posse members... it rocks.
Plus, it’s a winner, if that matters to you.
A Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy, Critic's Choice for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, a TV Critic's Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy, and Emmys for Choreography and Comedy Picture Editing... but you can be the judge of its awesomeness, too.
