Tropes for the series:

Abusive Parents: A few characters have this. Tom's father abandoned him and his mother when he was six, Ron's alcoholic parents shipped him off to boarding school when he was old enough, Fab's parents fought constantly, and this has affected her ability to be in a healthy relationship, and Maya's father, who didn't like girls, raised her as a boy, teaching her basketball and fighting.
Accidental Bargaining Skills: One episode has a man who mistakes Maya for a prostitute, proposes that she allow him to take to Paris for $1,000,000. Her disbelief causes him to think that's too cheap, so he offers her next $2,000,000. She explains that she's not a prostitute and he asks if she'd still like to go to Paris. She won't go for free.
Actor-Shared Background: It is mentioned that Ron is from Bath, England. His actor, Adam Campbell, is also from Bath, England.
Alcoholic Parent: Bruce mentions that to bang his mother, show up at her house with a bottle of peppermint schnapps. Also both of Ron's parents, as mentioned above.
Back for the Finale: Trista, the girl attracted to redheads, returns after having left with Alexi Lalas. Also Laura, who Tom supposedly dealt with, tries to return to him for her own reasons.
Backhanded Compliment: Tom gives Laura one suggested by Maya, after seeing his ex for the first time since the breakup.
Tom: I'm so glad you're eating again.
The Beard: Kacey was this for her high school boyfriend, unknowingly, before he came out.
Big Applesauce: Takes place in a Manhattan Bar called "Mix".
Big Brother Bully: Bruce's older brothers, Kyle and Doug, were athletic and popular when he wasn't, bullying him in high school and later double-teaming the girl he had a crush on.
Birds of a Feather: Deconstructed with Tom and Liv. They are both nice (arguably too much so), and have many of the same interests. However, they realize that they're too comfortable with each other, and they need someone who would push them to change. Seemingly played straight with Cal and Kacey, though they take a while to realize this. Liv and Jim appear to also be this, but it's also deconstructed, though for different reasons than with Tom.
Bittersweet Ending: On the sweet side for most characters. Tom and Maya end up together, as do Cal and Kacey, while Bruce and Jessica end up as friends. On the other hand, Liv has broken up with Jim and left for India to find herself, while Ron, without a romance, still has to deal with the recent collapse of his company. For the others, it appears that nothing has changed, as Dominic merely goes home alone, and Fab has a one-night stand with a Hawaiian man who it's implied she will not see again. Bruce's final narration, over a montage of the characters, seems to confirm this.
Bruce: A lot can happen in one night. Sometimes you meet someone great [Cal and Kacey stare at each other]. Sometimes you get your heart broken [Ron walks down a street alone]. Sometimes nothing changes at all [Dominic lies in bed]. But sometimes, just sometimes, everything does [Tom and Maya fool around in bed].
Brutal Honesty: Maya does not mince words.
The Casanova: Dominic. Ever since he was born, he's been the most attractive guy. When he's not working, he spends his time writing music or having sex with random women.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Jessica's younger sister Janey appears in the premiere, her actress credited as main cast, and disappears with no explanation in the remaining episodes, with Jessica's companion instead being Fab. While she could have left offscreen, she isn't even mentioned afterward.
Disappeared Dad: Tom's father abandoned him. Though he was still nearby, he just didn't come by, even when Tom tried to spend time with him.
Disposable Fiancé: Tom was this to his recent ex-fiancee, Laura. At the end, when she tries to get back together with him to have someone take care of her, she becomes this to him. Also Jim to Liv.
Dreadful Musician: Dominic wants to be a musician, but from what is shown, he doesn't have the talent.
Freeze-Frame Bonus: Jessica's last name, Genser, is never mentioned, but is shown on her online profile. Neither is Dominic's, but it's shown to be Veracruz on the album of the only song he released.
Fridge Brilliance:
- Cal and Bruce mention Laura's new boyfriend is "nicer than Tom". Given Tom's personality (and Laura's) does this mean her new man is even more of a pushover than Tom is?
- Bruce mentions he is between jobs, while flashbacks reveal him to have had sex with his boss, and show a conversation before this where she states he could be fired for coming on to her and him claiming he doesn't even know what the company does. Is this why he no longer works there?
Generation Xerox: Like his parents, Ron is the life of the party.
Genius Bonus: At one point, Cal and Bruce accuse Tom of pushing them into the GFZ, or the "Gay Friend Zone". Tom's actor, Blake Lee, is openly gay.
Has a Type: Maya only dates professional athletes, since she considers them "real men". Liv, on the other hand, likes "safe guys". Both of them learn to step away from this over the course of the series. A couple of episodes also feature Trista, a girl who has a thing for red-headed men. And apparently Laura too, if Fridge Brilliance is considered.
High-School Hustler: Flashbacks of Ron's life show him to have been this at boarding school, before becoming an "entrepreneur" as an adult.
It's All About Me: Laura's personality. Bruce even states he didn't think she and Tom would last so long. Confirmed in the finale.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Maya is abrasive to the point where Liv claims their coworkers all fear her, but isn't all bad. Bruce is more obviously this, even with his friends.
Kavorka Man: Bruce is not particularly attractive, and from what is shown, his personality isn't that great either. But flashbacks establish that he is able to get a lot of women despite this. He lampshades this himself in the pilot. Justified, given his backstory.
Bruce: I get laid all the time, and I am disgusting. Head to toe.
Mama's Boy: Tom, after finally realizing his father wasn't coming back, tried hard to get his mom to like him, which ruined his relationships with girls until he left for college. He appears to have grown out of it by the time of the series, though.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Tom and Maya appear to be this whenever they are seen together.
Massive Numbered Siblings: Maya is stated to be the third of six girls.
Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: Discussed when Cal and Bruce try to comfort Tom over Laura dumping him.
Bruce: Dude, get him a Kleenex right now.
Cal: Look, man, he doesn't have Kleenex, ok. Guys don't have Kleenex.
Bruce: Yeah, they do. I'm a guy, and I have Kleenex.
Cal: You have Kleenex?
Bruce: Yeah dude, I have Kleenex strewn all over my apartment.
Cal: Why do you have so much Kleenex?
Bruce: Why do you think I have so much Kleenex, Cal? I pop off everywhere.
Tom: I'm gonna call Laura again.
Mistaken for Gay: Cal and Bruce claim Tom is doing this to them with a group of girls they are planning to hook up with, as he used the word "wedges" to refer to shoes, which is something only gay people do.
Naïve Newcomer: Tom, just dumped by his fiancee, hasn't been out on the town in a decade. This allows Bruce and Cal to explain aspects of hookup culture to him, as well as to the audience.
Nice Guy: Tom, obviously. And Jim. Cal to a lesser extent.
Nice Girl: Liv, and to an extent Kacey.
Nice Mean And In Between: Tom, Bruce and Cal are arguably this. Tom is obviously the Nice, Bruce, with his personality (pointed out by Tom and Cal) is the Mean, and Cal, an optimist who struggles to find "the one" but still enjoys hookups and goes along with Bruce's schemes, is the In-Between.
Odd Name Out: Most of the episodes are named after the two characters who are given flashbacks in them. The exceptions are the last two episodes, called "Last Call" and "Closing Time". And arguably "Fab & Jessica & Dominic", which is named after three characters instead of two, though one of them isn't given flashbacks. Also arguably "Tom & Maya Part II" due to the last part.
Once More, with Clarity: Used in the episodes "Dominic & Kacey" and "Bruce & Maya".
- Kacey's view of her casual relationship with Dominic had her believe he was complimenting her, and then she thought him setting up a lot of candles in the bar was to set a romantic atmosphere. When those events are shown from Dominic's perspective, we see that he was talking to himself in the mirror to prep for the night when she happened to walk by, and the candles were because the power was out, and the technician under the bar, who Kacey couldn't see, needed to work.
- Bruce seemingly begins flirting with Maya to make Jessica jealous, but it starts to go somewhere, from what Tom sees. A flashback of the same events from Cal's perspective shows Bruce was baiting Tom to get him closer to Maya to impress her.
One-Word Title: Mixology.
Opposites Attract: Tom and Maya have a connection, despite not being alike. Zig-zagged between Kacey and Dominic, as in the pilot, she tries to break off their casual relationship because he's a dark person and she's positive, but is too attracted to him to actually keep to it. Until she meets Cal.
Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Temporarily, during one episode, Bruce leaves Cal and Tom when he finds out they have watched episodes of Downton Abbey without him. He forgives them (not realizing the real problem, though they want him back anyway) by the end of the episode.
Really Gets Around: Bruce, Dominic and Ron have all slept with a lot of women. Maya also answers ambiguously when asked if she remembers the names of all the men she slept with.
Real-Person Cameo: The pilot episode has professional athlete Keyshawn Johnson appear as himself. The fifth has Nicole Scherzinger appear as herself. The eighth has the best known ginger athlete of all time, Alexi Lalas, appear as himself.
Relationship Upgrade: Between Tom and Maya, and between Cal and Kacey.
Serial Romeo: Cal has been married three times, and still seeks "the one".
Sexiness Score: In "Last Call", one scene with Tom narrating has him explaining that a great couple must be "within two units of hotness of each other". Cue to him and his friends at a bar while Bruce is rating girls.
Bruce: [points to her] She's a 6. [points to another girl] She is a 7. [points to Liv] She is an 8.
Tom: You're giving Maya's friend an 8? She's a 12.
Bruce: My scores are final, Tom! Maya's friend is an 8, and you are a 6.
Tom: Your scores are ridiculous.
Bruce: Now you're a 5.
Tom: I protest your entire scoring system.
Bruce: Now you're a 4!
Cal: Don't worry, Tom. You're still a 6.
Bruce: Shut up, 5 and a half.
Tom: What are you?
Bruce: Numbers can't define me. I'm an eagle.
Shout-Out: A few.
- In the episode "Jessica & Ron", Ron mentions he'd change the series ending to Lost if he could.
- The main plot of the episode "Liv & Jim" involves Liv bringing up the book Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert. This episode also has Tom, Cal and Bruce bring up Downton Abbey.
- In "Last Call", Bruce and Cal claim asking a woman to watch Zoolander will get her to your apartment. Tom later mentions this film again.
- In The Stinger for "Closing Time", a Hawaiian man asks Fab if she wants to watch Lilo and Stitch.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Liv was a cheerful child, who didn't cry until she was seven. She has a brother who is the opposite of her in every way.
Squick: In-universe, Tom "wingmans" for Cal by talking to the mother of the girl his friend is hitting on. The stinger of that episode shows she is aware of what he's doing and knows his role, but gives him her number and an offer. This makes Tom uncomfortable.
Struggling Single Mother: Jessica, arguably. She doesn't seem to be that badly off financially, but is mentioned to be busy and have no time for an actual relationship, which is why she went online to meet men, eventually finding Ron.
Theme Naming: Most of the episodes are named "X & Y", with X and Y being the names of the two characters the main plot revolves around (i.e. the ones given flashbacks). There are a few exceptions though.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: Maya, despite being feminine, has the attitude of a man, while Liv has a more traditionally feminine personality.
We Want Our Jerk Back!: When Bruce finds out Tom and Cal do certain things without him because they don't like his part in them, he leaves them. They realize that Bruce is the one who keeps their conversations interesting. Bruce, meanwhile, realizes that Tom and Cal are the only ones who accept him for who he is, causing a reconciliation.
What, Exactly, Is His Job?: Never comes up, but Tom is the only main character whose occupation is never specified. Dominic and Kacey are a bartender and waitress at Mix, Cal is a personal trainer, Maya and Liv are lawyers at the same firm, Jessica is an assistant manager at the Clothing Barn, Fab is a fashion designer, Ron is a recently failed internet entrepreneur, and Bruce mentions he is between jobs, while flashbacks show him to have worked in an office.
Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Tom claims this when he gets threatened by the girlfriend of a man he (accidentally) beat in a fight. This allows her to beat him up instead.

Series / Mixology

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