Season Three is the further continuation of The CW musical comedy show "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend". Co-creators Aline Brosh McKenna and Rachel Bloom envisioned this as the third act of a four part story arc. Following the events in the Season Twofinale, Rebecca Bunch was left at the altar by her fiancée Josh Chan and now plots her revenge on him. The Season Three renewal was officially announced on January 8, 2017. The show wrapped production on November 23, 2017 [1].
Production[]
Writers room whiteboard with general overview of Season Three
Renewal[]
“
It has nothing to do with numbers...‘Crazy Ex,’ ‘Jane,’ as franchises, have helped alter the perception of what the CW has become. When you have great critical work, critically acclaimed, award-nominated shows like ‘Crazy,’ it deserved to be picked up. Sometimes with critically acclaimed, great programming, you just [renew it] and hope that it finds an audience. In today’s fragmented world, [awards nominations] give you a calling card.
”
— Mark Pedowitz, The CW
On January 8, 2016 The CW officially announced at a Television Critics Association winter press tour that seven shows earned early renewals from the network. "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" was one of them and was greenlit for a Season Three despite being the lowest rated show on the network. In an interview with Indiewire.com Co-creator Aline Brosh McKenna hinted at more explorations of Rebecca's past:
“
The idea was, we’ve gotten to know her over 31 episodes, the audience has gotten to know her pretty well. But we don’t know anything about her past, really,” she said. “As Paula says, the best predictor of the future is the past. It stands to reason that somebody who engages in these obsessive-romantic behaviors has done so before.
”
— Aline Brosh McKenna
On May 18, 2017 an official press release by The CW announced that "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" would return on Friday at its 8:00 PM timeslot. This time it will be paired again with the show "Jane The Virgin" which moves from its former Monday night time slot to Friday and follows it at 9:00.
Episode titles[]
In keeping with the usual naming years conventions the first few episodes of the Season Three episodes include the word ‘Josh’ which is meant to convey Rebecca’s continued obsession with him. However, by the seventh episode the word ‘Josh’ is no longer used reflecting Rebecca moving on from her obsession. In addition, the start of Season had most episode titles end in a period conveying particular statements declaratively. The later episodes included different male names in the title other than Josh (Jeff, Nathaniel and Trent) and used periods, exclamation point and question marks.
On April 5, 2017 some of the "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" cast and crew were at the "For Your Consideration" Emmy event where it was officially announced that both actors Scott Michael Foster ("Nathaniel Plimpton III") and David Hull ("Josh Wilson") were promoted from recurring to regular cast members. On August 1, actor Robin Thomas, who plays "Marco Serrano", posted a video on his Instagram account of a table read for Season Three which was subsequently taken down. In it actors Amy Hill ("Lourdes Chan") and Will Hines ("Gary") were also present. On August 18, 2017 actress Ava Acres posted a picture of herself and Rachel Bloom on her Instagram account announcing she would be returning as "Young Rebecca" for Season Three. Actresses Tovah Feldshuh (“Naomi Bunch”) and Rachel Grate (“Audra Levine”) also returned.
Rebecca, unsatisfied with Paula's ideas to build a case against Josh, turns to Nathaniel for help crafting a truly evil plan. Meanwhile, Josh finds becoming a priest is harder than he thought.
Directed by: Stuart McDonald - Written by: Dan Gregor and Doug Mand
Just as Rebecca tries to be more realistic and practical, Trent throws a wrench into her plans. At the same time Josh and Valencia reckon with their shared history.
"Where's Rebecca Bunch?" Performed by: Rebecca, Paula, Darryl, Heather, Valencia, Nathaniel, George, WhiJo, Hector, Maya, Tim, Jim Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger
Rebecca resolves to get revenge as her friends wonder where she is.
"Let's Generalize About Men" Performed by: Rebecca, Paula, Heather, Valencia Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger
The Gurl Group gripe about the opposite sex.
"You Do/You Don’t Want To Be Crazy" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger
Rebecca considers various ideas on what being crazy is about.
"I've Got My Head In The Clouds" Performed by: Josh Chan Writers: Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen, Adam Schlesinger
Josh feels he made the right choice to become a priest.
"Strip Away My Conscience" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch Writers: Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen, Adam Schlesinger
Rebecca makes Nathaniel an indecent proposal.
"The Buzzing From The Bathroom" Performed by: Tim Writers: Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen, Adam Schlesinger
Tim is depressed that he can’t sexually satisfy his wife.
"Scary Scary Sexy Lady" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger, Jack Dolgen
Rebecca decides to stalk and terrorize Josh.
"The End of The Movie" Performed by: Josh Groban Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger, Jack Dolgen, Aline Brosch McKenna
Rebecca contemplates her actions after reaching her lowest point.
"I Feel Like This Isn't About Me" Performed by: Cornelia and bartender Writers: Adam Shlesinger, Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen
Cornelia figures out she isn't the reason her new co-workers are acting weird.
"One Indescribable Instant" Performed by: Jim Kittsworth Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger
Jim reprises this song briefly after flirting with Cornelia.
"A Diagnosis" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch Writers: Rachel Bloom and Adam Schlesinger
Rebecca is hopeful about a new diagnosis.
"This Is My Movement" Performed by: Valencia Perez Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom and Jack Dolgen
Valencia spreads the word
"First Penis I Saw" Performed by: Paula Proctor Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger, Jack Dolgen
Paula reminisces about her first love Jeff.
"My Friend's Dad" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch & Paula's father Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger, Jack Dolgen
Rebecca is happy to have bonded with Paula’s father and considers him better than her own despite the fact that he’s a bigot and an alcoholic.
"Do You Believe" Performed by: Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs Writers: Maurice Williams
Paula Proctor and her ex-boyfriend Jeff Channington dance to this classic doo-wop tune.
"George's Coffee Song" Performed by: George Writers: Danny Jolle
George sings about getting a cup of coffee.
"My Sperm Is Healthy" Performed by: Darryl Whitefeather Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Jack Dolgen, Rachel Bloom
Darryl is excited to learn that his sperm was healthy and rejoices in this news with his staff.
"Get Your Ass Out Of My House" Performed by: Lourdes Chan Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen
Lourdes tells her son Josh to move out as she’s tired of him constantly relying so much on her and his father.
"Without Love You Can Save the World" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch and the cast Writers: TBA
Rebecca sings about all the things she could've done if she weren't in love.
"Fit Hot Guys Have Problems Too" Performed by: White Josh, Nathaniel Plimpton III and Josh Chan Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger, Grant Michaels & Jack Dolgen
They try to explain that guys who are in good shape have just as many personal problems as those who aren’t.
"He's The New Guy" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch and her colleagues Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger and Jack Dolgen
Rebecca tries to convince the staff of Whitefeather & Associates to rise up against Nathaniel.
"You Do/You Don’t Want To Be Crazy" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger
A brief snippet of the song appears in the middle of the episode.
"Horny Angry Tango" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch and Nathaniel Plimpton Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen
They sing about their unresolved feelings for each other.
"This Session Is Going to Be Different" Performed by: Dr. Noelle Akopian Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger
Dr. Akopian hopes that her latest therapy session with Rebecca proves more successful than her previous attempts to help her patient.
"The Moment Is Me" Performed by: Heather Davis Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger
The melody plays as a time jump occurs; during the transition Home Base and Heather undergo noticeable physical changes .
"Buttload Of Cats" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch with Paula Proctor, Heather Davis and Valencia Perez Writers: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger
Rebecca sings about being single and getting a bunch of cats.
"Back In Action" Performed by: Rebecca Bunch with Paula Proctor Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom
Rebecca is excited that she and Paula are doing another caper together which they haven’t done in awhile.
"All Hail the Queen" Performed by: Meredith Rainey Writers: John Ross, Meredith Rainey, Jordan James Reyes
Josh and Valencia performed a dance called “The Royal” set to this song to bring the energy back to the party.
"Period Sex" Performed by: Trent Maddock Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom
Trent horrifies Rebecca and Paula by briefly reprising the song 'Period Sex.'
"The Miracle of Birth" Performed by: Paula Proctor Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom
Paula tells Heather what to expect when having a baby
"Nothing is Ever Anyone's Fault" Performed by: Nathaniel Plimpton III and Rebecca Bunch Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom
Nathaniel and Rebecca convince themselves no one is truly responsible for any bad decisions they make
"Settle For Me" Performed by: NA Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom
While preparing for the party, Nathaniel considers Mona as a melody of this song plays in the background.
Notes[]
Timeline[]
In the Season Three Episode “I Never Want to See Josh Again.”, Paula mentions it’s the anniversary of her meeting Rebecca. This means the story which begins in Season One through the first half of Season Three takes place narratively within the span of only one year. Season Three itself has a time jump in the eleventh episode “Nathaniel and I Are Just Friends!” which moves the narrative timeline eight months forward.
