The CW announced early renewals today for a whopping seven of its primetime series, including the eminently delightful Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The news comes at the halfway point of the third season of Jane and the second season of Crazy Ex, which returned from its winter break with a new episode this past Friday.
The early renewal of Jane the Virgin isn’t a surprise: The show consistently turns up on “best of” lists and garners upwards of a million viewers per episode — nearly two million if you factor in viewers who DVR the show and watch it on their own time. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, however is a slightly different story. The hourlong musical comedy is a little more of an acquired taste, and its ratings — never that great to begin with — have dropped off since the first season, with around half a million viewers per week. So that’s a big phew.
Ratings aside, it’s heartening to see two shows created by and centered on smart, funny women gaining so much traction. Both of these consistently enjoyable, surprising shows are unwavering in their focus on stories and characters that upend the traditional narrative of romantic love — or, in the case of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, call into question its very primacy in women’s lives.
Squad goals: Take control of the banks!