January 14, 2015 (2015-01-14) – March 8, 2017 (2017-03-08)
Man Seeking Woman is an American romantic comedy television series created by Simon Rich for FXX. It originally aired for 3 seasons from January 14, 2015, to March 8, 2017.[1] The series is set in Chicago, about a naïve and soft-spoken man in his 20s named Josh Greenberg (played by Jay Baruchel), who finds himself in several surrealist and awkward circumstances while trying to find love.
The series is based on Rich's short story compilation, The Last Girlfriend on Earth,[2]Jonathan Krisel, Andrew Singer, and Lorne Michaels are also executive producers, with Broadway Video, Allagash Industries and FXP (formerly FX Productions) as production companies.[3] It has received generally positive reviews from critics.
On April 4, 2017, the show was canceled after three seasons.[4]
Premise
Most episode plots are based on relatable conflicts and struggles of entering/maintaining a relationship; however, these conflicts are taken to absurd and literal extremes. The show centers on Josh Greenberg, who struggles finding love after a break-up with his long-term girlfriend Maggie. His mature and successful older sister Liz often tries to help him enter into a serious relationship, and his sex-crazed best friend Mike often tries to help him with solely having sex. Josh's efforts oftentimes lead him into surreal and awkward circumstances such as going on a date with an actual troll, physically misplacing his penis, or meeting a Japanese monster composed of human penises. Sometimes Josh is successful in finding a girlfriend; however, these relationships usually only survive for one episode.
Cast and characters
Main
Jay Baruchel as Josh Greenberg, a naïve and soft-spoken 27-year-old man working a temp job. He struggles to find love, following a break-up from a long relationship. He is sometimes used as a straight man when absurd and surreal things happen.[5]
Eric André as Mike Scaggs, Josh's laid-back best friend who has an easier time with girls than Josh. He often attempts to help Josh, however, he is more interested in helping him have sex as opposed to entering into a serious relationship.[6]
Britt Lower as Liz Greenberg, Josh's protective and caring older sister who also tries to help Josh. Her methods of helping are more rational and down-to-earth than Mike's; they are more driven to getting Josh into a serious relationship. She has a condescending view of Mike, who in turn doesn't seem to have an opinion of her.
Maya Erskine as Maggie (season 1), Josh's ex-girlfriend, who breaks up with him at the start of the series.[6]
Katie Findlay as Lucy (season 3), Josh's girlfriend and later wife.
Recurring
Robin Duke as Patti Greenberg, Josh and Liz's mother.
Mark McKinney as Tom Greenberg, Josh and Liz's step-father.
Rosa Salazar as Rosa Mendes (season 2), a co-worker of Josh's that he and Mike both fall in love with.
Production
On June 19, 2013, FXX ordered a pilot episode for Man Seeking Woman from Simon Rich, directed by Jonathan Krisel.[2] On February 6, 2014, Jay Baruchel was cast as the lead character, Josh Greenberg.[5] On March 20, Eric André, Britt Lower, and Maya Erskine were announced as the remaining principal cast members.[6] On July 2, the network announced it had picked up the series for a 10-episode series order, as well as its principal cast and production crew.[3] On October 31, Miles Fisher was cast in a recurring role.[7] The series is filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[8] On March 3, 2015, it was renewed for a 10-episode second season.[9] On April 12, 2016, FX announced it was renewed for a 10-episode third season.[10]
Josh is dumped by his girlfriend Maggie and has a difficult time moving on. His best friend Mike encourages him to find a new girlfriend. Maggie is now dating Adolf Hitler (Bill Hader). Later, Josh meets a girl, Laura (Vanessa Bayer), on a train and asks for her number.
Josh agonizes over how to ask Laura out to dinner in a text message. She later agrees to dinner, however their first date does not go well. Guest starring Michael Hogan as Bradley.
Mike takes Josh out to a club hoping to hook-up, however Josh is insecure and unsure of how to pick-up women. Guest starring Sarah Silverman as Josh's right hand (voice), Eddie Pepitone as Josh's left hand (voice), and Tim Heidecker as a bartender.
Josh's sister Liz invites him over for dinner, setting him up for a blind date with a woman named Maude (Maria Thayer). Josh is pressured by his family to settle down with Maude who he just met. Maude is obsessive over Josh, but he does not feel the same way and goes to extreme lengths to avoid her.
When Cupid (Jorma Taccone) decides to turn his life around he decides to set up Josh with a "super hot chick" named Whitney (Minka Kelly). Things work well at first but Josh's insecurities take over and he becomes paranoid and jealous of other men she comes in contact with, including Whitney's friend Tanaka (Fred Armisen).
Josh enters into a happy relationship with Kayla (Anna Konkle), which is put in jeopardy when Maggie comes back in the picture. Guest starring Marc Evan Jackson as a judge and Jon Daly as Daniel Schultz.
Another female equivalent of the show's premise, in which Liz carries out an affair with Santa Claus (Peter Giles). Guest starring Robin Givens as Vickie Clause.
Josh and Lucy get married, however, their parents conspire to transform their unique wedding into a more traditional one.
Reception
Man Seeking Woman has been met with positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season of the show a rating of 82%, based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Amusingly surrealistic and enjoyably odd, Man Seeking Woman is easy to fall for, taking a ridiculously funny approach to a common theme."[41] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[42]
The second season received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a rating of 100% based on 8 reviews with an average rating of 8/10.[43]
The third season also received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a rating of 100% based on 13 reviews with an average rating of 8.8/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Man Seeking Woman explores new avenues of storytelling in season 3, while maintaining its excellent absurdist humor and imaginative dealings with relatable relationship issues."[44] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 89 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[45]
