# Loosely Exactly Nicole

Loosely Exactly Nicole (stylized as *Loosely Exactly Nicole) is an American comedy television series created by Christian Lander and Christine Zander that stars Nicole Byer and premiered on September 5, 2016, on MTV. After MTV cancelled the series, Facebook Watch picked up the show for a second season that premiered on December 20, 2017.

## Premise

As MTV explains in a promotional release:
   Nicole Byer is living the Hollywood dream. Well, Hollywood adjacent – the deep valley to be precise and it’s not so much a dream but a struggle. In this hilarious half-hour comedy, we’ll watch as Nicole, exuding her special brand of confidence and irreverence, demonstrates the hilarious missteps of what it means to be out on your own for the first time. She’ll deal with humiliating auditions, unpaid electric bills, friendship ups and downs, and the battlefield that is Tinder as she slowly but surely finds her voice as a comedian.

## Cast and characters
### Main

* Nicole Byer as herself, an aspiring actress and comedienne looking for her big break in show business
* Jacob Wysocki as Devin (season 2; recurring season 1), Nicole's roommate and best friend

### Recurring

* Jen D'Angelo as Veronica, Nicole's closest girl friend
* Kevin Bigley as Derrick, a frequent hook-up of Nicole's
* Brandon Scott as Raymond
* Allyn Rachel as Avi
* French Stewart as Donny
* Sasheer Zamata as Kim Whitfield, Nicole's childhood friend who runs a charitable organization
* Ayden Mayeri as Edi
* B. J. Britt as Josh, Nicole's boyfriend

### Guests

* Kerri Kenney-Silver as Bernice ("Mistress")
* Nora Dunn as Nora McNab ("Danny Boom")
* Mary Birdsong as Madison ("Green Card")
* Noël Wells as Blix ("Big Break")
* Sheryl Lee Ralph as Lynette Rhodes ("Single Black Idol")

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released | Network |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | September 5, 2016 (2016-09-05) | October 28, 2016 (2016-10-28) | MTV & Facebook Watch |
| 2 | 10 | 10 | December 20, 2017 (2017-12-20) | February 21, 2018 (2018-02-21) | Facebook Watch |

### Season 1 (2016)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | US viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Babysitting" | Chioke Nassor | Christian Lander & Christine Zander | September 5, 2016 (2016-09-05) | 0.34 |
| 2 | 2 | "Breakfast with Derrick" | Steve Pink | Jackie Clarke | September 12, 2016 (2016-09-12) | 0.23 |
| 3 | 3 | "Six Hour Braid" | Steve Pink | Grace Edwards | September 19, 2016 (2016-09-19) | 0.25 |
| 4 | 4 | "Mistress" | Steve Pink | Grace Edwards | September 26, 2016 (2016-09-26) | 0.20 |
| 5 | 5 | "Danny Boom" | Linda Mendoza | Christine Zander | October 3, 2016 (2016-10-03) | 0.18 |
| 6 | 6 | "Stripper" | Linda Mendoza | Laura House | October 10, 2016 (2016-10-10) | 0.21 |
| 7 | 7 | "Brother Visits" | Chioke Nassor | Chioke Nassor | October 21, 2016 (2016-10-21) | 0.19 |
| 8 | 8 | "Quitting" | Linda Mendoza | Christine Zander & Nicole Byer | October 21, 2016 (2016-10-21) | 0.15 |
| 9 | 9 | "Green Card" | Linda Wallem | Daniel Carter & Jeff Chlebus | October 28, 2016 (2016-10-28) | N/A |
| 10 | 10 | "Big Break" | Linda Wallem | Christian Lander & Christine Zander | October 28, 2016 (2016-10-28) | N/A |

### Season 2 (2017–18)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 11 | 1 | "Nicole vs Veronica" | Linda Wallem | Christine Zander & Nicole Byer | December 20, 2017 (2017-12-20) |
| 12 | 2 | "Thirsty Babies" | Linda Wallem | Grace Edwards | December 27, 2017 (2017-12-27) |
| 13 | 3 | "Dead Mom Chicken Day" | Daniella Eisman | Ben Cory Jones | January 3, 2018 (2018-01-03) |
| 14 | 4 | "Backseat Dating" | Daniella Eisman | Grant DeKernion | January 10, 2018 (2018-01-10) |
| 15 | 5 | "Girl's Night Out" | Sam Bailey | Jenny Lee | January 17, 2018 (2018-01-17) |
| 16 | 6 | "The Key Holder" | Sam Bailey | Daniel Carter & Jeff Chlebus | January 24, 2018 (2018-01-24) |
| 17 | 7 | "Mr. Softy" | Linda Wallem | Nicole Byer & Crystal Jenkins | January 31, 2018 (2018-01-31) |
| 18 | 8 | "Single Black Idol" | Linda Wallem | Christine Zander & Sara Dolin | February 7, 2018 (2018-02-07) |
| 19 | 9 | "Wedding Smashers" | Linda Wallem | Jenny Lee & Grant DeKernion | February 14, 2018 (2018-02-14) |
| 20 | 10 | "O Canada" | Linda Wallem | Christine Zander & Jenny Lee | February 21, 2018 (2018-02-21) |

## Production
### Development

On April 21, 2016, it was announced that MTV had given the production a series order to consist of a first season of ten episodes. Executive producers were set to include Christine Zander, Christian Lander, and Avi Gilbert. Zander was also set to act as showrunner.

### Cancellation

On February 9, 2017, it was announced that MTV had cancelled the series after one season. The show was cancelled alongside Mary + Jane, both of which had been developed and picked up before Chris McCarthy took over MTV in late October as president of MTV, VH1 and Logo.

### Renewal

On June 12, 2017, it was announced that Facebook Watch had saved the series from cancellation and renewed it for a second season to consist of ten episodes. Christine Zander and Avi Gilbert returned as executive producer but a deal could not be reached with Christian Lander, who did not ultimately return for season two.

## Reception

The first season of the show received a mixed reception from critics upon its premiere. In a positive review, Flavorwire's Lara Zarum described the show as "a sweetly raunchy fable about finding your voice." She also praised the series for addressing "race and gender with a light but sharp touch." In a more negative review, Mitchel Broussard of WeGotThisCovered.com gave the series two-and-a-half stars out of five and commented that, "Although it has the noblest of inclusive intentions, Loosely Exactly Nicole ultimately falls flat because it doesn't present its progressive ideas in intriguing ways and - most problematic - it just isn't very funny." Common Sense Media's Melissa Camacho criticized the show when saying, "Nicole Byer's comic abilities are evident, but the show's writing is more silly than smart. As a result, it contains scenes (such as one that presents an Asian child in blackface) that cross the line from being politically charged to just being dim and offensive. Overall, the show has a lot of potential but doesn't quite reach it."