In Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a kiss on the cheek is a monumental moment.
IN AN INTERVIEW with the Daily Beast, Golden Globe winner Rachel Bloom expounded on why they cast an Asian/American romantic lead in her groundbreaking television show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

 In the interview, writer Samantha Allen asked:

There’s a huge conversation about diversity and feminism around your show, especially with Josh being Filipino-American. Watching it, though, it just feels real. How much of the conversation around diversity on television is actually about representing…

And Bloom answered before Allen could finish the question:
… things as they are? Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III) was always going to be an Asian bro. Always. The reason we picked that wasn’t because “Oh, Asians need to be represented more on TV! How do we help that?” That was a plus! We were thinking “What hasn’t been done before? What’s a new story we can tell? What’s a new type of character?” We’ve seen the Bro. We haven’t seen an Asian Bro. 
I really think diversity is simultaneous with telling new stories because, I don’t know, “White People Hanging Out in a Coffee Shop” has been done. Diversity is just more artistically interesting to me because you’re in new territory and the whole purpose of making art, in my head, is to explore topics that haven’t been explored. 
I have never seen a show that took place in Southern California and portrayed people the way it is in Southern California. The prom king in my high school was Chinese and the prom queen was Japanese. We just didn’t think about it. It was like, “Oh, yeah, George and Mika? They’re the prom king and queen.” It wasn’t until I realized that every other show is set in some nebulous town on the East Coast or Midwest where everyone is white and Protestant… How boring is that? And that’s not truth. That’s not my truth. 
I remember as a kid living in Southern California and every TV show was set in that typical East Coast high school. And I remember seeing a high school near me that looked like that and thinking, “Oh, a real high school!” That’s not feeling marginalized. Now, if I thought about the way my school looked, imagine being a Filipino person who’s like “I’m not a real American because I’m not on TV.” We’re a nation of immigrants. That’s what being an American is. 
The question] shouldn’t be ‘Well, why is Josh Asian? Why is he the love interest? Why is he a bro?’ It’s more like, ‘Why not? Why hasn’t it been? Why did we wait so long?’ Finally, I’m seeing something on TV that mimics what I’ve seen in real life, like, legitimately.”
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The good news – For now, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” scored a season-high 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which would definitely help its case as a result of the "bump" it received when Bloom won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. 

That's a 25% gain in two weeks = a pretty hefty jump.

 Unfortunately, in the last two weeks the show lost that gain and it is back to 0.3 rating with a 1 share going up against the popular Bachelor and the finales of the X-Files and Superstore. That means only 920,000 people in the entire country is watching the series. That makes the show a prime candidate for cancellation.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a really good show. Great talent, likable characters, clever writing and the musical numbers are fun to watch. Even without the Josh Chan character and his Filipino/American family, we'd still be watching it. Critics love it.

CW President Mark Pedowitz said,  "We believe there is a place on our schedule today for a show like this and we're going to give it a chance to get seen. You can't beat quality like this," but his support might not be enough to withstand the dismal ratings. 

Part of the problem is that the CW is the smallest of the networks and doesn't have the budget to promote its programming. It has a few breakout hits in its history, including the Flash and Arrow in the current season.
RELATED: Why you should be watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
The title is a little off-putting but if you watch the show, that little bit of mental illness is what drives the plot and in the show's context, it is what drives the show.

There are only a few shows left of the series. A second season is up in the air.

We're looking forward to the finale in mid-April, which will feature Broadway star Lea Salonga. How fun can that get?

Get your friends and family to start watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to save it from becoming another footnote in television history ... or, we'll all be saying, "Remember that TV show with the Filipino/American leading man ...?"

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend airs Monday nights, 8 p.m. on the CW network.
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For more news about Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.