TV Retrospective: You're the Worst - Season 1

Left to right: Chris Geere and Aya Cash

What happened to romantic comedies? They used to mean something. All of the sudden, the passionate desire for love and acceptance has become a trope with cultural relevance shifting to nihilistic end of the world numbers. Are romantic comedies dead? For the most part, their creativity has been bankrupt for years, choosing to take out loans from other genres to mortgage houses. With Stephen Falk's You're the Worst, there is a new shining light to a genre that was about to die. It is one that speaks volumes about not only the state of the genre, but what is it exactly that makes it so palpable? By trying to make romance into the least attractive thing possible.

On paper, You're the Worst should not work. In the proud tradition of FX comedies, the series is based around a group of unlikable characters that in many ways don't deserve to be together. The theme song goes "I'm going to leave you anyway" over and over while they dance around in attractive, uninspired manners. The series has no pretensions of making these people likable or worth investing in. It is at first a turnoff that makes their first sexual encounter a little weird when it gets into specifics such as "Don't spit on my vagina." The show has every intention of disgusting you with abrasive behaviors and making you believe that, yep, they're the worst people ever.

But are they really? As the first episode comes to a close, there is a redeeming final shot that makes up for some of the crassness. Taking the split screen concept, Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Cash), from separate places and in different stages of intoxication, have a romantic phone call. There is a longing for company that ends with both of the split screens almost mirroring the two talking to each other. They're the worst people for sure, but there's some charm that makes them almost compatible. They're damaged individuals with unlikely ways of thinking and while they may say something stupid here or there, they also have a heart.

It isn't the heart that immediately translates them to typical romantic comedy performers. In fact, the concept of coupling is ignored for most of the season, choosing instead to see each other as sex buddies. Even then, they are two of the most adorable sex buddies in the world. One is a failed writer (Jimmy) and the other is a publicist for a rapper (Gretchen) who probably has the best lines in the entire series. Despite being in a circle of strange individuals, the show's strengths is that it doesn't condone the behavior. Instead, it focuses on how silly it is that 30-year-olds would do drugs or try to appeal to younger audiences. Gretchen is a victim of this to a large degree, though she's also just really offensive when people bother her.

The supporting cast is excellent as well with Jimmy's war veteran friend Edgar (Desmin Borges) and Gretchen's friend in a lousy marriage to spite family named Lindsey (Kether Donohue). Together, these four make up the predominant actions over the four episodes. From their inappropriate Sunday actions of "Sunday Funday" to a deeper exploration of the couple's past in "Constant Horror and Bone-Deep Dissatisfaction," there is a realism to everything. Nothing much happens beyond the typical navel-gazing and questioning their involvement as a couple. There's even an episode based around a three way sex scene. It is all used to avoid the obvious questions on if they deserve to be together.

Despite being a very basic series, the satire is excellent because it doesn't reward its characters easy points. Edgar's status as a veteran is often overlooked by celebrities who would get more respect for portraying somebody that is like but isn't him. Lindsey is stuck trying to live a frivolous life when nobody really wants her to do that. Meanwhile, the couple are in denial and spend it wondering if they would benefit from actually getting together. While this is a familiar formula, the excellent realization is that they know that each other is a terrible person and that it would never last. The series focuses on the minimal problems that consumes its characters. 

Most of all, Falk's creation works as the most excellent type of satire. It is one rooted in romance through anti-climactic culture. Despite countless disasters, the two come back together because they have a chemistry. Also, with their friends being endearingly great sidekicks, there's only hope that they remain in the middle ground. The satire of never giving into satisfaction and instead focusing on trivial nonsense that holds them back creates something wonderful. Even when Jimmy meets Gretchen's parents, things don't go according to plan. They ruin other people's weddings and even potentially break-up based on a mishap. By the end, they acknowledge their problems and decide to stick together.

The reason it works is because the 10 episode season was designed like a romantic comedy arc. There's the meeting, the consideration, and the potential reunion. There's joy side-by-side with downfalls and the romance is secondary to the comedic situations. It is about more than getting together. It is about enjoying the company of someone who is inherently the significant other in major ways. They are adults afraid of commitment or admitting that they have romantic interests. By the end, moving in is about as close to satisfaction as they get. They will fail eventually, but for now, they will play out this train wreck together.

You're the Worst joins Enlisted and Broad City in the came of great sitcoms of 2014. In some ways, it even excels these series by not being so much about pretentious beats that were meant to be cathartic. Instead, they exist solely to prove that they don't always work. People with terrible ideas can coexist in perfect, hilarious partnerships and have no need to fall happily in love. They'll settle for something in the middle. By the end, You're the Worst satirizes a dying genre by exploiting why it's dying. There's no fun or dedication to making a valuable, realistic goal. These people will continue to fail and not commit. There isn't anything wrong with that. They're the worst, and that's what makes You're the Worst one of the most memorable, biting comedy series of the year. The only tragedy is if FX would cancel it due to low ratings alongside the less interesting Married. It was off putting at first, but once you see that it has a heart, it's easy to fall in love with Jimmy and Gretchen.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5