Netflix Underrated Comedy Is The Most Original Series In Years

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was created and developed for television by the spectacularly talented duo of Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna. Before the show aired, Bloom was primarily known for her work on a number of internet comedy sketches, including those associated with outlets such as Cracked and College Humor, as well as a few semi-viral videos made to accompany Bloom’s hilarious original songs.

Aline Brosh McKenna was best known as a screenwriter before Crazy Ex-Girlfriend hit the airwaves, with writing credits on such classics as The Devil Wears Prada, 27 Dresses, We Bought a Zoo, and the 2014 iteration of Annie.

Rachel Bloom leads the cast of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Rebecca Bunch, a successful, hard-working lawyer who abandons her fast-paced life in New York to pursue a relationship with a man she barely knows, based on a brief romance they shared as teenagers. In addition to Bloom, the show’s cast includes hilarious comedic performers such as Donna Lynne Champlin, Vincent Rodriguez III, Pete Gardner, Gabrielle Ruiz, Vella Lovell, Esther Povitsky, and Frozen‘s Santino Fontana.

Each episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend offers an update in the running story of Rebecca’s unrequited love for Josh as she tries to break up his existing relationship, worm her way into his friend group, and establish herself as a romantic force in his life. The series is also a musical, with each episode offering 2-4 high-quality song and dance numbers that are sure to leave your jaw on the floor before several of the songs become stuck in your head for weeks at a time.

Personally, I remember hearing about Crazy Ex-Girlfriend when it first came out and knowing nothing about it other than its name. I prematurely judged the show based on its title and assumed that it was misogynist garbage peddled by frat boys with the intention of dunking on women for committing the cardinal sin of having feelings. Instead, the joke was on me, as the two genius women who crafted the brilliant show had delivered it with this awkward title on purpose in order to make a larger point about mental illness and dating.

When I eventually gave the series a spin, years into its run, I was completely floored and became instantly obsessed—not as obsessed as Rebecca is with her ex-boyfriend Josh, but obsessed nonetheless. I’m not a big musical theater kind of guy, so I was shocked at how much I loved the songs in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, especially the opening number aptly titled “West Covina,” which plays as Rebecca uproots her life and moves across the country to the California locale.

I’m not sure if the show’s title is what doomed it to relative obscurity or if the songs put off new viewers at the onset of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s run, but the show maintained shockingly low ratings throughout all four of its seasons. Luckily, The CW stood behind their product, wisely recognizing that they had a critical hit on their hands, even if the masses couldn’t see it yet. Today, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend touts a staggering 98 percent certified fresh critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, as a testament to the show’s major “wow” factor.

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If you haven’t given Crazy Ex-Girlfriend a chance yet, you should absolutely do yourself a favor and check it out on Netflix today. The show is completely unlike anything else on TV and offers a shocking experience that can’t be replicated by any other show or musical. Just be sure to pace yourself through the binge, or you’ll wind up with an avalanche of catchy tunes fighting for space in your brain.