Crazy Ex-Girlfriend revived the TV musical after Glee fizzled out

The Atlantic

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend premiered on The CW in October 2015, just seven months after Glee, having failed to recapture its old magic, said goodbye. Three years earlier, critic Kevin Fallon cited the decline of both Glee and Smash in declaring "The TV musical is dead." Yet Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was able to breathe new life into the TV musical, says Isobel Lewis. "When it debuted, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend set itself apart from earlier TV musicals with its vivid sense of imagination and its willingness to celebrate, rather than explain away, the inherent ridiculousness of the genre," says Lewis. "Given that the series became acclaimed, in part, for its Rebecca-fronted numbers, it’s been remarkable to see how the protagonist’s personal development has forced the show to evolve as well. As enjoyable as Rebecca’s performances are, in recent episodes, every one of them has been prompted by a return to her old behaviors; when she’s working to improve herself, other people get to take center stage. This dynamic creates a dilemma for fans. It means that one possible outcome of Rebecca’s ongoing recovery is that she’ll stop imagining her life as a series of musical numbers. It might be fitting, then, that the show is concluding after Season 4, with Rebecca’s life seemingly on the upswing. Musical theater is, in many ways, escapism in its flashiest form, an indulgent departure from reality. As Rebecca continues to grow, she’ll begin to face life’s dramas in the real world, rather than on the private stage in her mind."

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