Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

The writers intended to use Valencia for only two episodes, but Gabrielle Ruiz dazzled everyone so much that Ruiz quickly became a regular on the series.

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Rachel Bloom initially devised a show-business scenario in which her character tries to break into Broadway in order to justify the musical sequences. Co-creator Aline Brosh McKenna convinced her that it would be more interesting for Rebecca Bunch to imagine her life as a musical.

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Creators Aline Brosh McKenna and Rachel Bloom wanted the show to demonstrate that genuine, sincere friendships are possible both with the opposite sex and with people of different age groups. The characters were written throughout the series to show this.

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During the first development at Showtime, creators Aline Brosh McKenna and Rachel Bloom mapped out a four-season story for Rebecca Bunch. Various changes occurred when the series finally went into production for The CW, but the overall plot outline of each season remained unchanged.

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Father Brah is played by Rene Gube, a writer and executive story editor on the series.

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Rachel Bloom told co-creator Aline Brosh McKenna that she had a high school sweetheart who lived near West Covina, and McKenna liked the name, so it became the setting for the series. In November 2015, the cast and crew attended a ceremony in West Covina where they were given the key to the city, and they shot on location there as much as possible.

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It is the lowest-rated series ever to receive a third- and fourth-season renewal on television.

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The series went through a development process lasting several years for the Showtime network, but after the pilot was shot they decided it was not edgy enough. One day before Rachel Bloom's wedding, she received the news that they would not be making it.

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Aline Brosh McKenna worked in television early in her career and had no intention of returning. One day she came across Rachel Bloom's music videos on YouTube and was so impressed that she decided to see whether she could use her Hollywood connections to help Bloom get a TV series. The project quickly snowballed, and Brosh McKenna found herself fully immersed in writing, producing and even directing.

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Rachel Bloom and Donna Lynne Champlin are the only actors who appear in every episode.

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Because the fate of the series was uncertain at the end of Season 1, Santino Fontana (Greg) committed himself to other projects in New York, where he lives. He agreed to return for a few episodes to give his character some closure, but his departure was not publicly announced until his final episode aired.

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Although some parts of the series are generally based on Rachel Bloom's real life, Rebecca's parents are very different from her own: they are still married and regularly attend their daughter's various engagements to support her.

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Because of the show's musical nature, the series tried to hire stage actors rather than television or film actors.

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When choreographer Kathryn Burns first worked with Pete Gardner (Darryl), she was so taken with his enthusiasm that she named him the show's resident Dance Captain; Gardner therefore bought a ship captain's hat to wear while in the dance rehearsal room. He can be seen wearing the hat in numerous behind-the-scenes photos.

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Co-creator and star Rachel Bloom first met Donna Lynne Champlin backstage in 2005 during the Broadway revival of "Sweeney Todd" (in which Bloom appeared alongside future guest star Patti LuPone). Bloom had Champlin in mind while developing the role of Paula, but Champlin, who had never before been asked to read for a pilot, was convinced she would not get the part.

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The cast and crew quickly became a family unit, with spouses, former friends and family members working on the series at various levels. In addition, most of the crew wore multiple hats; for example, several of the writers and choreographers appeared in guest roles, and other crew members were seen as extras.

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After Showtime passed on the original pilot, a number of small cable networks showed interest, but nothing looked likely to work out. At a friend's insistence, co-creator Aline Brosh McKenna sat down to binge-watch Jane the Virgin (2014) and soon noticed it was similar in tone, so she pitched "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" to The CW, which quickly greenlit the series.

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Forty-nine songs were written for the first season.

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Season 2 includes a joke about a song titled "Period Sex." The full song was never heard on the series, but it was eventually released on YouTube.

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In the opening title sequence of season 4, the woman on the bicycle played by Siri Miller is credited in the series' on-screen titles as "Fabulous Girl." Although the character's name is supposed to be Rebecca, it is revealed on her first appearance that her name is actually Deborah.

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Michael McDonald played Darryl in the Showtime pilot, but when The CW ordered its own pilot, McDonald was busy directing several sitcoms, so Pete Gardner was cast in his place.

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The name Josh appears in every title of every episode of the first and second seasons.

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Showtime's original pilot ran half an hour. When the series was picked up by The CW, it was expanded to an hour, allowing the writers to flesh out the roles of the supporting characters.

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In an interview, Rachel Bloom stated that Rebecca and Paula's friendship on the show is based on her friendship with co-creator Aline Brosh McKenna.

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Thirty-five songs were written for the second season.

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Ashley Everett, Beyoncé's dance captain, is a backup dancer in the pilot's "Sexy Getting Ready Song."

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Although Rebecca does not choose any of the three men in the finale, there are hints that Greg is the one she "chooses," or truly loves: they go on the most original date of the three; she makes out with Josh and Nathaniel on their dates but not with Greg; unlike the other two dates, she does not text Paula about how her date with Greg went; she tells both Josh and Nathaniel that they are not the one, while she tells Greg she is not ready for a relationship right now and wants to focus on songwriting; Greg warns her he will not wait for her, yet a year later he is still single when she attends his concert; a year later Josh and Nathaniel are shown moving on, Josh with a new girlfriend and Nathaniel with a new job in a new country, while Greg is still in West Covina and single; and when she says she could have "someone in this room," the first person she looks at is Greg.

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Rebecca and Paula are the only characters who appear in every episode.

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From August to October 2016, several of costume designer Melina Root's costumes for the series were displayed at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) Museum in Los Angeles as part of the 10th Annual Art of Outstanding Television Costume Design exhibition.

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Thirty-four songs were written for the fourth season.

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Star Rachel Bloom and many supporting cast members appeared in Adam Ruins Everything (2015).

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Twenty-nine songs were written for the third season.

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White Josh's surname is Wilson.

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The protagonist, Rebecca Bunch, has been depicted as suffering from anxiety and depression since the first season and experiences periodic hallucinations. She is eventually diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Depression is quite common in BPD patients, and about 10% of patients die by suicide.

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Santino Fontana (Greg) was a series regular on the web series Submissions Only (2010), Donna Lynne Champlin (Paula) had a recurring role, and David Hull (White Josh) appeared in the third season's opening title sequence.

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According to Rachel Bloom, the series explores the idea that if a person is making moves on another person and there is no romantic relationship between them, that is actually proof of personal problems.

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Rebecca Bunch is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) relatively late in the series, but she displays one of the symptoms (impulsive behavior) early on. She chooses to move from New York to California to pursue an old flame she has not had regular contact with in ten years.

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The show's main setting is West Covina, California. It is part of Greater Los Angeles, located 19 miles (31 kilometers) from Downtown Los Angeles.

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Rachel Bloom shares the same initials as her character, Rebecca Bunch (R. B.).

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In the season 4 opening, the girl riding the bicycle says something different at the end of every episode she appears in.

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This marks Marisa Davila's first appearance.

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Santino Fontana (Greg in seasons 1-2) voiced Hans, Princess Anna's first fiancé, in Frozen (2013), while Scott Michael Foster (Nathaniel) played the live-action love interest version of Kristof, Princess Anna's second fiancé, in season 4 (2014-2015) of Once Upon A Time (2011-2018).

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