20 TV shows with the best soundtracks and music

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Some unknowing critics of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend might suggest this series is an acquired taste. With its musical theatre vibe, all original songs and social critique, it’s unlike anything airing on television right now (or possibly ever?). But don’t let those naysayers steal the joy that is Rachel Bloom.

Bloom plays the beautiful, yet very complicated, Rebecca Bunch as a successful lawyer who follows an ex-boyfriend across the country after a chance encounter on the street 15 years after they break up. Before you start making snap judgements or assign Felicity-nostalgia, you have to see for yourself.

Every song, carefully choreographed and designed to supplement the storyline, takes on sexual and gender politics in a frank, cheeky way. Songs like “Settle For Me” and “I’m In A Sexy French Depression” reveal a critical insight into both the female experience and modern mental health. The show takes on these, and so many other issues, in a deft and loving way, etching out a space for women to embrace our “crazy” and destigmatize experiences so many of us find common.

I’ve never related to any song more than I did to “Heavy Boobs.” Crazy Ex-Girlfriend invites us to laugh at ourselves, but also to embrace and enjoy our idiosyncrasies — and every track offers a new chance to do so. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and its creators are using music to punctuate a topical and endearing show that could fall into cliché. I usually don’t like stuff with a lot of singing (sorry, La La Land) but I never get bored watching the episodes navigate femininity, romance, self-worth and interpersonal relationships. And it never feels like I’m being forced to eat my veggies.