American comedy television series
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.
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]
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]
