Don't Trust The B---- In Apartment 23

''Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23'' is an American television sitcom created by Nahnatchka Khan. It was broadcast on ABC between April 11, 2012, and September 6, 2014, comprising two seasons and 26 episodes. Originally a mid-season replacement, the network renewed the series for a second season in May 2012; six episodes from the first season were aired as part of the second, without regard for continuity.

In the story, Krysten Ritter stars as Chloe, an irresponsible party girl who searches for roommates by asking for rent up front and then behaving outrageously until they leave. Her latest roommate, June Colburn ( Dreama Walker), proves to be harder to drive away, and the women end up forming an unlikely friendship. The supporting cast includes James Van Der Beek, who portrays a fictionalized version of himself who is a friend of Chloe's.

Plot

The series follows June Colburn as she moves from Indiana to New York City to pursue her dream job—until she finds out that it no longer exists. She ends up moving in with a ''bon vivant'' party girl named Chloe. Chloe keeps her apartment by inviting roommates to move in, asking for rent up front, and then behaving outrageously until they leave. June proves more difficult to dislodge than expected, and when June reverses Chloe's latest attempt to eject her in an unexpected fashion, they end up forming an unlikely friendship.

Cast and characters

Main

* Krysten Ritter as Chloe, the titular "Bitch in Apartment 23", a hard-partying, irresponsible, freeloading, sexually adventurous con artist, described as having "the morals of a pirate".
* Dreama Walker as June Colburn, a naïve and friendly girl from Richmond, Indiana who becomes Chloe's roommate after moving to New York and losing both her job and apartment when the investment firm that hired her goes bankrupt on her first day.
* Liza Lapira as Robin (season 1; guest season 2), a nurse and one of Chloe's former roommates, who is obsessed with her.
* Michael Blaiklock as Eli Webber, a perverted but friendly city health inspector and next-door neighbor of Chloe and June's, who occasionally spies on the girls.
* Eric André as Mark Reynolds, the meek manager of a coffee shop who hires June, whom he met at her failed job, to work for him.
* James Van Der Beek as a fictionalized version of himself, who is a close friend of Chloe's and desperate to revamp his dwindling acting career.
* Ray Ford as Luther Wilson (season 2; recurring season 1), James' devoted personal assistant.

Recurring

* Tate Ellington as Steven, June's ex-fiancé
* Eve Gordon as Connie Colburn, June's mother, whom June, then James, occasionally turns to for advice
* Peter MacKenzie as Donald Colburn, June's father
* Katherine Tokarz as Nicole, a nurse with whom Steven cheats on June
* Jennie Pierson as Pepper, June and Mark's socially awkward coworker at the coffee shop
* Rosalind Chao as Pastor Jin, the pastor at the First Korean Baptist Church where June attends worship services
* Angelique Cabral as Fox Paris, June's rival at Harkin Financial
* Teresa Huang as Hillary, June's coworker at Harkin Financial

Guest

* Michael Landes as Scott, Chloe's father, who has a brief relationship with June
* Marin Hinkle as Karen, Chloe's paraplegic mother
* Kerris Dorsey as Molly, Chloe's temporary foster daughter
* Nora Kirkpatrick as Crissy, June's friend
* Hartley Sawyer as Charles, who has a brief sexual relationship with June
* Shanti Lowry as Valentina, James's upgraded ''Dancing with the Stars'' partner
* David Krumholtz as Patrick Kelly, the creator of the graphic novel ''Shitagi Nashi'' (''Tall Slut, No Panties''), based on Chloe
* Ben Lawson as Benjamin Lovett, an Australian director, who is friends with James and becomes a love interest for Chloe
* Keith Allan as Peter, an employee at ''People'' magazine
* Missi Pyle as Angie Beckencort, a lousy pro dancer who ends up paired with James on ''Dancing with the Stars''
* Fiona Gubelmann as Stephanie, one of June's friends from Pilates
* Kyle Howard as Daniel, who briefly dates June
* Patti Deutsch as an old lady
* Michael Stahl-David as Teddy, Chloe's childhood friend from psychopath camp
* Nicholas D'Agosto as Will, James's agent's assistant who briefly dates June
* Jonathan Willie Cruz as James Martinez, June's and Luther's yoga instructor
* Meg Chambers Steedle as Emily, who briefly dates James
* Sarah Wright Olsen as Trish, Chloe's first New York roommate
* Meagen Fay as Katherine, James's mother
* Nicky Endres as Hansel, a "Korean gay hipster" whose catch phrase "Arigato, Hey!" is used in multiple episodes.

Special cameos

* Kiernan Shipka, James's co-star in a poorly conceived father/daughter body-swap film
* Kevin Sorbo, Chloe's unwitting wedding date
* Dean Cain, James's ''Dancing with the Stars'' rival
* Busy Philipps, James's former ''Dawson's Creek'' co-star
* Frankie Muniz, a hapless shopper
* Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who gives James a pep-talk about fleeting fame
* Karina Smirnoff, Dean Cain's ''Dancing with the Stars'' partner
* Charo, Chloe's muse
* Richard Dean Anderson, one of the potential candidates to be James's biological father

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2012)

Season 2 (2012–14)

Production and release

By January 2009, the project was being developed for Fox with the interim title ''You Can't Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23'', but was not selected to the 2009 fall contender. A year later, ABC greenlit the production of a pilot episode. In May 2011, the network picked up the project to series under the shortened title ''Apartment 23''. The same month, ABC confirmed the series would premiere as a mid-season replacement in the 2011–12 fall season. In October, ABC changed back the series name, this time to a bowdlerized version, censoring the word " Bitch" and replaced with "B----". Ahead of its television premiere, the series' first two episodes were released in the United States on iTunes, Hulu, Xfinity, and ABC's website, and in Canada on Rogers on Demand and Citytv's website.

On May 11, 2012, ABC renewed the series for a second season. On May 23, the first season ended its broadcast run; seven episodes were aired, although the initial order consisted of 13 episodes. Thus, six episodes were carried over into the following broadcast run, bringing the second season to 19 episodes. ABC elected to air the six remaining episodes out of order, interspersing first and second-season episodes without regard to continuity. As a result, some multi-episode plot arcs (particularly James's appearance on ''Dancing with the Stars'' and June's travails at a new job outside the coffee shop) are almost incomprehensibly jumbled in the original broadcast order. For the second season, Ray Ford was upgraded to the main cast, after having recurring appearances in the first season.

On January 22, 2013, ABC announced the series' immediate removal from its schedule. The following day, the cast confirmed the series' cancellation. In February, star Krysten Ritter stated that she believed the remaining eight unaired episodes would be broadcast in the following summer. In April, the network confirmed that the eight episodes would be released online on iTunes, Hulu and ABC's website between May 17 and June 2. In July 2014, it was announced that Logo TV would broadcast the entire series in the correct order, including the eight unaired episodes, beginning July 19.

Reception

Critical response

At the first ceremony of the Critics' Choice Television Award, on June 20, 2011, ''Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23'' was included among eight of the Most Exciting New Series, voted by television journalists who watched its pilots.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 88% based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's general consensus reads, "An odd couple sitcom with a modern twist, ''Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23'' is sleeker and smarter than expected, thanks to strong acting and snappy dialogue." For the first season, Metacritic calculated an average of 71 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The second season has an approval rating of 83% based on 12 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's general consensus reads, "The unique pairing of Krysten Ritter and Dreama Walker continues to entertain in the second snarky season of ''Don't Trust the B----'', which further hones its comedic voice and snide asides."

Due to popularity of the show after its cancellation, attempts to revive the show for another season have been petitioned by fans on petition sites.

Ratings

Awards and nominations

International broadcast

Notes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1819509

2010s American single-camera sitcoms
2012 American television series debuts
2014 American television series endings
American English-language television shows
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
Television series created by Nahnatchka Khan
Television shows filmed in New York City
Television shows set in New York City
American Broadcasting Company sitcoms
Works subject to expurgation