Romance Isn't Dead: An Overview of ABC Hulu's "Selfie"

In an earlier post I mentioned that little things are rebuilding my faith in Christmas, and I am pleased to update about something small that contributed to that belief last week…

“Selfie” was picked up by Hulu.

“Selfie” is a romantic comedy revolving around Eliza Dooley, the top sales rep of KinderKare Pharmaceuticals obsessed with social media. Having 300k “friends” on various social sites does not make up for the fact that she has no real friends. Recognizing her need for change during a vomit-inducing epiphany, Eliza enlists the help of Henry Higgs (KinderKare’s marketing guru) to rebrand her to be more considerate in her life while coaxing Henry to be less stuffy in his.

With Karen Gillan (Amy from “Doctor Who”) in the lead role of Eliza and John Cho (Sulu from the Star Trek reboot) co-starring as Henry, “Selfie” had geek credibility, but the Pygmalion-based show did not start off well on the ABC television network. Despite the show being anti-selfie, some viewers did not even give it a chance because of the polarizing title. Worse, the pilot was terrible. It had nowhere to go but up.

Yet with everything going against it, “Selfie” somehow became a charming, fun show.

One salvageable scene from the pilot (Eliza and Henry in a nighttime shower discovering how much they truly need each other) was just enough to give us hope. Rebranding the show around Eliza’s crazy antics and Henry’s exaggerated sense of decorum was a much-needed boost, and add to that a spiffy title sequence and a funny supporting cast (especially the likeable David Harewood as kooky CEO Sam Saperstein), it was fun to watch this struggling comedy improve with each following episode!

Even with its noticeable potential, ABC quietly cancelled “Selfie” early last month. Fans were devastated, but the viewing numbers were too low to justify keeping the show on the airwaves. Yet romantic comedies always have happy endings, and “Selfie” thankfully is no exception when creator Emily Kapnek tweeted that Hulu would air the remaining episodes on its site!

It’s not the ideal situation, but now “Selfie” has a proper send-off, one we can all follow at our leisure and not at a time forced on us by a network! We can continue watching Eliza’s humorous attempts at being social (“How are you-oo?) with Henry’s secret desire to dance. And even if the narcissistic Eliza and the pretentious Henry don’t actually get together at the end of “Selfie’s” 13 episode run, we know they will eventually become a couple. After all, opposites attract, and when Eliza and Henry are together, the air becomes electric!

Note: the producers made a conscious decision not to say anything about it, but John Cho is the first Asian American in a leading role for a rom-com. Doesn’t exactly put to rest the stereotype of the dateless Asian American male, but it’s a start!