TV Retrospective: "Man Seeking Woman" - Season 2

Last year, Jay Baruchel's comedy series Man Seeking Woman premiered with one of the most inventive and exciting sitcom structures in eons. By turning the day-to-day affairs of his character Josh Greenberg into genre-bending set pieces, he managed to find a new way to explore the old familiar themes of relationships. Between the trolls and penis monsters however, it was a scrappy series with a lot of great ideas worthy of Baruchel's talents. Thankfully, season two managed to kick things into a higher gear by having its characters tell a more synchronized story within the abstract painting of the world where falling in love with cars, and mecha robots getting coffee somehow seem plausible. Even if the show still is more creatively fun than narratively ambitious, it still manages to be one of the best underdog comedies currently on TV.
In season two, there's a lot more of the same essentially. Josh is on a quest to find love, but finds it difficult when dealing with his sister Liz (Britt Lower) and best friend Mike (Eric Andre), who serve as both moral centers to the show and confusing, alternate dimensions-like roadblocks. The show is best when it throws Josh into a whirlpool of strange ideas that perfectly create metaphorical looks into 21st century dating tips. Baruchel has had an impressive career of playing the loser friend who cannot land a girl. To see him do so almost always in a different genre week to week is a whole lot more fun, especially as he's given enough empathy to make the lesser plots a little fun. We've come to root for him over these 20 episodes, and by the end of this season - he's starting to make something of himself. If there's any through line, it's the building of self-confidence.
Of course, the show does occasionally delve into side characters for an episode. In the traditional "Woman Seeking Man" switch, Liz has her dating story. Last year's installment proved to be an energizing change of pace. This year, the switch leads to Liz dating Santa Claus and dealing with Mrs. Claus in an episode that feels strangely stilted. Even then, points should be given to the writers to committing to a very surreal bit that does the most with painting a dark affair into some form of off-brand comedy. With another "Woman Seeking Man" episode coming later on with Josh's new girlfriend Rosa (Rosa Salazar), the show finds substance in the supporting case - especially as Rosa deals with Mike's childish ways and sets up the finale perfectly with a revelation that Rosa doesn't like either of them all that much.
While the show inevitably is about the long term dating scene, the first season felt like it was missing that core consistency. However, this show manages to find something of value when the comedy turns from abstracting scenarios week-to-week and focuses on what love really is. Josh shows passion for Rosa and the story chronicles how he rises from supporting friend who watches Must Love Dogs (it's surprisingly not terrible) to fighting Mike for her affection. The story may only take up half of a season, but it manages to anchor the show in something far more compelling. We see Josh's obsession go from creepy to having a genuine heart. What he's doing has value and the jokes aren't entirely derived from the gimmicky executions. 
Man Seeking Woman is a show that proves how much creativity there is out there in the realm of TV. With most shows being fine with the familiar sitcom tropes, the FXX series manages to find new ground and appeal to 21st century culture by making stylistic references that compliment the story instead of merely serve as a pop culture reference. The characters feel genuine within the animated landscape, and the viewer is treated to a unique experience that is both surreal and inspired. Even if the show never manages to find more than a cult audience, everyone should be thankful that it exists, proving that TV can be weird and fun. The fact that the entire season ends with the unpredictable scene of Josh and Mike dancing in mecha robot suits should be enough to cement this as a show of value. Even at its worst, it's doing more than the average sitcom on a good day - and that goes a long way towards proving the potential of what TV can be. The fact that it can find new ways to show the ridiculousness of romance in 2016 is something that shouldn't be taken for granted.


Rating: 4 out of 5

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