In the war zone that is the fall TV season, it’s important to pick out the gems hidden in the media mesh. Each week, A&E columnist Sebastian Torrelio will profile one new show and one returning show that share a connection, detailing how they may make those after-school hours more meaningful.
The CW Television Network has a serious knack for picking up shows with terribly unattractive names: “The Vampire Diaries,” “iZombie,” “Jane the Virgin” and now “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” They are all titles that have a medium to high level of difficulty to recommend, but are they worth watching?
In short, yes. From the young adult superhero spin of “The Flash” to the mature take on historical fantasy, “Reign,” The CW has spent the better part of this decade making a fresh name for itself. No shows emphasize the channel’s new turn in quality like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “Jane the Virgin,” the two hour-long comedies that make up its Monday night primetime block.
Fall debut “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” starts the crazy train at 8 p.m. YouTube comedian Rachel Bloom stars as Rebecca Bunch, a single woman living in New York, who is given a promotion to be made partner at her law firm.
Yet she isn’t pleased – Rebecca comes to the realization that she hasn’t been happy in years. The last time she can remember was a decade prior when she had a summer camp fling with Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III). As fate would have it, that’s exactly who Rebecca runs into on the way out of her office building that day.
But Josh isn’t staying – he’s moving to West Covina, a place where, according to him, everyone is happy and the beach is mere hours away. So Rebecca thinks: what if she also moved to West Covina too? Not for Josh, because that’d be crazy, but maybe she could find her own joy by relocating. But Rebecca insists, this move isn’t for Josh.
Seriously though, it’s for Josh.
There are two things that make “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” the most original new series of the fall season so far. First, it’s a musical – at random occasions during the pilot, Rebecca decides to present her inner thoughts through song. I know that may seem incredibly weird, but the show hosts a supporting cast of musical theater alumni. Coupled alongside Bloom’s surprisingly great singing chops, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” shows potential for some colorful catchiness in future episodes.
The second thing: The show is filled with intriguingly dark humor. That point is exemplified sometime around Rebecca’s R&B number “The Sexy Getting Ready Song,” which contains a line about waxing and menstruation. In terms of comedy style, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” couldn’t be any more different from its follow-up, “Jane the Virgin” at 9 p.m., but it’s just promising enough to break out in the same vein.
“Jane the Virgin,” already has an amazing reputation behind it. After all, leading star Gina Rodriguez earned The CW its first Golden Globe Award ever. She plays the titular Jane Gloriana Villanueva, a young woman who is artificially inseminated with the child of hotel owner Rafael Solano (Justin Baldoni) by accident. The medical mistake causes Jane’s life to completely spiral, creating unsteadiness within relationships with her fiance Michael Cordero Jr.(Brett Dier) and her adorably loving family.
Jane has since had her child, Mateo Gloriano Rogelio Solano Villanueva, and it’s nearly impossible to keep track of the plot developments. Luckily, “Jane the Virgin” has its omniscient Latin lover narrator (voiced by Anthony Mendez) to keep notes.
In the same way that “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” skewers musicals, “Jane the Virgin” is a parody of modern telenovelas. But “Jane the Virgin” isn’t trying to mock the genre that it gathers its inspiration from. Each episode has shocking moments to leave audiences thirsty for next week, but all of the plot twists flow together in a format that rarely goes over the top.
The end result is a series that resonates with an angelic heart more than any other show on television. All Jane strives for is the best for herself and her loved ones, with a determination so strong that it demands attention. That’s what Rebecca Bunch from “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” seems to be aiming for as well.
Jane and Rebecca are figureheads for that philosophy: Life is spent chasing fantasy wishes while being trapped in a fantasy of your own. Only time will tell if either of them ends up with the ultimate happily-ever-after, but until then, it’s an absolute pleasure to watch their hysterical journeys unfold.