(Don’t worry, the baby’s fine.). You and Rachel Bloom were already friends. Skylar Astin, who has previously been seen in Pitch Perfect, 21 & Over and Halt And Catch Fire, has Santino Fontana’s approval for taking … > At first, he was the perfect yet unattainable romantic partner. Bloom explained at the time that the intention was to make a statement on how the perception of those around us can change depending on the circumstances. I just kind of played it the way it was written. Click the button below to start this article in quick view. Did she reach out to you personally? TVLINE | And you had actually worked with Santino on stage before, right? TVLINE | Greg is still going to meetings for his alcoholism, too. Then, when Rebecca was disillusioned by him, Josh turned into a complete villain. For its final season, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has brought back Rebecca’s former love Greg — but now he’s played by Pitch Perfect star Skylar Astin, instead of original cast member Santino Fontana. Improbably, against all odds, it kind of works. The BlacklistSeason 7 Episode 17 'Brothers' Sneak Peek Ahead of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's final season, many fans have been wondering one thing: Will Greg … He’s great. So are they really the best thing for each other? During the first season, the public follows Rebecca's audacious plans to reconquer her ex and also getting involved with other people along the way. I think there’s going to come a point in the series where that is going to have to be forgiven. We were prepared to settle for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s new Greg, but oh my god we think we like him. Meet the new Greg… not exactly the same as the old Greg. The Haves and the Have Nots' Series Finale, Peaky Blinders to End With Season 6 on Netflix, 'Continue in Another Form', Virgin River's Lauren Hammersley Knows 'Everyone' Hates Charmaine…, Batwoman Boss, Javicia Leslie Weigh In on Kate's Vanishing Act and…. Santino Fontana played Greg in the first two seasons of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, before Skylar Astin took over the role. Not simply shying away from the recasting situation or making a passing joke of it as comedies like Roseanne have done, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend turned Greg’s recasting into a key plot point. The thing that I love about the show is that it’s so ambitious and gets to do things that really no other shows have done before. I was just like, “Yeah, that sounds great.” I love the show, and I knew that it was an ambitious way to enter the show, but I really trusted [co-creator] Aline [Brosh McKenna] and Rachel’s vision. In 2015, Hector and his friends in the crew were reunited with Josh Chan after his eight month stint in New York City. There are times when people ask, “Is it really fun as it seems?” And this show is, like, case in point. So what kind of obstacles are they facing now?I think there’s always been a very deep connection between Rebecca and Greg, and now that they’ve both worked through their issues, I think they’re going to have newfound respect, but then there are also going to be newfound complications. Intelligent but often lacking awareness of appropriate behavior, Rebecca … Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has never been shy about acknowledging the fact that it’s a TV show. He considers it his finest work. Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Brunch. TVLINE | We know Greg is still grappling with the fact that Rebecca slept with his dad. Even in Episode 8, when she laid the news on him and he was reeling from it, we tried to pepper in him trying to put a lid on his feelings. As a result, Greg was written out of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend near the beginning of season 2. [Laughs] But I was never encouraged to watch anything, or study anything. Rather than punching a wall, he’s just going to say, “I see you, I understand you, thank you for telling me”… It’s really important for people not to hold things against other people in recovery, and that is probably to Greg’s benefit. Photo: The CW Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is so blithely untethered from reality that it kicked off with its protagonist floating into the air on a giant pretzel. Why was Greg recast? The series initially focused on the story of Rebecca Bunch (Bloom), a lawyer who moves from New York City to West Covina, CA, in order to pursue her high school sweetheart. I was doing a play, and I said yes to zero terms. Courtesy of the CW. So I get to kind of bring a fresh perspective to Greg. • Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Bunch, a lawyer, originally from Scarsdale, New York. McKenna and Bloom wanted to tell a different kind of story, and so they recast Greg with Skylar Astin, with him portraying a “reimagined Greg”. Recasting a familiar face can be extremely tricky, but Crazy Ex-Girlfriend handled it with a funny and thought-provoking storyline. (Of course, this being Crazy Ex, they didn’t hide the fact that a entirely new actor was playing Greg; Rebecca didn’t even recognize him at first.) Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Co-Creator Explains Why Rebecca Made the Right Choice ... Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Stars Talk Greg in Season 3 00:42 — Give us a cameo already! Fans have debated over which portrayal was best, though both actors, Fontana with his Broadway credentials and Astin coming off his memorable turn in the Pitch Perfect franchise, brought unique aspects to their performances. Earlier this month, it was announced that Skylar Astin is taking over the role of Greg in Season 4, and now Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 's original Greg has reacted to … Talk about one uber talented person. When we had the first table read for the episode that aired last week, with the cats, I looked to the writers and was like, “How are we getting away with this? Rebecca suffers symptoms of depression and anxiety and is prone to impulsive decisions and delusions, and tends to hallucinatewhen she is under emotional distress. Paul Welsh is an actor and writer, known for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015), Key and Peele (2012) and Textbook Adulthood (2015). Dave Nemetz / And I know that seems insane… [Laughs] Because who could really get over something like that? January 20 2019, 3:00 PM PST. Bartender Greg was the on-again, off-again beau of Rebecca (Bloom) during the show's first season. Santino Fontana (born March 21, 1982) is an American actor, singer, director, and composer, widely known for playing Greg on the television show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and for voicing Prince Hans, the primary antagonist of the 2013 Disney animated film Frozen. crazy ex-actor El actor que interpretara a Greg Serrano ha hablado del actor que ahora recoge el personaje, Skylar Astin, y de la relación que tiene con él. In his stead, the part has been recast, with Skylar Astin stepping into Serrano’s shoes. He’s in recovery for alcoholism, and seems like a much more stable romantic partner for Rebecca than last time we saw him. When that news went on to explain that Santino Fontana would be replaced with Pitch Perfect‘s Skylar Astin, we were…skeptical. Back when news broke that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend would be bringing back fan favorite character Greg Serrano, we were stoked. This is insane!”. There is a big Bruce Springsteen-style song I sing in a later episode that might give you a shade of Old Greg. Now there’s that sardonic disposition we missed so much! Why was Greg recast? Crazy Ex-Girlfriend focuses on Rebecca Bunch, a successful lawyer who lives in New York.After meeting her ex-boyfriend by chance, she decides to move to West Covina to chase love. Then we got on the phone and they kind of told me where they were at, even though they were in the infancy stages of figuring it out, they just knew they wanted to do it and make a statement and do something fun and meta. Finally, in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend season 4, Rebecca saw correctly that Josh was just a regular guy with both positive attributes and flaws. By Abdullah Al-Ghamdi May 25, 2020 Greg Serrano was recast in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend season 4 because the creators wanted to tell a different story. If you like TVLine, you'll LOVE our weekly newsletter. So are Rebecca and Greg meant to be after all? But because Crazy Ex-Girlfriend once again acknowledged realities both internal and external, it’s a hell of a lot more than that, too. For its final season, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has brought back Rebecca’s former love Greg — but now he’s played by Pitch Perfect star Skylar Astin, instead of original cast member Santino Fontana. Having only been contracted for one season, Fontana opted to leave the series and turn his attention to other career opportunities. TVLINE | This week, we saw Greg and Rebecca rekindle their relationship, but we know this isn’t the happy ending just yet. They write Greg in a specific way, and more so now, they write him in a way where Greg is in recovery. As the CW’s musical comedy “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” prepares to sign off with a series finale in 2019, ... It’s not even so much about the different actor — [Greg] is a different guy. TVLINE | You come from Broadway, where it’s not unusual to play a role that someone has played before. Rebecca uproots her life and relocates to the suburb of West Covina, California, in an attempt to win back her crush, Josh Chan, whom she befriended in a summer camp ten years prior. It is quirky, everyone’s always laughing, table reads are a riot… Rachel sings, like, five songs live at a table read after she just wrote them, and we all are just howling. [Laughs] We share an agent, and he called me. Have you talked to him about this?Oh yeah, Santino and I did a play at New York City Center. I think actually, we all preferred it to just be a new thing, with respect to seasons past. The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. Will he ever really get over that, or will that always be a sticking point between them? I’m almost like, “Why didn’t I get four years of this fun stuff?”. WandaVision Episode 1 Ending Character: Who Is Watching [SPOILER]? At the moment, though, Greg is the only one who started to work on his problems so he has the greatest chance of being what Rebecca needs. And she seems to agree: This week, she officially rekindled things with Greg, after a passionate roll on the living room floor while babysitting Darryl’s infant daughter. He’s come a long way, but will we see him dealing with that this season?Yes! Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is bringing back an original character not seen since its second season, though he'll be played by a different actor. Greg eventually returns in a recurring capacity for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend season 4, appearing in 10 episodes of the final season, but he’s played by an entirely different actor. The idea was that Rebecca had been perceiving Greg differently during their tumultuous interactions in the first two seasons. WandaVision's Dinner Scene Hints At Scarlet Witch's Upcoming Disaster, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Why Greg Was Recast In Season 4, Greg himself elaborates in a heartfelt song, Why Community Recast Walton Goggins With Pedro Pascal For The Table Read, Why Full House Recast Danny Tanner After The Pilot Episode, Sex Education Season 3 Time Jump Confirmed By Asa Butterfield, Mandalorian Fan Designs Baby Yoda’s Lightsaber Using Knob From Razor Crest, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Shows Netflix Didn’t Learn From 13 Reasons Why, WandaVision: Why The World Changes To Color At The End Of Episode 2, Who Plays The Beekeeper In WandaVision (Is It A Phase 1 Villain? He would later learn she was an ex-girlfriend of Chan's and that Greg was really into her. All rights Although it’s less literal, Rebecca’s perception of Josh similarly shifted throughout the series. Witcher Show Writer Responds to Fan Fiction Criticism, WandaVision Posters Show B&W Scarlet Witch & Vision In Color, Wheel Of Time Concept Art Reveals Live-Action Designs Of Key Locations, WandaVision: What Sitcoms Episodes 1 & 2 Are Inspired By. Yeah, Rachel and I went to college together, and I guess she had the idea to bring Greg back in this way. Battling with Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III) for Rebecca’s affections, Greg was often overlooked since Josh was the idealized ex-boyfriend that Rebecca was in pursuit of. Created by Rachel Bloom, Aline Brosh McKenna. Greg Serrano is returning for the fourth and final season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, but Santino Fontana is not reprising the role. Given the fact that Rebecca was in a better place emotionally in season 4, and given how Greg was also improved as a person, she could see him the way others always had. In Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s first two seasons, Santino Fontana portrayed Greg Serrano. Partly, as Greg himself elaborates in a heartfelt song just before he exits, it’s also a way for the character to escape his unhealthy relationship with Rebecca. He was portrayed by actor Skylar Astin in Season Four. To see how they can actually get along while she’s in treatment, and while he’s in recovery, I think that’s going to be interesting. Maybe! She told me that I was the only person she thought about. You’ll know he’s still in there. All the latest gaming news, game reviews and trailers. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV Series 2015–2019) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. In January of the same year, he wrote a 3500+ word piece on why Primo Colón is underrated. We like to say that we’re “brothers from another mother” now. ". So even though I’m coming in in the final stretch, I’m sad that it’s ending. Related: Why Community Recast Walton Goggins With Pedro Pascal For The Table Read. Fontana is also known for originating the role of Prince Topher in the 2013 revival of Cinderella on Broadway, voicing Prince Hans in Disney's hit 2013 animated film Frozen, as well as playing Greg Serrano on the television show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Created by Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend blended elements of romantic comedies with musical dramas. It was explained that Greg would leave West Covina to attend business school at Emory University. While going to the grocery store with Wilson and Greg he met the towns latest resident Rebecca Bunch. You can reach him at: alghamdisabdullah@gmail.com. The cast is as fun as you’d think. No, I did no sort of studying. They couldn’t have been more welcoming. reserved.PMC Entertainment. It’s great stuff, and would be impressive if the episode, written by Rene “Father Brah” Gube, didn’t take the reality of Greg’s recasting and make an incredible amount of hay. More: Why Full House Recast Danny Tanner After The Pilot Episode. He found out before everyone did, of course, so he texted me right away. Greg Serrano was recast in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend season 4 because the creators wanted to tell a different story. It’s one of the many ways the series remains underrated. But the fortunate thing about New Greg is that in recovery, you hear the most insane stories about things that people have done to their families and to their close friends, and you have to listen and forgive. If anything, Greg’s departure is an important move for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, because it proves it that the show can play with rom-com tropes, not … To Josh, and to the rest of Greg’s friends, nothing was out of the ordinary. With Rachel Bloom, Donna Lynne Champlin, Vincent Rodriguez III, Pete Gardner. When I found out I was doing it, I was like, “Alright, it’s time to be the Boss!”, BBC Studios Takes Full Control Of 'The End Of The F***ing World'…, NBA's Shrinking Limited-Partner Discounts Reveal a Healthy…, 'Peaky Blinders' Ending After Sixth Season, Subscription Video Surging in Indonesia, Research Shows, From Master Distillers to Modern Labels, These are the Best New…, Copyright © 2021 TVLine Media, LLC. TVLINE | How did this casting actually come about? And probably to Rebecca’s, in this instance. A one-stop shop for all things video games. One of the lowest-rated shows in television to be consistently renewed rather than cancelled, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend garnered glowing reviews and a devoted fanbase thanks to its incisive humor and the way it approached the subject of mental illness. There’s obviously a new human being playing the role, so that’s obviously a change. See full bio » More at IMDbPro » Contact Info: … Santino Fontana talks about Skylar Astin replacing him as Greg for the fourth and final season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Bloom is a writer, an actor, … We’ll get to see if their connection can conquer the reality that life can throw at you in a complicated relationship like that. ), Bridgerton's Bee Ending Secretly Hinted Benedict Is Season 2's Star, Why Batwoman Is Replacing Kate Kane Instead Of Recasting Ruby Rose, Paul Bettany Has Perfect Response to WandaVision’s Biggest Criticism, Cobra Kai: Where Stingray Is In Season 3 (& How He Could Return), Battlestar Galactica Reboot Will Have A Unique Release Strategy, All 3 Upcoming SpongeBob SquarePants Spinoffs Explained, Marvel’s Moon Knight Show Casts May Calamawy In Key Mystery Role, WandaVision: Scarlet Witch's New Home Explained (And Why She's So Scared). When he’s not arguing for the merits of his favorite wrestler, he can be found posting reviews of varying lengths on Letterboxd. Now, Greg is played by Skylar Astin. Original main cast of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, from left to right: Vella Lovell (Heather), Pete Gardner (Darryl), Santino Fontana (Greg), Rachel Bloom (Rebecca), Vincent Rodriguez III … McKenna and Bloom noted that they informed Fontana of what they were planning to do with Greg and, for his part, Fontana was effusive in his praise and support for Astin taking over the role he originated. By To find out, TVLine reached out to Astin, who told us all about what it’s like stepping into the role of Greg, the romantic “complications” Greg and Rebecca will face later this season — and the “Bruce Springsteen-style song” he’s gearing up to perform in an upcoming episode. I said earlier that the show somehow encourages you to think of Greg as Rebecca's endgame, and that's the reason I'm baffled by the idea that Rachel may not be happy by all the #teamgreg comments. Did you go back and look at how Santino had played Greg? Abdullah Al-Ghamdi joined Screen Rant in August 2019, focusing on movie and television news. [Laughs], TVLINE | What was it like joining this cast midstream during their final season? Greg has changed, though, and not just physically. On Friday night, Greg Serrano finally returns to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend —but he’s a little... different. The way Greg’s recast played out was that, when he returned, Rebecca was the only one who believed his appearance had changed.