For those of you who haven’t watched the show before, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a musical dramedy that follows Rebecca Bunch’s (played by Rachel Bloom) life since she moved across the country with hopes of getting back with her high school sweetheart, Josh Chan. The show is three-seasons long (praying there is a fourth!), and it chronicles Bunch’s new life in West Covina, California, where she focuses on her search for happiness. Pursuit of happiness aside, the show also details Bunch’s mental health issues; but, what’s truly impressive is how the show addresses this difficult, sensitive topic.
At the beginning of season one, we see Bunch as a successful lawyer in New York City; but, we also see her battling OCD, depression, anxiety and sleep disorders. This starts to take a turn when she runs into Chan on the street. After a two-minute conversation with Chan, Bunch decides she would move across the country to rekindle their love and find her own happiness. Now ladies, most of us are guilty of following a crush or doing some mild cyber-stalking, but moving across the country? That seems a little crazy (hah, the title of the show). But, the show doesn’t attribute Bunch’s interesting decisions to her mental health struggles. Instead, they frame it in a way that makes Bunch a relatable character. The show depicts Bunch as an intelligent lawyer who attended Harvard and Yale; her success enables a more stigma-free, open-minded approach to discussing mental illnesses.
As the show unfolds, Bunch takes on more and more challenges in her personal and professional lives. But, instead of using dialogues to detail these challenges, Bunch — and other characters in the show — convey their emotions with hilariously creative songs. By using songs to tackle issues such as Rebecca’s depression, her tendency to self-hate and her mental health diagnoses, the show makes these mental health battles less stigmatized, and more relatable to viewers.
At the end of the third season, Bunch is diagnosed with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). This is a more serious mental health issue relative to those previously mentioned, but the show presents it in a positive way. Following the diagnosis, Bunch starts seeing multiple therapists and joins a support group; in that way, the show celebrated Bunch’s diagnosis as a productive step towards her pursuit to true happiness.
This is a groundbreaking show as far as tackling mental health topics is concerned; it de-stigmatizes these issues and empowers those who are impacted. If you’re looking for a new show to binge on, check it out on CW and Netflix!