A Good Find: Man Seeking Woman

I was not sure what to expect after all the failing romantic comedies (and deservedly so) on television this season, but FX's Man Seeking Woman was a very strange yet pleasant surprise.  Talk about bad dates!  Nothing can prepare you for the main characters view of his surrounding plight.  While somewhat extreme it always contains a kernel (yes, at times quite small) of truth.  Have you ever had a first date similar to the one pictured above?  No need to answer.

Here is FX's summary of the story:

A sweet and surreal look at the life-and-death stakes of dating, Man Seeking Woman follows naïve twenty-something “Josh Greenberg” (Jay Baruchel, How to Train Your Dragon) on his unrelenting quest for love. Josh soldiers through one-night stands, painful break-ups, a blind date with a troll, time travel, sex aliens, many deaths and a Japanese penis monster named “Tanaka” on his fantastical journey to find love. 

Starring alongside Baruchel are Eric Andre (The Eric Andre Show) as “Mike,” Josh’s confident and daring best friend; Britt Lower (Unforgettable) as “Liz,” Josh’s intimidating older sister; and Maya Erskine (Betas) as “Maggie,” the ex-girlfriend Josh can never quite forget.

The 10-episode run is based on Simon Rich's (son of former NYT's Frank Rich) love stories in The Last Girlfriend on Earth.  Simon's book is said to be somewhat autobiographical, though I hope he did a little better in real life.  Simon also said other story tellers, such as Matt Groening's Life in Hell, also inspired him.  You can see him discussing his book in this video.  We have not seen the book's time traveler or caveman yet in the first two episodes, but I expect they will fit right in.  

Asked about the show's craziness in an interview with Hitfix, Simon Rich said,

My hope is that if we do our jobs right it will feel seamless and the madness won't feel digressive. And I think there are a lot of shows that are able to employ supernatural elements while remaining emotionally grounded. The biggest ones that I can think of are "South Park" and "The Simpsons," which are two of my all-time favorite shows. And I know those shows are animated, which is a big difference.

The two names shows above are hard acts to follow, but this new series is clearly on the right track.  All I can say is see the comedy for yourself.  The series only started two weeks ago, so you should have no trouble catching up.  You might get a laugh and even see some of yourself in the story.  Hopefully, you are not identifying with the troll.