As the 2014-15 TV season kicked off back in September, many television critics declared it “the season of romantic comedies.” Between Manhattan Love Story, A to Z, and Selfie, this fall was filled with couples and/or potential couples that tried to make us care about their relationships while also providing laughs; unfortunately, all three of these series struggled to produce solid ratings and were subsequently cancelled, as it seemed that TV viewers just weren’t believing the love stories that the shows were trying to tell us. It appeared that, rather swiftly, the “season of romantic comedies” had begun and then ended with no success to show for it.
However, that turned out not be the case with ABC’s Selfie, easily the best of the three comedies mentioned above. Even though the show, like Manhattan Love Story and A to Z, was quickly canned, Selfie was just hitting its stride when it met its untimely end, with series leads Karen Gillan and John Cho’s ever-growing chemistry getting steadily better and better with a strong supporting cast surrounding them.
Fortunately, Selfie still produced all 13 of its Season 1 episodes, which are currently airing every Tuesday on Hulu and ABC.com, allowing for viewers to continue to enjoy the journey of Eliza and Herny as the two of them grow closer and closer together. Funny enough, since its cancellation, it seems like Selfie has gotten even better, making most of the show’s fan lament its cancellation even more. Yet, in a weird way, I’m grateful that ABC “deleted” Selfie, because without that cancellation (or, more accurately, the low ratings that made the show fear cancellation, since most of the series’ episodes had been produced before the news was annoucned), I don’t think we get the great show that we’ve been enjoying these past few weeks.
The reason why Selfie has been able to take more risks and improve its already solid storytelling recently is directly because the show’s writers knew that ABC would most likely (and unfortunately) be getting rid of it. As a normal network series, one that would be required to fill 22 episodes of material, Selfie would be forced to drag out the romance between Eliza and Henry, establishing unnecessary, time-consuming roadblocks between the pair in order to prevent the two of them from expressing their feelings for each other. With higher ratings for the show or a full first season order, I’m not so sure we would be getting moments like last week’s episode ending exchange on the elevator, or yesterday’s Sia-inspired karaoke sequence that followed a distraught Eliza trying to drown out and forget her feelings for Henry after his rejection (Karen Gillan and Selfie have never been better than they were in those scenes from “Imperfect Harmony”).
With the understanding that the end was pretty much nigh, meaning that there would be no one and nothing to answer to after these 13 episodes, Selfie creator Emily Kapnek (who also created the ABC comedy Suburgatory, which lasted for three seasons on the network) has been able to utilize the explosive chemistry between Gillan and Cho and allow for the story between Eliza and Henry to unfold organically. Despite the accelerated pace that Selfie is operating at, nothing feels awkward or unnatural about the romantic direction that it has taken. In fact, by embracing the attraction between its two main characters instead of teasing it out or ignoring it, Selfie has become TV’s best romantic comedy, the show that Manhattan Love Story and A to Z aspired to be when they first premiered.
Am I still upset that I won’t get to spend anymore time with these characters after these thirteen episodes? Of course I am: I’ll miss Eliza’s interesting and entertaining view of the world, Henry’s uptight (but secretly fun-loving) personality, and pretty much everything about Sam Saperstein (David Harewood, who gets my vote for this fall’s TV MVP). However, I also want to experience the best possible story that Selfie can tell us, and thanks in part to its too-soon cancellation, the show has been able to deliver one fantastic chapter after another. I can’t wait to see how it all ends.
Photos via ABC
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I do not want it to end…
This review doesn’t make sense. The episodes of Selfie were already produced in advance of the show airing. The episodes would have been the same on ABC as they are on Hulu…
Thomas, I was under the impression that not all 13 episodes had yet been produced before the show was cancelled back in early November. By cancelling the series but letting the writers know before they finished production on all 13 episodes, ABC would have allowed the writers to produce a proper ending for Selfie (hence why we are seeing so much more between Eliza and Henry). If there’s another report saying that all 13 episodes were already completed before the show was cancelled, I will make sure to make a note of it at the beginning of my article. Thanks for reading and commenting!
I’m hoping Netflex will pick-up this show, it would be awesome. Such a refreshing laugh out loud comedy. We all know people like these two, maybe that’s why people didn’t tune in, also not enough blood and gore. A very funny show, sad to see it go!
There is no way that a weekly show was canceled at Episode 7 and then completely rewritten by Episode 10.
However, I agree with the sentiment here: this show is fantastic and “Imperfect Harmony” was seriously amazing. My wife watched John Cho’s a capella performance of “Wild World” three times. I got a little jealous.
-Arvis
Arvis, you are correct and make a good point about Selfie’s writers not having enough time to rewrite eps 8, 9, and 10. What I should have expressed more clearly in the article (I realize now that I didn’t, so I will go back to try to fix it sometime today) is that the impending fear of cancellation affected the writing for episodes 9 and 10. Episodes 12 and 13 should hopefully give us closure, as they could have been rewritten/adjusted when news of cancellation broke. Thanks for reading and commenting, and I’m glad you’re enjoying the show as much as I am!
The show is awesome. I’m not into Romantic comedy but this show is a great compromise for my wife and myself. Disappointed that its cancelling but the series so far is great.
Emily Kapnek tweeted that the show was cancelled after they wrapped the season. So they were accelerating the pace nonetheless. However, maybe there was a sense that their time was limited. I’m really enjoying watching these unaired episodes all the same!
The show cannot end like this!!!! We need another network to pick it up…the main characters chemistry is amazing, passionate and so relatable… We want more!!!!!
Awww i was lookibg forward to see what was next for these two. I liked the show. Please put it back
selfie abc will not be seen this year,so that we may bring you some partying,more violence,sex,nudity,Shower scenes pretty girls in bkinis and bathing suits and more naked ladies in the shower and excessive profanity on Televison and more family values on television.
Yeah, its true. But i still hoping someone will come out with an idea to make somethin like special movie for this one, short movie or long whatever, i really miss eliza, and henry.. he is so sweet
I wish I had never seen this show because then it wouldn’t hurt SO MUCH that it has been cancelled. Or that we’ll never get any more of Eliza’s hilarity. Or Henry’s understated hilarity. Or ever actually SEE THEM TOGETHER. I am so invested in this show if I had the money I would fund its production myself. Alas, I am broke