The creators of the CWs beloved musical comedy say good-bye to West Covina.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Then we wrote it, and that was an escalation.
Then we shot it, and that was another phase.
And then, nobody wanted it.
Eventually, somebody wanted it.
First, Rebecca Bunchs (Bloom) story reaches its end.
Or think of it as one last chance to keep the end from actually ending.
Its disappearing slowly, like a melting snowman, Brosh McKenna says.
There were a lot of lasts.
There was the last table read.
There was the last day of the writers room.
There was the last day of shooting.
A lot of milestones to mark along the way.
I think maybe, when those things air, it will feel more done?
But then theresthe Radio City show.
It sloped into being, and I think itll slope out of being.
We hang up, and she goes back to work sound-mixingCrazy Ex-Girlfriendfor the last time, another milestone.
Well, until Radio City.
And then maybe something else.
Its not over tillthe Josh Groban sings.
Two steps forward, one step back.
Quiet periods, then chaotic bursts of energy.
Progress, sometimes halted but always begun again.
Yet somehow, the life ofCrazy Ex-Girlfriend, and the end of its life specifically, does.
It starts with a good cry.
It ends with a standing ovation.
The Table Read
Esther Povitsky is having a good cry.
Its the afternoon of January 25, and theCrazy Ex-Girlfriendcast is in the middle of another long workday.
Some arrive fresh from a morning away from the set.
but for the most part, its another day at the office.
Just another table read.
Just Im in Love, the 17th episode of the shows fourth and final season.
Its all business as usual, except for when it isnt.
Theres a concerted effort to find the right balance between marking a milestone and keeping things casual.
We have free food!
Theres a big laugh, and she pops a piece of free pretzel into her mouth and smirks.
Welcome, she hollers, waving.
Then the cast sits down and Bloom and Brosh McKenna call the proceedings to order.
When I watch the show, thats what I see.
I see in every frame, in every moment, the hard work, the love.
Its all said as casually as her announcement about the special T-shirts she had made for the finale.
Just part of the process.
Bloom follows that speech with one of her own.
Six years ago,I was making internet videos, she says.
Its nice, and then its time to move on.
Brosh McKenna announces the episode, written by the pair through a lot of tears.
Lets just take a breath.
Bloom and Brosh McKenna remain composed, but their eyes move briefly around the room, taking it in.
Then its time to work.
Im in Love jumps around in time, not somethingCrazy Ex-Girlfriendhas often done.
The biggest of those: Paula Proctor.
Of course theres a lot of Paula in the finale.
But its all affecting stuff.
So when Rachel Blooms final line of dialogue is greeted with cacophonous applause, Povitsky cries.
She isnt the only one to betray strong emotion; she also isnt the first.
But Povitskys tears are the most unabashed.
As Bloom and McKenna bounce giddily from person to person, Povitsky takes a minute for herself.
Then she does something that seems, from the outside, to be a veryCrazy Ex-Girlfriendkind of move.
She laughs about how hard shes crying, smiles, shakes her head, and laughs some more.
The cupcakes go mostly uneaten, but eventually the T-shirts make the rounds.
The back references The End of the Movie.
The Shoot
Rachel Bloom needs a nap.
I follow Bloom as she gets as much as she can out of a rare, relatively unoccupied moment.
She makes sure I know where the bathrooms are and tells me to double-check to hit craft services.
Its been maybe 90 seconds total.
It could not be more apparent that the group at large is very comfortable in this room.
Perhaps its because it feels so honestly occupied.
There are candles in jars all over the place.
A stack of books on a desk includes bothCodependent No MoreandThe Language of Letting Go.
If shes in serious need of sleep, they find a way to get her some sleep.
There have been many great shows about people spiraling in some way, Brosh McKenna acknowledges.
But those are tragedies, and ours is a comedy.
And I take the Shakespearean part of that very seriously.
In a tragedy, its,Hes dead.
She died, too.
She took the poison.
Shes also dead.But ours truly is a comedy.
This season has been this journey out of that.
In comedies, you have a nice woven basket at the end.
Youd never know that shes sick.
The next days shoot wraps well past midnight, and thats it.
And I said to myself,Okay, Im going to get through today.
Im going to do whatever it takes for Rebecca.
Im sending off Rebecca today.
I owe it to her to be at 100 percent.
And I think that mind-set, in addition to those naps, really helped me.
I didnt need a double the entire day.
I wanted to be there.
I had to be present for everything.
That need isnt simply practical, and she isnt the only person to have had that reaction.
The Concert
David Hull has his arm in a sling.
Its March 12, and the cast ofCrazy Ex-Girlfriendis taking a well-earned lunch break.
But even without those descriptors, the energy would be obvious.
he says, laughing.
Theres a lot of laughing.
Hes just too slaphappy to keep that arm still.
Theyre all in that place.
Ruiz chatters excitedly about getting to wear the Lets Generalize About Men jackets again.
Foster laughs about Nathaniels love of zoos.
(Its a very crotch-centric yet beautifully seductive dance, she says.
Its a very amazingly shocking and kind of sexy 30 seconds.)
(Ruiz is the likeliest to win; Lovell would go out early.)
Oh fuck, thats good!
Bloom replies, then turns to the onlookers.
He took a UCLA writing course, and look at him now!
The fact that this show will end with a concert jam-packed with innuendo isnt surprising.
Nor is the casts obvious enjoyment of each other and of performing these songs unexpected.
The level of sustained excitementissomething of a surprise, but perhaps it shouldnt be.
Ruiz explains it this way: Rachels an incredible star.
Its that much love.
Several use the words a wall of sound.
All the songs were great.
We had so much more than we could possibly use.
Its a concert special, and I thinkspecialreally was the right word for it.
Brosh McKenna quizzes the audience between numbers and Bloom shouts out her favorite costumes in the crowd.
and an enormous cheer erupts.
These are her people.
The End?
Rachel Bloom is walking her dog.
Its a week before theCrazy Ex-Girlfriendfinale airs, and as always, shes multitasking.
Then her dog stops.
Oh shit, she just peed on someones L.A.Times, she says.
Okay, Im running away.
Perhaps she does, now that the cameras have left her alone.
This whole show was like a prequel to someone becoming herself.
Theres no more work, so they go to dinner.
The next night, Akhtar gets a text from Bloom.
A local theater company is putting on a cabaret of the songs ofCrazy Ex-Girlfriend.
She has a few tickets, would he be up for going?
We just sat in the back and watched it, Akhtar tells me later.
They had a whole band, and did song after song after song.
It was just such a stunningly positive experience.
People are still doing it.
I couldnt help it.
She was the first one on her feet.
