Entertainment

'Man Seeking Woman' Needs To Return & Tackle More

The second season of Man Seeking Woman continued the promise its first season made: to look at the weird things people do when looking for love and make them even weirder. Settling for a partner in Man Seeking Woman doesn't mean dating someone you're not interested in, it means dating a car — specifically, a 1998 Saturn. Characters have affairs with Santa Claus and that person you have a crush on isn't just dating someone better, she's literally dating Jesus Christ. A large part of Season 1 dealt with the fallout of a breakup, while most of the latter half of Season 2 dealt with the experience of having unrequited feelings towards someone. Now there needs to be a Man Seeking Woman Season 3, so the series can confront even more aspects of dating in the hilarious way viewers have come to expect from the FXX series. Update: On April 12, FXX announced in a press release that Man Seeking Woman has been renewed for a 10-episode third season, which will premiere in "early 2017."

Unfortunately, Man Seeking Woman has yet to be renewed for a third season, but it is somewhat of a tentpole series for the burgeoning FXX network alongside fellow romantic comedy-with-a-twist You're The Worst. Though Season 2 ratings are down from the first season, there's not too much of a gap. According to Headline Planet, Season 2 premiered to 280,000 viewers and a .17 rating, while ShowBuzzDaily reported that the most recent March 2 episode had 154,000 viewers and a .10 rating. Those may seem like low numbers, but TVSeriesFinale listed the first season's average ratings as 190,000 viewers and a .12., and, obviously, the series was renewed for a second season. With those numbers in mind, it is definitely possible — though not guaranteed — that Man Seeking Woman will receive another season. If it is renewed, you could expect Season 3 to premiere sometime in January of 2017, as the past two seasons have each debuted in the first month of the years.

One thing we can count on is that if Man Seeking Woman returns next year, it will have no shortage of material. Here are a few common dating situations that the series hasn't covered yet, but are definitely due for its signature absurd treatment.

Life In An Established Relationship

While Man Seeking Woman has dedicated time in the past to seeing the effects of a serious, long-term relationship on its characters, the effects are often short-lived and told in broad strokes. There are so many intricacies and complexities to maintaining and enjoying a long-term relationship, and it would be very interesting to see the series' distinct sense of humor applied to the smaller aspects of being in a relationship for a long time, like dealing with each other's friends.

Dating Somewhere Other Than A City

While some aspects of dating are universal, there's no denying that there's something different about dating in your twenties when you live outside of a city. Removed from the typical nightlife of clubs, where does someone go to find a partner? Josh's dating mishaps could take on a whole new level of pathetic while also injecting some life into the series if it were to take the action from busy city streets to quiet suburban lanes.

Non-Monogamous Relationships

Everyone in Man Seeking Woman, for the most part, engages in traditionally monogamous relationships. While many people can relate to the show's portrayal of these relationships, Man Seeking Woman could likely take its sharp satire to non-monogamous relationships to great success. There are some things unique to these relationships that Man Seeking Woman could tackle while still retaining its surreality, as well as the honesty and depth that helps the show resonate so strongly.

The cast and crew behind Man Seeking Woman have crafted one of the most unique depictions of dating on television, or anywhere else. It's likely that should the series return for a third season, showrunner Simon Rich and company will continue to subvert expectations, and take Josh, Mike, and Liz to new and unpredictable places in their ongoing quest for love, sex, and companionship.

Images: Michael Gibson/FX, Giphy (3)