Will season three of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend be the best yet?

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the story of Rebecca Bunch a lawyer from New York who moves to West Covina to follow one-time boyfriend and longtime crush Josh Chan. However, Rebecca’s crush is more of an obsession and the show displays her journey through comic mishaps and mental health issues using musical numbers covering different genres and styles.

Whilst ostensibly a musical comedy it’s also one of the most socially conscious, relevant and intelligent depictions of mental health on TV and now at the beginning of its third season is more than deserving of its critical praise and awards recognition. However, there’s more pressure than ever for the show to do well.

Sophomore slumps (when a second season, album etc fail to do well after a well-received first) are more commonplace in the Golden Age of TV, where shows hit a home run right out of the gate yet struggle to maintain momentum. True Detective or Daredevil, for example, garnered critical praise during their first seasons yet failed to recreate the magic a second time.

Yet what about third season fatigue? After a successful second season proves that the first season wasn’t just a flash in a pan, is it up to the third to maintain or die? When Lost started flagging after three years, throwing up useless flashbacks that told us nothing, the writers, bolstered with the news that the show had an end date, threw us a curveball and turned the show on its head.

A show like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has heart and soul but also relies on something of a gimmick and three seasons and 40+ original songs in, can it manage to maintain itself after having successfully proven it wasn’t a one trick pony?

Season three has the heavy lifting to do and two episodes in, it appears to be going well so far. Personally, I felt season two was a little unfocused and the clarity afforded by a stripped down message, namely that of revenge, seems to be doing the show favors. I still miss the sweet fairytale vibes of season one and of course, Santino Fontana’s Greg is dearly missed, yet I’m still hopeful and onboard for the rest of the season.

All we ask is that characters like Valencia and Heather are moved to front and center because they’re fantastic actors and they deserve fuller roles. I have faith these writers know what they’re doing and that they can build a great season from two years of sucess.