Selfie (TV series)

Selfie
Genre Sitcom
Created by Emily Kapnek
Starring
Composer(s) Jared Faber
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 21–22 minutes
Production company(s) Piece of Pie Productions
Warner Bros. Television
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network ABC (Episode 1–7)
Hulu (Episode 8–13)
Picture format 720p (16:9 HDTV)
Original release September 30 (2014-09-30) – December 30, 2014 (2014-12-30)
External links
abc.go.com/shows/selfie

Selfie is an American romantic comedy series starring Karen Gillan and John Cho. The program, which was created and executive produced by Emily Kapnek for Warner Bros. Television, debuted on ABC during the 2014–15 television season.[1][2] The series premiered on September 30, 2014.[3] The pilot was made available early through video on demand and online streaming media on August 20, 2014.[4]

The show was canceled by ABC on November 7, 2014.[5] On November 13, ABC announced that they would pull the remaining episodes of Selfie and replace them with encore episodes of Shark Tank and Thanksgiving/Christmas specials.[6]

On November 25, 2014, the first of the remaining episodes was released online on Hulu, WatchABC.com, and other video on demand platforms. The rest followed on a weekly basis, with the last episode airing on December 30, 2014.[7][8]

Premise

The series follows the life of Eliza Dooley, a woman obsessed with the idea of achieving fame through the use of social media platforms, including Instagram, where she regularly posts selfies. She begins to worry that "friending" people online is not a substitute for real friendship, and she seeks help from Henry Higgs, a marketing image guru.

The character names are a reference to Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins, the main characters of the 1912 George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion, further popularized by the 1956 musical My Fair Lady. In the play and musical, Henry is tasked with improving Eliza's social status, and ends up falling in love with his own creation. The Shaw play is in turn inspired by the story of Pygmalion in Greek mythology, who was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had created. The series featured modern day music and modern day social problems.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
ABC
1"Pilot"Julie Anne RobinsonEmily KapnekSeptember 30, 2014 (2014-09-30)2760815.31[9]

Eliza Dooley, a narcissistic pharmaceutical sales representative who finds herself attracted to social media, experiences travel sickness while aboard a business plane after finding out that the man she slept with often was married. Also aboard the plane is Henry Higgs, a successful marketing rep, who expresses his extreme dislike for social media and those who use it constantly. After being the subject of humiliation when her sickness bags explode over her, she decides to seek help from Henry Higgs after discovering that her social media popularity does not translate into off-line friendships. He begins by getting Eliza to ask people how they are, instead of just talking about how she is, and to make pleasant conversation. When Henry invites Eliza to his boss' daughter's wedding, she requests the help of her nerdy neighbor, Bryn, to find something suitable to wear. However, after the wedding, where Eliza uses her phone to play games, the two of them argue. Eliza calls Henry an anti-social, judgmental, critical workaholic, and Henry calls Eliza a lost cause. Eliza share a conversation with receptionist Charmonique about something other than herself, and Charmonique compliments her, stating that whatever she was doing with Henry was working. Afterwards, Eliza finds Henry at his house, and apologizes for her earlier remarks and actions, and the two become friends again.

2"Un-Tag My Heart"Phil TraillAmelie GilletteOctober 7, 2014 (2014-10-07)4X68533.77[10]

Eliza explains the use of social media to Henry. After finding her flirting with Freddy, another employee, Henry forces Eliza to think about how she is perceived in the office. After observing the key points of her relationship with Freddy, she comes to realize that she is no more than a booty call for him. Taking advice from one another, Eliza attempts to obtain a hobby other than casual sex, while Henry creates a Facebook account. Henry finds that social media is addictive, and Eliza needs help getting Freddy to think about her more seriously. Eliza decides to take on a club, so she decides to join in on her book club, though she is quickly found out as not having read the book. Meanwhile, after being warned not to by Eliza, Henry starts to look in on his ex-girlfriends on Facebook. He then visits one at her house to apologize for tagging himself in her photo as her baby by accident, due to Henry having no Facebook experience. After deciding that having sex with Freddy would give her the strength to not have sex with Freddy again, Eliza gets hit by a car and falls down a manhole, before getting admitted to a hospital. Henry checks in on Eliza, but ends up accidentally tagging himself in one of her photos as a bedpan. Henry promptly deletes his account. Freddy also visits Eliza, but instead of it being a booty call, Freddy simply wants to make sure that if she needs a lift or help, he's there for her.

3"A Little Yelp from My Friends"Alex HardcastleJessica O'Toole & Amy RardinOctober 14, 2014 (2014-10-14)4X68523.44[11]

Henry is continuing to try to get Eliza to talk to people instead of using her phone continuously, but his project on her still isn't working. Sam Saperstein orders his employees to work on their interpersonal connectivity, initially by getting them to rate their connection on a scale up to ten with the employee sitting next to them. All goes well, up until Joan, a fellow employee who still has a grudge against her, gives Eliza a zero, though she believes that Eliza's bound to not notice since she's always staring at her phone. This is due to after having found herself extremely hungry, Eliza had eaten Joan's gazpacho. This leads Henry and Eliza to the realization that their most valuable office relationship is with each other, and Henry gives Eliza the job of befriending Joan. Eliza tries be friends with Joan by stalking her Yelp account with the help of Charmonique, and attends one of the dance classes that she attends. Eliza is eventually caught out by Joan about her Yelp-stalking, and admits that she was just trying to get to know her. Meanwhile, Larry attempts to get closer Henry after his wife leaves him, which Henry finds awkwardly frustrating, given that he's not an overly social person. Henry convinces Larry that his penchant for flash mobs won't get his wife back, and that a simpler gesture would work. Larry buys flowers and his wife appreciates this. However, Raj from KinderKare's HR department commences with the flash mob anyway, to Larry's horror.

4"Nugget of Wisdom"Alex HardcastleEmily KapnekOctober 21, 2014 (2014-10-21)4X68543.82[12]
Henry challenges Eliza to help others during the weekend, so she offers to babysit Charmonique's young son, Kevin, while Charmonique is at her high school reunion, in an attempt to reconnect with Mitchell McMoney (Isaiah Mustafa), her high school sweetheart. However, Mitchell has become a priest and spends the evening berating Charmonique for having a child out of wedlock. Charmonique realizes that she is a great mother to Kevin, tells Mitchell that she regrets nothing about her life choices, and that she loves herself. Charmonique ends up dancing by herself at the reunion, but does so happily. While babysitting Kevin, Eliza tries to one up Fit Brit (Amber Rose), a fellow socialite. Henry tries to come up with a way to improve a chewable vitamin that put KinderKare Pharmaceuticals on the map.
5"Even Hell Has Two Bars"Eric AppelBrian RubensteinNovember 4, 2014 (2014-11-04)4X68563.67[13]

Sam Saperstein invites Eliza and Henry to spend the weekend at his Santa Barbara estate. Henry uses the opportunity to aim for a promotion. Eliza tries to loosen up the other guests, which only foils Henry's attempts to prove himself. Henry gets the promotion though, and the two reconcile, with Henry admitting to have grown accustomed to her face.

Note: Despite airing directly before the episode "Never Block Cookies", the two episodes are chronologically switched. Terrence mentions his promotion to customer service at the start of "Even Hell Has Two Bars" but is promoted towards the end of "Never Block Cookies".[14]
6"Never Block Cookies"Eric AppelBrian RubensteinNovember 4, 2014 (2014-11-04)4X68553.23[13]
Seeing how stressed Henry is, Eliza and Charmonique try to liven up his love life. In the process of getting Henry ready for (unbeknownst to him) a night out with dozens of potential dates, Eliza and Henry share a possible spark of romance, which they both quickly ignore. Upon realizing what Eliza and Charmonique have planned, Henry storms out, but runs into Julia, a woman who is as stiff and socially awkward as he is. They leave together. Terrance tries to seek the approval of his father-in-law Sam Saperstein. Upon realizing that Terrence does not become angry, (Sam even tells Terrence that Terrence is not good enough to be married to Sam's daughter), Sam decides that such a personality is well suited for customer service, and promotes him.
7"Here's This Guy"Christine GernonBrian ChamberlayneNovember 11, 2014 (2014-11-11)4X68573.25[15]
Henry begins a courtship with Julia, a pediatric urologist, eliciting jealously from Eliza over the decreasing time they share together. After Eliza posts immature comments about Julia on a review site for doctors, Henry calls off his sessions with Eliza, who is preparing to introduce a speaker at a pharmaceutical conference. Eliza apologizes to Julia and bakes her a cake in the shape of the human urinary tract, upon which the two come to an understanding, if not a friendship. After making the introduction, Eliza finds that Henry did attend after all, and cries with happiness when he agrees to continue their lessons.
Hulu
8"Traumatic Party Stress Disorder"Joe NussbaumSierra Teller OrnelasNovember 25, 2014 (2014-11-25)4X6858N/A
For Henry's fortieth birthday, Eliza gets him tickets to see his favorite band, Blues Traveler. The concert creates friction between him and his girlfriend Julia, who is turned off by Henry's outgoing side being brought out by the music. Eliza also throws Henry a surprise birthday party, inviting the KinderKare staff while he is away at the concert, but upon arrival he is upset, with Julia having left. While Henry regrets yelling at Eliza and his coworkers, Julia returns later and admits her own discomfort. She admits that she can be cold at times, but that she is dedicated to their relationship, and upon kissing Henry, offers to spend the night. The next day, Henry admits to Eliza that he had a very good birthday.
9"Follow Through"Claire ScanlonEric LedginDecember 2, 2014 (2014-12-02)4X6859N/A
Henry convinces Eliza to follow through on her good ideas (specifically about a way to boost diaper cream sales). Upon getting asked to meet his parents, Eliza realizes that her relationship with Freddy is getting serious, which freaks her out. Meanwhile, after turning down the advances of Wren, one of Bryn's friends, Henry tries to convince Bryn to make Sam's favorite sandwich, which was being withheld. At dinner with Freddy's parents, Eliza realizes that her relationship with Freddy isn't really love and breaks up with him. Back in her apartment's elevator, she thinks about her friendship with Henry, the memories of her and Henry and how Henry is her only true ally who would always be there for her. When the elevator door opens, Henry is there (having come to apologize to Wren during a book club meeting). Eliza seductively, on the other side of the elevator, "reveals herself" in front of Henry, following through on her idea that the two of them could be together. Henry freaks out and leaves, but Eliza decides not to get discouraged, and vows to continue to follow through.
10"Imperfect Harmony"Elliot HegartySarah TapscottDecember 9, 2014 (2014-12-09)4X6860N/A
Eliza attempts to find out Henry's feelings towards her, and in one confrontation, she admits to have fallen in love with him. Henry is in denial of his own obvious feelings towards Eliza, while also doubting that Eliza has any real feelings towards him. Henry decides that the risk is worth it to pursue a relationship with Eliza, but backs off after talking to a drunk Freddy at an office party. Henry wonders if a fear of commitment is why Eliza dumped Freddy and is pursuing him instead. Eliza is insulted by this theory, and tells Henry that she can see through his own relationship with Julia and how he is not in love with her. Julia, who was going to surprise Henry at the party, overhears and exits. Henry claims to be following after her, causing Eliza to revert to her party girl mentality, drinking heavily and ending up in bed with Freddy again. Henry, meanwhile, has not gone after Julia and begins to regret his choice of not being with Eliza.
11"Perestroika"Claire ScanlonJessica O'Toole & Amy RardinDecember 16, 2014 (2014-12-16)4X6861N/A
Tension begins to brew in the workplace between the two after Henry cannot reciprocate his feelings towards Eliza. A dire financial situation befalls her, due to her reckless spending, which forces her to be evicted from her apartment. With no one to turn to, she seeks out Henry's help on her finances to control her spending, which in turn reconciles their friendship between them. Eliza and Julia have an unexpected confrontation, leading Eliza to realize that Henry and Julia are no longer a couple. Meanwhile, Eliza and Freddy decide to take their relationship to a more serious stage.
12"Psyche"
"Stick in the Mud"		Danny LeinerMathew Harawitz & Brian RubensteinDecember 23, 2014 (2014-12-23)4X6862N/A
Eliza's sister, Bethany, visits. This reveals a childhood sibling rivalry once shared between them, which Eliza is unable to let go. KinderKare Pharmaceuticals holds its annual charity event, but decides to forgo the usual 10 km run for a obstacle mud run. This displeases Henry, as this event is Freddy's forte. Eliza suggests that Freddy mentor him on this event. During training, Freddy cannot help but harbor animosity towards Henry and their fighting during the actual race allows Charmonique to pull off a surprise win. An important lesson is learned through this ordeal, in which differences are overcome between Henry and Freddy as well as Eliza and Bethany.
13"I Woke Up Like This"Eric AppelAmelie Gillette & Brian ChamberlayneDecember 30, 2014 (2014-12-30)4X6863N/A
With Henry's help, Eliza confronts her old school rival, Corynn McWatters (Julianna Guill), who has been selling a book in which she claims the unpopularity, loneliness, and bullying that Corynn had in fact inflicted upon Eliza during middle school. Through this Eliza learns to accept and embrace her former, more awkward self, and to see herself as a role model given how far she has come in life. Henry has challenged himself to skateboard on a ramp after merely having pretended to be a skateboarder ever since high school. Breaking an arm in the process, he now sports a cast with "NO FEAR" written on it, and reflects upon his adventures with Eliza. Henry decides that he has the courage to eventually express his feelings to Eliza, but will wait until the right time.

Ratings

No. Title Air date Rating/share
(18–49)		 Viewers
(millions)		 DVR
(18–49)		 DVR viewers
(millions)		 Total
(18–49)		 Total viewers
(millions)
1 "Pilot" September 30, 2014 1.6/5 5.31[9] 0.3 0.78 1.9 6.09[16]
2 "Un-Tag My Heart" October 7, 2014 1.1/4 3.77[10] 0.4 0.97 1.5 4.74[17]
3 "A Little Yelp From My Friends" October 14, 2014 1.0/3 3.44[11] 0.3 0.85 1.3 4.29[18]
4 "Nugget of Wisdom" October 21, 2014 1.1/4 3.82[12] 0.3 0.84 1.4 4.65[19]
5 "Even Hell Has Two Bars" November 4, 2014 0.9/3 3.67[13] N/A N/A N/A N/A
6 "Never Block Cookies" November 4, 2014 0.9/3 3.23[13] N/A N/A N/A N/A
7 "Here's This Guy" November 11, 2014 0.9/3 3.25[15] N/A N/A N/A N/A

Broadcast

The series will premiere in Australia on streaming platform Stan in 2015.[20] The series began on TV2 in New Zealand on August 30, 2015.[21]

Awards and nominations

Selfie was nominated for the "Favorite New TV Comedy" People's Choice Award for 2014.[22]

Cancellation

Despite reasonable potential for the series,[23] Selfie had problems attracting an audience. Ratings slipped after the first episode to an undesirable 0.9, and remained stagnant through the season. As a result of this, ABC announced that Selfie would be cancelled unceremoniously on November 7, 2014.[5] On November 19, Kapnek tweeted that all remaining episodes of the series would be released online on Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ABC.com, with official confirmation coming a few days later.[24][25]

References

  1. ↑ The Futon Critic Staff (May 8, 2014). "Development Update: Thursday, May 8 - ABC Continues Series Orders with Quartet". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  2. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (May 8, 2014). "ABC Greenlights 'Secrets & Lies', 'Selfie', 'Manhattan Love Story', 'Agent Carter', 'Forever', 'How to Get Away With Murder', 'Black-ish', 'American Crime', 'Galavant' & 'The Whispers'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ Levin, Gary (May 14, 2014). "ABC courts women with fall schedule". USA Today. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  4. ↑ Selfie [@SelfieABC] (20 August 2014). "Selfie on Twitter: Waiting is so passé...watch the FULL first episode of #SelfieABC, right here on Twitter! Experience Selfie: t.co/9Fx8yks771" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 August 2014 – via Twitter.
  5. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie (November 7, 2014). "'Selfie' Cancelled By ABC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  6. ↑ Bibel, Sara (November 13, 2014). "ABC Pulls 'Selfie', Replaces With 'Shark Tank' Encores & Specials". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  7. ↑ @EmilyKapnek (November 19, 2014). "Emily Kapnek" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ "‘Selfie’ & ‘Manhattan Love Story’ Unaired Episodes Headed To Hulu – Update". Deadline. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  9. 1 2 Bibel, Sara (October 1, 2014). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'Selfie', 'Manhattan Love Story', 'The Voice', 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.', 'New Girl' & 'Forever' Adjusted Up; 'Chicago Fire' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Bibel, Sara (October 16, 2014). "Revised Tuesday, October 7 Final Ratings: 'Selfie', 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' & 'Forever' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Bibel, Sara (October 15, 2014). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'The Flash', 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.', 'The Voice' & 'The Mindy Project' Adjusted Up; 'About A Boy' & 'Chicago Fire' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  12. 1 2 Kondolojy, Amanda (October 22, 2014). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'The Voice', 'The Flash' & 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Adjusted Up; 'Marry Me' Adjusted Down + Final World Series Numbers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Kondolojy, Amanda (November 5, 2014). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'About a Boy' & 'Selfie' Adjusted Down + Final Election Coverage Ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  14. ↑ http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/selfie-even-hell-has-two-bars-never-block-cookies-211428
  15. 1 2 Bibel, Sara (November 12, 2014). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'The Voice' & 'The Mindy Project' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Tuesday Final Ratings: ‘NCIS’ Most-Viewed, ‘The Voice’ Tops Among Adults 18-49". TV Media Insights. October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Tuesday Final Ratings: ‘The Flash’ Debuts Big for CW". TV Media Insights. October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Tuesday Final Ratings: Respectable ‘Marry Me’ Debut". TV Media Insights. October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Tuesday Final Nationals: Record-Low World Series Game 1 Viewership". TV Media Insights. October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  20. ↑ Knox, David (11 August 2015). "Stan signs content deal with Warner Bros.". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  21. ↑ "Karen Gillian discusses Selfie.". September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  22. ↑ Naoreen, Nuzhat (November 4, 2014). "People’s Choice Awards 2015: Full List Of Nominees - People's Choice". PeoplesChoice. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  23. ↑ Saraiya, Sonia (November 11, 2014). "Why "Selfie's" cancellation is a massive shame: This was the most promising interracial couple on TV". Salon. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  24. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (November 24, 2014). "'Selfie' Unaired ABC Episodes Head to Hulu". Variety. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  25. ↑ The Deadline Team (November 25, 2014). "‘Selfie’ & ‘Manhattan Love Story’ Unaired Episodes Headed To Hulu – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
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