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''Mixology'' is an American
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
that aired during the 2013–14 television season on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. The series was co-created by
Jon Lucas Jonathan Lucas (born October 29, 1975) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his collaborative work with Scott Moore, which includes ''The Hangover'', '' 21 & Over'' and ''Bad Moms''. Life and career He is a gradu ...
and Scott Moore, who also serve as co-executive producers with
Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and '' ...
and Nina Wass for Ryan Seacrest Productions and
ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television Filmmaking#Production, production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the List of assets owned by The Walt Disney Company#Disne ...
. The series was
green-lit To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Film industry In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
by ABC for a series order pick up on May 10, 2013. On November 19, 2013, it was announced that the series would premiere on February 26, 2014. On May 8, 2014, ABC canceled ''Mixology'' after only one season.


Synopsis

The series takes place all over the course of one night at a Manhattan bar called "Mix", where five women and five men meet up for more than just a casual conversation and a drink. Each episode follows two or three characters as they meet each other for the first time and from there determine the outcome in the finale, which is the end of the night.


Cast and characters


Main

* Adam Campbell as Ron, a failed Internet entrepreneur who is
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
, ends up alone. He was born in 1983 in
Bath, England Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the ceremonial counties of England, county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 1 ...
to parents who were alcoholics. When Ron was old enough, his parents shipped him off to an expensive
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
. He became a
hustler Hustler or hustlers may also refer to: Professions * Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a: ** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks ** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs ** Male prostitute ** Pimp ** Business man, more gener ...
and moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where he became an internet entrepreneur. He, just like his parents, was the life of the party. He lost millions of dollars in investments when he used the money to buy things for himself, which is illegal. *
Adan Canto Adan Canto (born December 5, 1981) is a Mexican actor. He is known for his role as Sunspot in the 2014 superhero film '' X-Men: Days of Future Past''. On television, Canto played Paul Torres on the Fox drama series ''The Following'', and in 2015 ...
as Dominic, a dark and mysterious bartender, ends up alone. Dominic was more into superficial relationships. Ever since he was born, he was the hottest guy. He moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where he was instantly offered job by a bar he had mistakenly stumbled into. He earns more money than a normal person does, while having sex with random women. For the first time in his life he didn't get what he wanted, a successful music career. His last name is Veracruz.
Alexis Carra
as Jessica, a single mom with two kids; a son and a daughter. She was born in a bar. Ever since she was a kid, Jessica dreamed of being a fashion designer with her best friend Fab. However, she got pregnant with the lead singer in a band. At the beginning of the night, she goes to the bar to meet Ron, who promptly throws up in her purse. She later ends up friends with Bruce. In her online profile, her last name is shown to be Genser.
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as Bruce, a fast-talking man and one of Tom's best friends. He was born 18 pounds and 9 ounces. He has two older brothers, Kyle and Doug who were athletic and popular but Bruce wasn't. At school, he met Dawn who he fell in love with but Dawn just saw him as a friend. He ends up becoming friends with Jessica. He is the narrator of most of the episodes, the exceptions being "Bruce & Jessica", "Cal & Kacey", "Bruce & Fab" and "Bruce & Maya". * Blake Lee as Tom, a man recently dumped by his fiancée who hasn’t been out on the town in a decade, ends up with Maya. Tom was born in 1986 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Tom's father left him and his mother behind at the age of six; however, he didn't realize this until he was nine years old. Tom met Laura at a college party. After graduating college, they moved into a "very white" part of
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
where they got engaged; however, she dumped him. His last name is Svencen. Tom, just like Maya, hates
Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...
.
Craig Frank
as Cal, a handsome and confident man who is one of Tom's best friends, ends up with Kacey. He was born in Green Tree, Ohio and was delivered by a Mail man. His parents praised him for everything he did, even for just eating breakfast. This made him very optimistic and he quickly got married three times, to a woman who liked coffee yogurt, his dentist, and a sex addict who he all divorced soon after of them because they turned out to be different people than who Cal thought. His last name is Harris. He is the narrator of the episode "Bruce & Maya", since this one follows both the prior narrators. *
Frankie Shaw Rachel Frances Shaw (born 1981) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is best known for playing Bridgette Bird on the Showtime series ''SMILF,'' based on the 2015 short film of the same title, which she wrote, directed and starred in. Shaw ...
as Colleen "Fab", Jessica's gorgeous and stylish best friend from childhood. She is a fashion designer and ends up with a Hawaiian man. She moved to Paris to fulfill her and Jessica's dream since childhood, while Jessica raised two kids. Her whole life has been a struggle, beginning with her 32-hour birth. Her parents fought constantly during her childhood, and her move to Paris turned out to be a disaster. Hours of work amounted to little to nothing, French guys were awful, and she got fired by
Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...
as soon as she had gotten her first big break. Her last name is Dawson. She is the only main character who does not appear in every episode, she does not appear in "Tom & Maya". *
Ginger Gonzaga Ginger Gonzaga (born May 17, 1983) is an American comedian and actress. She plays Nikki Ramos, best friend of Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk in the Disney+ series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law''. Early life Gonzaga grew up in Modesto, California, w ...
as Maya, an attorney who’s as beautiful as she is brutal, ends up with Tom. Maya was born in 1984 in the front seat of her father's pick-up truck. She had her first beer one minute later. She was the third of six girls. However, her father didn't like girls, so he treated her like a boy, teaching her
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
and fighting for no reason. She earned a basketball scholarship. She dates professional athletes because she considers them "real" men, like
Keyshawn Johnson Joseph Keyshawn Johnson (born July 22, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the University of Southern Calif ...
who she dated for a couple of months. She is from
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. Because she is constantly assumed to be Hawaiian, she hates them because of their restaurants and flip flops as well as their short
alphabet An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syll ...
and their sensitivity to
Don Ho Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the album of the same name. Life and career Ho was a singer of Native ...
. She narrates the episodes "Bruce & Jessica", "Cal & Kacey" and "Bruce & Fab".
Kate Simses
as Liv, Maya’s friend who was engaged to Jim who she wants to tell him the engagement is off in favor of Ron. Liv since birth was always a happy child and didn't cry until she was seven. She has an older brother who is the exact opposite of her in every way. She was always into safe guys especially ones who wear helmets. Liv met Jim at the 59 Street Cat Adoption. She just like Jim, likes scrapbooking, cheese, and the entire
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
comedy lineup. *
Vanessa Lengies Vanessa Lengies (born July 21, 1985) is a Canadian actress, dancer and singer. She is known for starring in the drama ''American Dreams'' as Roxanne Bojarski. She appeared as Charge Nurse Kelly Epson on the TNT medical drama ''HawthoRNe'', and ha ...
as Kacey, a bubbly cocktail waitress from West Green Tree, Ohio. She starts off the series dating Dominic and later meets Cal. She was an only child delivered by a fireman right before he put out a fire. She met her ex-boyfriend Brad at a cheerleading practice. They moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and got jobs at Planet Tan in Chelsea. Their dream was to open up a discount tan place for poor people who still wanted to be tan, but Brad turned out to be
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
. Later in the night, Kacey was legitimately shocked when Dominic agreed they should take their relationship to the next level, but he didn't know what that meant.


Recurring

*
Sarah Wright Sarah Fay Wright Olsen (born September 28, 1983) is an American actress. She played Millicent Gergich in a recurring role on ''Parks and Recreation''. Career Wright began her acting career at an early age. When she was 14 years old she became ...
as Laura Johnson, Tom's self-centered ex-fiance. *
Jonathan Spencer Jonathan Robert Spencer, (born 23 December 1954) is a British social anthropologist and academic. Since 2014, he has been the Regius Professor of South Asian Language, Culture and Society at the University of Edinburgh. Early life and educa ...
as Carl, a very quiet man who works with Maya and Liv at their law firm. He gives Liv love advice when she gets engaged to Jim. *
David Clayton Rogers David Clayton Rogers (born October 21, 1977) is an American actor, writer, and film producer. He has co-starred in films such as '' Sublime'' and ''Dark Ride''. Rogers began his acting career in the made-for-television film ''Bloody Sunday'', ...
as Jim, Liv's fiance. *
Kaitlin Doubleday Kaitlin Janette Doubleday (born July 19, 1984) is an American actress. She played a number of supporting film roles in her early career, including in '' Waiting...'' (2005) and ''Accepted'' (2006). From 2015 to 2016, she starred as Rhonda Lyon in ...
as Trista, a girl attracted to Bruce's hair.


Special guests

*
Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...
as herself, makes an appearance in the episode "Fab & Jessica & Dominic" when Fab receives an opportunity to dress and make clothes for her. *
Alexi Lalas Panayotis Alexander "Alexi" Lalas ( el, Αλέξης Λάλας; born June 1, 1970) is an American retired soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer te ...
as himself, makes an appearance in the episode "Jessica & Ron" where he is part of the group of the girl Bruce was hitting on. Bruce immediately recognizes him, and idolizes him as the best-known ginger athlete of all time. *
Keyshawn Johnson Joseph Keyshawn Johnson (born July 22, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the University of Southern Calif ...
as himself, makes an appearance in the episode "Tom & Maya" where Maya dates him for two months after he becomes a client for her firm. *
Sarah Bolger Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...
as Janey, Jessica's younger sister, who appears with Jessica in "Tom & Maya" when she is waiting for her date with Ron. Jessica shows her the pictures of Ron she has on her phone. She is credited as main cast in this episode, but does not appear in any of the other episodes, having disappeared for unexplained reasons (the actress left the show), her role as Jessica's companion being taken over by Fab. She is not mentioned in any of the flashbacks of Jessica's life.


Development and production

''Mixology'', which is the first television project for film writers Lucas and Moore, was the subject of a bidding war among the networks in October 2012, resulting in ABC eventually picking up the project with a
put pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
commitment. In February 2013, Seacrest's production company became a joint partner on the project and Wass was added to the production staff.


Casting

Of the 10 cast members who were added during the project, one of the members who was first added when it was announced, Mercedes Masöhn, decided to exit the production in March 2013 to seek other projects. She was replaced by Ginger Gonzaga a week later. Also, in main publicity shots of the entire cast, Sarah Bolger is seen as an original cast member, but after exiting the production was replaced by Frankie Shaw.


Episodes


Reception


Ratings

The pilot episode "Tom & Maya" debuted on
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...
(ABC) on , to an audience of 4.98 million viewers, it would become the most watched episode of the series. The second episode "Liv and Ron", one week later, drew 4.64 million viewers. The least watched episode of the series is the seventh episode "Bruce & Fab", which drew 3.65 million viewers. The finale episode of the series "Closing Time" which aired on , to an audience of 4.04 million viewers.


Critical reception

Brian Lowry of ''
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'' gave a score of 80%, and wrote, "Maintaining this sort of rat-a-rat patter is no small feat, but the series gets off to such a promising start as to bode well for future installments. Moreover, the shifting pairings from episode to episode create a semi-serialized element that deftly builds off the groundwork laid the previous week, conjuring questions about who’s going to wind up with whom." Karen Valby of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' gave the series a "B" grade, and wrote, "If you like--or like zoning out to--slick and shiny romantic comedies in the vein of New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day, Mixology is the show for you. But underneath the glossy, Ryan Seacrest-produced banner, this cocktail actually has some genuine sweetness and originality." Diana Werts of ''Newsday'' gave the series a grade of "B", and wrote, "Some twisty situations, some unexpected heart, some nuanced acting. Some serious single-camera potential. Could be worth awaiting last call to see who goes where, and why."
David Wiegand Robert David Wiegand (May 19, 1947 – April 30, 2018) was an American journalist and short-story writer, head of arts and entertainment for the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Life and career Wiegand was born in Rochester, New York, where he gradua ...
of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' gave a positive review, saying, "The show is funny enough, although you might wonder where it would go in a second season, but here's the dirty little secret of Mixology: It's intelligent and poignant as well as being entertaining". Vicki Hyman of the ''
Newark Star-Ledger Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-th ...
'' gave a mixed review, saying, "Only intermittently funny but unceasingly crass." Matt Roush of ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' gave a mixed review, saying, "While some of the flirtatious banter in these random odd couplings can be witty and even winsome, after a few rounds (I made it through three episodes), I was ready to close out my tab." David Hinckley of the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' gave the series 2 out of 5 stars, and wrote, "At the end of the night, Mixology doesn’t have a lot of fizz". Robert Lloyd of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' gave a mixed review, saying, "There is something mechanical and arbitrary about the plotting, as if a mess of gears that didn't actually go together had been smashed into some semblance of a working order." Maureen Ryan of ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' gave a negative review, saying, "In its first few episodes, "Mixology" loudly and repeatedly makes the case that women (who are judged on their adherence to very limited set of rules regarding appearance, dress, behavior, etc.) are objects to be won, that men must employ elaborate stratagems to obtain sex (and only sex) with these female objects, and that even if the facade of "game" drops on occasion, sincerity and kindness are usually things to be mocked." Dan Fienberg of the ''
HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
'' gave a negative review, saying, "Nearly every character is introduced in the most repulsive way possible and then the show tries to backtrack, sell the characters out and make it seem like they're all just marshmallows." Tim Goodman of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' gave a negative, and wrote, "Mixology is a tone-deaf, poorly executed, badly written series that, in the parlance of the show, kind of rapes comedy." On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the series has an aggregate score of 33% based on 10 positive and 20 negative critic reviews. The website’s consensus reads: " With an uninteresting story, forgettable cast, and occasionally vulgar humor, ''Mixology'' proves a less than intoxicating blend."


References


External links

* {{IMDb title, 2727600, Mixology 2010s American single-camera sitcoms 2010s American workplace comedy television series 2014 American television series debuts 2014 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming English-language television shows Fictional drinking establishments Television series by ABC Studios Television series by Ryan Seacrest Productions Television shows set in New York City Works by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore