American TV series or program
The Ex List is an American comedy-drama television series based on the Israeli series The Mythological X created and written by Sigal Avin.[1] The Americanized version, developed by Diane Ruggiero, premiered on CBS on October 3, 2008.[2] Avin and Ruggiero acted as executive producers with Jonathan Levin, Avi Nir, and Mosh Danon. The series aired on Global in Canada[3] and on Canal Fox on Latin America. The show was short-lived due to grim ratings and reviews, and lasted less than a month, with less than half of the produced episodes airing.
Premise
After a psychic tells her she's already dated her future husband, a woman explores all her past relationships to determine who it was. According to the prediction, she will remain single for the rest of her life unless she locates him within a year.
History
All 13 episodes of The Ex List were scheduled to air on Channel 10 in Australia over the summer non-ratings period of 2008-09 at 9:30 p.m. on Mondays,[4] however after two episodes the series was pulled due to low ratings. Army Wives, the series which preceded it, was bumped back to the 9:30 p.m. slot and repeats of Law & Order: Criminal Intent began airing at 8:30 p.m. However, after these changes ratings did not improve.[5] The series was also dubbed in French and was called Bella et ses ex. The series started airing on Series Plus, June 1, 2009 in Canada, Mondays at 10 p.m. The series is also still being aired on Canal Plus Fox in Spain with the title Todos mis novios.[6] All 13 episodes were available to buy on demand at Amazon.com and iTunes for USA residents, however they have since been pulled and Amazon.com now says the series is unavailable due to their license having expired.
Production
The series was shot on location in the Ocean Beach and Coronado communities of San Diego, California, as well as along Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach, California.
On September 12, 2008, creator and executive producer/head writer Diane Ruggiero quit the series after being unable to reach an agreement with CBS over the direction of the show.[7][8] Six episodes of the show had been filmed before Ruggiero departed. Executive producer Rick Eid had taken over show runner duties to finish the 13-episode order, but the series was cancelled after only four episodes aired.[9] All 13 episodes were completed, despite cancellation of the series during production.
Critical reception
South Coast Today called the series "My Name Is Earl with a whole lot more sex, better-looking people and an emphasis on hedonism and narcissism as opposed to karma and redemption."[10] Time Out called the show's premise "dorky."[11] Entertainment Weekly was more positive, giving the show a B+ rating and saying the show "could be one of the more charming new shows of the fall."[12] The Los Angeles Times was also positive about the show, saying "just because something's almost unforgivably cute doesn't mean it can't also be very good and very funny."[13]
CBS squeezed into the worst top 10 with The Ex List. “It had one of the least appealing main characters of any recent network show I can remember,” said John Crook of Tribune Media Services.[14]
Ratings
The series premiere attracted 6.85 million viewers and posted a 2.0 in the 18–49 demographic, ranking first in both viewers and the demo for its time slot. Ratings steadily declined, and on October 31, CBS replaced the series with a rerun of NCIS, which topped the highest-rated episode of The Ex List by 65%.[15] The network subsequently canceled the series.[16]
