Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Golden Globes 2016: Rachel Bloom wins, giving hope to CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

The show needed — and deserved — this.

Caroline Framke
Caroline Framke wrote about culture, which usually means television. Also seen @ The A.V. Club, The Atlantic, Complex, Flavorwire, NPR, the fridge to get more seltzer.

If anyone was sleeping on The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend before the Golden Globes, Rachel Bloom’s win for Best Actress in a Television Comedy or Musical just woke them up.

The low-rated series has struggled in The CW’s Monday-night comedy block with Jane the Virgin, but Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is nonetheless a critical hit thanks to its inventive songs, cheeky humor, and Bloom’s stellar anchor performance as neurotic lawyer Rebecca Bunch.

Bloom was visibly stunned and thrilled to win the Golden Globe — not least because Crazy Ex-Girlfriend almost didn’t make it to air for the 2015-‘16 TV season.

After letting out a few breathless exclamations of disbelief, Bloom let everyone in on the arduous process of getting Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to air:

We almost didn’t have a show! We made a pilot for another network and they rejected it and we sent the pilot to every other network in Hollywood and ... we got six rejections in one day. We felt like crap. But we knew it was good.

Indeed, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was originally ordered by Showtime, which then passed on the series after seeing the pilot. Enter The CW, swooping in to pick up the pieces. (Showtime and The CW are sister networks under CBS and the WB, so at least it stayed in the family.)

And so the network made over Crazy Ex-Girlfriend from a half-hour Showtime comedy into an hour-long musical dramedy. CW president Mark Pedowitz recently expressed his belief in the show, but will undoubtedly be relieved by this high-profile win, which should help it draw more viewers. (It’s also The CW’s second consecutive Best Actress in a Comedy win, since Gina Rodriguez won in 2015 for Jane the Virgin.)

If you’re unfamiliar with the work that landed Bloom the Globe, here is but a small sample:

More in Culture

Advice
What trainers actually think about the 12-3-30 workoutWhat trainers actually think about the 12-3-30 workout
Advice

Have we finally unlocked exercise’s biggest secret? Or is this yet another lie perpetrated Big Treadmill?

By Alex Abad-Santos
Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
How fan fiction went mainstreamHow fan fiction went mainstream
Podcast
Podcasts

The community that underpins Heated Rivalry, explained.

By Danielle Hewitt and Noel King
Culture
Why Easter never became a big secular holiday like ChristmasWhy Easter never became a big secular holiday like Christmas
Culture

Hint: The Puritans were involved.

By Tara Isabella Burton
Culture
The sticky, sugary history of PeepsThe sticky, sugary history of Peeps
Culture

A few things you might not know about Easter’s favorite candy.

By Tanya Pai
The Highlight
The return of resistance craftingThe return of resistance crafting
The Highlight

Want to fight fascism? Join a knitting circle.

By Anna North