# 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 | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 7 | 7 | April 11, 2012 (2012-04-11) | May 23, 2012 (2012-05-23) |
| 2 | 19 | 19 | October 23, 2012 (2012-10-23) | September 6, 2014 (2014-09-06) |

### Season 1 (2012)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Jason Winer | Nahnatchka Khan | April 11, 2012 (2012-04-11) | 1ATF79 | 6.91 |
| June lands her dream job at a mortgage company and an apartment in Manhattan, while her fiancé, Steven, finishes up his master's degree in Indiana. However, on her first day of work, the company is shut down after the CEO is arrested for embezzlement, causing June to lose both her job and her apartment. She then meets and is instantly taken with a potential roommate, Chloe. June decides that she wants to move in, but Chloe soon reveals her true intentions as she plots to scam June out of her rent money. June retaliates by selling all of Chloe's possessions. When Steven arrives for June's birthday, Chloe learns he is cheating on June with multiple women. She tries to alert June, who refuses to believe her. After being caught having sex with Steven on June's birthday cake, Chloe explains to June that she only did it to prove he was a cheater. Although sad, June is grateful that Chloe helped her discover the truth about Steven, and the two form an unusual friendship. ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Daddy's Girl..." | Michael Spiller | Nahnatchka Khan | April 18, 2012 (2012-04-18) | 1ATF01 | 6.43 |
| Following June's breakup with Steven, Chloe sets her up with a man she believes is perfect for her, Scott. The two hit it off until June discovers that Scott is Chloe's father, whom she claims is separated from her mother. To make matters worse, Chloe's wheelchair-bound mother stops by in distress suspecting that her husband is cheating on her. Meanwhile, James teaches an acting class at New York University, but he is unable to get his students interested in anything other than his Dawson's Creek days. ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Parent Trap..." | Chris Koch | Sally Bradford McKenna | April 25, 2012 (2012-04-25) | 1ATF09 | 4.91 |
| When June—who is juggling an unpaid internship with her job at the coffee shop—accuses Chloe of being selfish and irresponsible, Chloe adopts a foster daughter and hires her as her personal assistant. James lands a role in a film opposite Mad Men child star Kiernan Shipka. ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Wedding..." | Chris Koch | Casey Johnson and David Windsor | May 2, 2012 (2012-05-02) | 1ATF04 | 5.73 |
| June is depressed when she receives a wedding invitation addressed to her and her ex-fiancé, Steven. Chloe decides to take June around the city and teach her how to be confident. However, Chloe becomes jealous over the budding friendship between June and James. ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Making Rent..." | Michael Spiller | Corey Nickerson | May 9, 2012 (2012-05-09) | 1ATF03 | 5.69 |
| After June catches Chloe pulling her roommate scam again, both women attempt to find alternative ways of making the rent. James launches a new line of super-skinny jeans named Beek Jeans. ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "It's Just Sex..." | Nanette Burstein | Billy Finnegan | May 16, 2012 (2012-05-16) | 1ATF07 | 4.73 |
| Chloe encourages June to have casual sex with the coffee-shop customer she is attracted to. However, once the man becomes emotionally attached to June, Chloe insists that she break up with him. James panics when a copy of an old sex tape of him and Chloe falls into the hands of a porn distributor. ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Shitagi Nashi..." | Wendey Stanzler | Casey Johnson and David Windsor | May 23, 2012 (2012-05-23) | 1ATF10 | 5.60 |
| June struggles to keep up with Chloe's fast-paced lifestyle, ending up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. She also discovers that Chloe is the subject of a graphic novel called Tall Slut, No Panties, which is popular in Japan. James is upset when he learns that Dean Cain has a bigger dressing room when both compete on Dancing with the Stars. ||||||||

### Season 2 (2012–14)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
| 8 | 1 | "A Reunion..." | Wendey Stanzler | Nahnatchka Khan | October 23, 2012 (2012-10-23) | 2ATF01 | 4.20 |
| When James receives a letter from cast members of Dawson's Creek urging him to participate in a reunion episode to mark the 10th anniversary of the series finale, June sets out to make the reunion episode happen. However, Chloe reveals to June that she is the one who has been sending him fake letters every year. After Chloe confesses everything to James, he decides to move forward with the reunion and calls his former castmates, only to learn that they all hate him because of something he did when the show ended. Busy Philipps, Frankie Muniz, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar guest star as fictionalized versions of themselves. ||||||||
| 9 | 2 | "Love and Monsters..." | Victor Nelli Jr. | Sally Bradford McKenna | October 30, 2012 (2012-10-30) | 2ATF03 | 3.25 |
| James, who is terrified of Halloween, throws his annual "positivity party" on Halloween. June discovers that Chloe is dating a man named Benjamin and is happy to see her friend in a real relationship until she learns that he is the latest victim of Chloe's annual Halloween prank, wherein she makes a person's deepest fears come true. Chloe plans to make Benjamin think of her as his mother, who left when he was seven, before breaking up with him. Benjamin reveals that he got wind of her prank through James, and has been pulling the same trick on her by having her live her life as if it were a chick flick. ||||||||
| 10 | 3 | "Sexy People..." | Lev L. Spiro | Corey Nickerson | November 13, 2012 (2012-11-13) | 2ATF04 | 3.10 |
| June awaits the announcement of People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" list. When she says that James is not sexy enough to make the cut, Chloe accuses June of herd mentality, saying she will admire whoever makes the cover. To prove her point, Chloe takes over People's office by pretending to be the new managing editor and puts James on the cover, prompting June to see him in a new light. ||||||||
| 11 | 4 | "It's a Miracle..." | Rebecca Asher | Casey Johnson and David Windsor | November 20, 2012 (2012-11-20) | 2ATF02 | 2.99 |
| Chloe and June have different thoughts about Thanksgiving. Since June cannot afford to fly home for Thanksgiving, Chloe persuades her to come to her parents' house for Thanksgiving, but June begins to feel uncomfortable. Meanwhile, James volunteers at an exclusive celebrity soup kitchen in order to attract publicity, but he is unpleasantly surprised when he and Luther get roped into actually working. ||||||||
| 12 | 5 | "Whatever It Takes..." | Henry Chan | David Hemingson | December 4, 2012 (2012-12-04) | 1ATF06 | 2.98 |
| Chloe teaches June how to network by going drinking in the financial district, but when Chloe lands herself an attractive young broker whose father is a Wall Street mogul, she also lands June a dream job offer, although there are strings attached and June must make a tough decision. Meanwhile, James is worried when he is paired with the worst pro dancer for Dancing with the Stars. ||||||||
| 13 | 6 | "Bar Lies..." | Aundre Johnson | Laura McCreary | December 11, 2012 (2012-12-11) | 1ATF11 | 2.49 |
| James and Luther travel to Los Angeles for the season premiere for Dancing with the Stars. Chloe takes advantage of James's empty penthouse for one of her money-making scams. ||||||||
| 14 | 7 | "A Weekend in the Hamptons..." | David Hemingson | Billy Finnegan | December 18, 2012 (2012-12-18) | 1ATF12 | 2.53 |
| Since June is anxiously awaiting news on a potential job interview and James is still upset over his Dancing with the Stars fiasco, Chloe decides to take everyone along on a weekend getaway to the Hamptons, where she plans to gatecrash the party of the year and hook up with its elusive host. ||||||||
| 15 | 8 | "Paris..." | Jeffrey Walker | Laura McCreary | January 6, 2013 (2013-01-06) | 2ATF05 | 2.21 |
| June is nervous and excited about starting her new job at Harkin Financial. She befriends a seemingly nice coworker, Fox Paris, but Chloe warns June that she might be a backstabber. Chloe's suspicions soon prove true, and though she initially offers to help June take down Fox, Chloe and Fox end up becoming friends, much to June's dismay. Meanwhile, Mark goes to James for advice on his newfound feelings for June. ||||||||
| 16 | 9 | "The Scarlet Neighbor..." | Wendey Stanzler | Laura McCreary | January 8, 2013 (2013-01-08) | 1ATF05 | 3.11 |
| Chloe and June attend their first tenants' meeting after a new family moves into the building, but Chloe ends up making a scene and sparking outrage among the other residents. June becomes determined to restore Chloe's reputation, encouraging her to start dating appropriate men. However, things backfire when Chloe sets her sights on Mark, which is then further complicated by James's attempt to sabotage June's virtuous efforts. ||||||||
| 17 | 10 | "Mean Girls..." | Chris Koch | Sally Bradford McKenna | January 13, 2013 (2013-01-13) | 1ATF02 | 1.76 |
| When Chloe resists June's efforts to bond with her, June befriends a group of women from her Pilates class who are the epitome of what Chloe detests. Meanwhile, James signs up to mentor an underprivileged child in order to beef up his public image. ||||||||
| 18 | 11 | "Dating Games..." | Gail Mancuso | Erik Durbin | January 15, 2013 (2013-01-15) | 2ATF08 | 2.73 |
| June and Mark are obsessed with a reality dating show, and Chloe encourages June to go out and get an actual date. However, when Chloe and June both end up asking out the same man, Daniel, they get sucked into their very own dating game, with James orchestrating various challenges as the girls compete for Daniel's affections. ||||||||
| 19 | 12 | "The Leak..." | Michael Spiller | Tina Kil | March 25, 2013 (2013-03-25) (AUS) July 19, 2014 (U.S.) | 1ATF08 | N/A |
| James focuses all his attention on training for his upcoming appearance on Dancing with the Stars. When Luther is tasked with keeping James on a strict regimen, a jealous Chloe attempts to sabotage their efforts as she believes James should not overwork himself. To make matters worse, an embarrassing photo of James leaks all over the Internet. ||||||||
| 20 | 13 | "Monday June..." | Fred Goss | David Hemingson | April 1, 2013 (2013-04-01) (AUS) July 26, 2014 (U.S.) | 2ATF07 | N/A |
| June has been so overwhelmed with work that she has no time for anything else, including Chloe. In order to solve this, Chloe decides to slip June an herbal relaxant, causing June to black out for two days. As she tries to piece together what happened, June discovers some surprising things about herself. Meanwhile, James grapples with the idea that he may have impregnated June's friend, Crissy, on her wedding day. ||||||||
| 21 | 14 | "Teddy Trouble..." | Gail Mancuso | Billy Finnegan | April 8, 2013 (2013-04-08) (AUS) August 2, 2014 (U.S.) | 2ATF06 | N/A |
| Chloe and June receive a surprise visit from Teddy, Chloe's childhood friend from psychopath camp, who visits her every year when he goes off his medications. With the help of her mentally unstable friend, Chloe plans to fight off a group of vicious, out-of-town women in order to pick up a bargain at a department store's annual warehouse sale. However, Chloe finds herself increasingly distracted by the return of Benjamin, whom June insists is Chloe's true love. Meanwhile, James is devastated when he learns that his Beek Jeans were overstocked and ended up relegated to the chill-out corner at the sale where no one is buying them. ||||||||
| 22 | 15 | "The D..." "Making the Grade..." | Jeffrey Walker | Jeff Chiang and Eric Ziobrowski | April 15, 2013 (2013-04-15) (AUS) August 9, 2014 (U.S.) | 2ATF09 | N/A |
| June receives her one-year roommate evaluation from Chloe, in which she is shocked to learn that she has been given a D. After June presumes her low grade may have resulted from her poor dating record, Luther sets her up with James's agent's assistant, Will. The two hit it off, but their dates are constantly interrupted by phone calls from one of Will's clients, a demanding novelist who treats him like an errand boy. Meanwhile, James struggles with his audition for a new Woody Allen film. ||||||||
| 23 | 16 | "The Seven Year Bitch..." | Stuart Bass | Tina Kil | April 22, 2013 (2013-04-22) (AUS) August 16, 2014 (U.S.) | 2ATF10 | N/A |
| James invites Chloe and June out to dinner to meet the woman he has been dating, Emily. Chloe decides to use her veto power over Emily, forcing James to break up with her. However, she later discovers that James has been secretly continuing to date Emily, prompting Chloe to take a break from their seven-year friendship. June and Luther realize that they must reunite Chloe and James after their time apart leads to disastrous consequences. ||||||||
| 24 | 17 | "Using People..." | Michael McDonald | Sally Bradford McKenna | April 29, 2013 (2013-04-29) (AUS) August 23, 2014 (U.S.) | 2ATF11 | N/A |
| June is shocked to discover that Chloe has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in order to share her wild partying stories while stealing liquor from the recovering addicts. Pepper sets Mark up on a date with one of her friends, and June struggles to hide her jealousy. Chloe accuses June of using Mark by having him do favors while knowing he likes her. After Mark admits to June that he has feelings for her, they decide to have sex, but it turns out to be awful. Meanwhile, James learns that he is on the short list for a Martin Scorsese film, though Scorsese does not consider him deep enough for the role. ||||||||
| 25 | 18 | "Ocupado..." | David Hemingson | Casey Johnson and David Windsor | May 6, 2013 (2013-05-06) (AUS) August 30, 2014 (U.S.) | 2ATF12 | N/A |
| Chloe is excited about spending time with Benjamin, who is going to be in town to direct James in a sunglasses commercial. Chloe and Benjamin bond over the fact that they are both dating other people, though Chloe later becomes uncharacteristically jealous when she discovers that she is not the number-one woman in Benjamin's dating cycle. ||||||||
| 26 | 19 | "Original Bitch..." | Nahnatchka Khan | Corey Nickerson | May 13, 2013 (2013-05-13) (AUS) September 6, 2014 (U.S.) | 2ATF13 | N/A |
| Chloe hires a private investigator to track down her first New York roommate, Trish, on whom Chloe has been seeking revenge since she stole her dream of becoming a dancer on a popular dance television show years earlier. Upon discovering that Trish has died, Chloe's unfulfilled plans of vengeance begin to haunt her dreams. In a dream sequence, Chloe must complete challenges in order to reach her goal and overthrow Trish as the top dancer on the show while also realizing that she needs to trust June as her friend. Meanwhile, James learns that his father is not his biological father. ||||||||

## 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

Viewership and ratings per season of Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 :
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | First aired | First aired | Last aired | Last aired | TV season | Viewership rank | Avg. viewers (millions) |
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | Date | Viewers (millions) | Date | Viewers (millions) | TV season | Viewership rank | Avg. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 7 | April 11, 2012 | 6.91 | May 23, 2012 | 5.60 | 2011–12 | 89 | 6.37 |
| 2 | Tuesday 9:30 p.m. (1–7, 9, 11) Sunday 10:30 p.m. (8, 10) | 19 | October 23, 2012 | 4.20 | January 15, 2013 | 2.73 | 2012–13 | 125 | 3.82 |

### Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipients | Result |
| 2012 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV: Breakout Performance – Female | Dreama Walker | Nominated |
| 2012 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV: Villain | Krysten Ritter | Nominated |
| 2012 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV: Male Scene Stealer | James Van Der Beek | Nominated |
| 2012 | Artios Award | Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Pilot – Comedy | Lisa Miller Katz | Nominated |
| 2013 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actress 11–13 | Kiernan Shipka | Nominated |
| 2013 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actress Ten and Under | Danielle Parker | Nominated |

## International broadcast

| Region | Premiere date | Network |
| Canada | April 11, 2012 (2012-04-11) | City |
| United Kingdom | May 24, 2012 (2012-05-24) | E4 |
| Ireland | May 24, 2012 (2012-05-24) | E4 |
| Asia-Pacific | June 25, 2012 (2012-06-25) | Star World |
| Australia | September 3, 2012 (2012-09-03) | Arena |
| New Zealand | October 9, 2012 (2012-10-09) | Four |
| Ireland | November 8, 2012 (2012-11-08) | RTÉ Two |
| South Africa | June 4, 2013 (2013-06-04) | MNET Series |