CW President Mark Pedowitz is crazy for ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’

There is no bigger fan of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” than CW President Mark Pedowitz, but even he can’t spin the show’s underwhelming ratings.

“I wish I had more optimistic statistics. I don’t,” Pedowitz said to a room of assembled journalists on Sunday for the CW’s executive session at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena. “We believe there’s a place on our schedule for a show like this. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time making excuses. We wish people had found it, but we have the goods with this show.”

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is a musical-comedy-drama hybrid that follows a woman who is still unhealthily fixated on her ex-boyfriend as she struggles to build her life in light of her burgeoning mental illness. The series stars Rachel Bloom, who garnered a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

But Pedowitz is resolute about the show’s potential for a second season, saying that the CW is known for defying the odds and that “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” has the potential to do the same.

“It may be one of those things that requires time, maybe another season, to let the ‘Netflix effect’ set in,” Pedowitz said.

The network president was similarly optimistic about the chances of sophomore series “iZombie” being renewed for a third season, saying, “They’re doing a great job with what they’re doing. I’m also thrilled they have a basset hound in it. I think it has a strong shot of making a third season.”

Yet Pedowitz was not as confident about the future of a female-led superhero series on the network, telling the room that there were no plans for such a project — although he qualified his answer by saying that at this point last year, new CW marquee series “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” didn’t yet exist.

Pedowitz also addressed the network’s new Friday lineup made up of “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Originals,” both from CW super-showrunner Julie Plec, explaining that moving the shows to Friday night is not exile, but a move to strengthen that night’s schedule.

He also teased a crossover for the shows, saying, “You will see a crossover this year, though not the size of ‘Flash’ and ‘Arrow.’ If they don’t make sense story-wise, don’t do them. The audience can tell.”

libby.hill@latimes.com

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