One of the most creative shows on broadcast television is coming to an end tonight after four seasons.
The series finale of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend airs tonight on The CW. Starring Rachel Bloom as the neurotic Rebecca Bunch and Vincent Rodriguez III as Josh Chan (Rebecca’s man crush and ex-boyfriend) the show is notable for being a television rom-com with singing and dancing thrown in for good measure.
It’s also stands out for casting an Asian American as a romantic lead several years before Crazy Rich Asians broke ground for the same thing on the big screen. Entertainment Tonight called Rodriguez III the first Filipino lead on American television. It’s a distinction the actor does not take lightly.
“It’s meant a great deal to me, especially since my dad didn’t want me to do this,” he said to ET.
“He wanted me to be a businessman. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps, to be who he wanted me to be so he wouldn’t have to worry and could have someone carry on his name and business, but I didn’t want to do that. I knew I was gay at a very young age. I was bi first and I’ve always appreciated women, but I realized at a point that I’m really attracted to men and I’m probably going to marry a guy.”
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He married his husband, Greg Wright during the first week of filming the first season.
While the show never achieved strong ratings, it generated a loyal following. Its cast has even toured the country in concert.
Paste Magazine this week published a tribute to the program, 10 Ways Crazy Ex-Girlfriend changed TV.
Two of the notables to make the list were rethinking the male romantic lead and fighting for equal representation.
Taping the last episode hit Rodriguez III hard.
“It was very, very, very emotional. It’s a few layers: Us as actors saying goodbye to these characters that we’re going to miss, us as people saying goodbye to getting to play and be together on set, and also saying goodbye to each other as these characters, which is its own powerful and resonant force,” Rodriguez III told ET. ” I have my own mourning to go through as Vinny saying goodbye to Josh.”
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend airs Fridays at 8 p.m/7 Central on The CW.
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