You're the Worst

You're the Worst
Genre	Comedy Romantic comedy Comedy-drama
Created by	Stephen Falk
Starring	Chris Geere Aya Cash Desmin Borges Kether Donohue
Opening theme	"7:30 AM" by Slothrust
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	23 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Stephen Falk
Running time	21–26 minutes
Production company(s)	Hooptie Entertainment FX Productions
Release
Original network	FX (2014) FXX (2015–present)
Picture format	1080i (16:9)
Original release	July 17, 2014 (2014-07-17) – present
External links
Official website

You're the Worst is an American single-camera comedy-drama series created by Stephen Falk, originally for FX, and currently FXX. It is centered on Jimmy, a self-involved writer, and Gretchen, a self-destructive Los Angeles PR executive. These two toxic personalities attempt a relationship.^[1] The series premiered on July 17, 2014.^[2]

On September 30, 2014, FX renewed the show for a thirteen-episode second season which premiered September 9, 2015 on its sister channel, FXX.^[3] The second season focused on clinical depression and its effect on modern relationships. On December 2, 2015, the show was renewed for a third season.^[4]

Plot

Jimmy and Gretchen meet at the wedding of Vernon and Becca Barbara. Jimmy, whom Becca turned down when he proposed two years earlier, is convinced Becca only invited him to rub the marriage to Vernon in his face. He nevertheless showed up, determined to ruin Becca's day as payback. Gretchen came as the guest of Becca's sister, Lindsay, who is Gretchen's best friend and enabler of her sex, drugs and rock-and-roll lifestyle. Gretchen is the publicist for a rap trio and lives in a chaotic apartment, while Jimmy can support himself in upscale Silver Lake and drive a BMW, despite having published a novel, written during his post-breakup depression, that has sold little and been remaindered at the local bookstore. He supports himself by writing for glossy magazines, in addition to the tiny royalty checks that occasionally arrive in his mailbox.

He and Gretchen meet as Jimmy is being thrown out of the wedding reception after whispering something offensive to Becca, while Gretchen has decided to run off with one of the bride's gifts, a blender. Claiming to have no interest in a relationship, the two hook up and over the next few weeks, despite setting out to just "hang out and have fun" without obligation, they find themselves coming closer together.

In a parallel story, Lindsay is married to Paul, her affluent, conventional husband. Paul is a decent but plain man with somewhat nerdy tastes who does not need to work for a living, instead indulging in his hobbies of astronomy, beer brewing and cycling. The loveless marriage was mainly an attempt by Lindsay to outdo her older sister Becca by getting married first and having more material goods. The marriage falls apart when Lindsay returns to taking drugs and drinking, and cheats with another man. For her part, Becca is no happier with her husband Vernon, an immature man who is only interested in hanging out with friends in his man cave, drinking and watching sports and videos.

Cast and characters

Main

• Chris Geere as Jimmy Shive-Overly, a selfish and insensitive British writer living in Los Angeles.^[1] Jimmy excuses his insensitive behavior as merely "telling it like it is".
• Aya Cash as Gretchen Cutler, a cynical and self-destructive music PR executive with clinical depression she mostly keeps hidden.^[1]
• Desmin Borges as Edgar Quintero, an Iraq War veteran suffering from PTSD and Jimmy's best friend and roommate.^[1]
• Kether Donohue as Lindsay Jillian, Gretchen's "loose" best friend who "sold out" by marrying a nerdy man for his money.^[1]

Recurring

• Janet Varney as Becca Barbara, Lindsay's sister and Jimmy's ex-girlfriend.
• Todd Robert Anderson as Vernon Barbara, Lindsay's brother-in-law and Becca's immature husband. Vernon is an orthopedic surgeon who "performs hip replacements for old ladies".
• Allan McLeod as Paul Jillian, Lindsay's independently wealthy husband. Officially Paul works for a bank as "Executive Vice President of Wealth Management", but he seems to have no duties to take up his time.
• Shane Francis Smith as Killian Mounce, Jimmy and Edgar's pre-teen neighbor. By the end of season 2 Killian's parents have split up and he hangs out at Jimmy's house.
• Brandon Mychal Smith as Sam Dresden, Gretchen's main client. Sam leads a rap trio and projects a "street" image, but his tastes run to Craft Movement furniture and fittings.
• Stephen Schneider as Ty Wyland, a movie director who was Gretchen's lover before she met Jimmy, and who occasionally attempts to re-insert himself in her life, to Jimmy's dismay.
• Giovonnie Samuels as Brianna, Gretchen's assistant at the PR agency in season 1.
• Darrell Britt-Gibson as Shitstain, a member of Sam's rap trio and his friend.
• Allen Maldonado as Honeynutz, another friend of Sam and a member of his rap trio.
• Mageina Tovah as Amy Cadingle, Paul's girlfriend after he leaves Lindsay.
• Collette Wolfe as Dorothy Durwood, Edgar's new love in season 2, whom he meets while working with an improv comedy troupe as part of his therapy for PTSD.
• Tessa Ferrer as Nina Keune, former champion skier and owner of Jimmy's favorite bar, who takes an interest in Jimmy.
• Colin Campbell as "Barfly", often seen drinking when the action takes place in a bar.

Production

Production on the pilot for You're the Worst, written by Stephen Falk, was first announced on July 17, 2013.^[5] It was announced that casting was completed on September 19, 2013.^[1] The network announced that it had ordered the pilot to series on January 24, 2014, ordering an additional nine episodes for the first season.^[6]

Episodes

Critical reception

Season 1

You're the Worst received a Metacritic score of 65 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews" as well as number fourteen out of the critics' favorite TV shows of the year (2014).^[7][8] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 79% approval rating with an average rating of 7.3/10 based on 29 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "You're the Worst uses clever writing – and its stars' palpable chemistry – to balance comedic elements against its realistically pessimistic tone."^[9] The AV Club listed You're the Worst as one of the ten best shows of the year.^[10] FXX president John Landgraf stated at the TCA Winter Press Tour that he's "prepared to stick with it for the long haul provided it demonstrates solid creative growth."^[11] Vanity Fair called the show, "The perfect love story of our time,"^[12] and the San Francisco Chronicle called it "the best new sitcom of 2014."

Some critics were concerned about how the show could go after the pilot episode, but the rest of the season also received critical acclaim, with some even calling it the best comedy of the year.^[13]

Season 2

The second season of You're the Worst received a Metacritic score of 82 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[14] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating, based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Expertly balancing character growth against edgy humor, season two of You're the Worst elevates the show's excellent writing and talented cast to a new level."^[15]

Accolades

For the 5th Critics' Choice Television Awards, it was nominated for Best Comedy Series.^[16] For the 6th Critics' Choice Television Awards, it was nominated for Best Comedy Series, Aya Cash was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy Series and Kether Donohue was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.^[17]

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: You're the Worst

• Official website
• You're the Worst at the Internet Movie Database