Yaaas, it’s that time of the month again! And by that, I don’t mean me, I mean the Thursday Movie Picks and its Television Edition! I love this feature and this week’s theme had so many juicy options for me that I literally CROSSED out shows in order to compile this list. That’s right, I didn’t even struggle to get this list together, I just kept listing shows and then picked the four that really deliver the whole family vibe. The selection also includes all shows that have been off the air for some time now, and I miss them deeply.
1. GILMORE GIRLS (2000-2007)
Despite the hideous revival (let’s not talk about THAT ever again), and its final season, Gilmore Girls is so close to my heart that I’m a bit sad that it isn’t based on real life. Like, I would for real travel to the US to meet the Lorelai and Rory, at the diner, and buy them a cup of coffee. That’s no lie, I really would. But anyway, the show has a very strong family theme, where a single young woman raises her daughter and grows together with her as a parent and as an individual. This show is also funny and emotional and just filled with so much warmth and heart. It’s also a really great fall time binge worthy show to watch together with your own mom or daughter.
2. BROTHERS & SISTERS (2006-2011)
One of those shows that became my favourite pretty easily because it followed another family oriented multiple storyline show that I will mention next, and I love that formula. That love is so obvious in my last pick as well, plus I also love This Is Us, so there you go, I love multiple storyline family dramas! For me having that option of following these characters individually, and then seeing them come together as family, is just so interesting and appealing. So it’s no surprise that I love Brothers & Sisters. It has that drama, heart and humour, it also tackles serious topics as well as politics. It’s sort of perfect, and it is definitely addictive once you get sucked into the Walker family.
3. SIX FEET UNDER (2001-2005)
A show that started this said love for me is of course the award winning Six Feet Under, which I think also pushed me towards heavier shows. Staying up late (because they showed it at basically night time for a 12/13 year old) to witness Six Feet Under, well, that changed things for me. I still remember some of its scenes! Like, honestly, I can remember that whole storyline with feet… yeah, that’s what is forever embedded in my brain I guess. But truly amazing is of course the fact that Six Feet Under remains one of the few shows to have started and ended on a high. Because we all know that shows sometimes just dwindle off into annoy-ville, but Six Feet Under kept it up for all 5 seasons, and then ended with a SHOCKER.
4. PARENTHOOD (2010-2015)
And with Gilmore Girls and Six Feet Under being so family oriented, it’s no surprise that both leading actors from those shows ended up in another family-oriented show. And while Lauren Graham and Peter Krause play brother and sister in Parenthood, they play girlfriend and boyfriend in real life, so it’s all about keeping it in the family! Anyway, Parenthood is the latest of family oriented shows that has ended (This Is Us is still going so I won’t mention it), and while this one did dwindle a little, it’s still a pretty great show. And I like the diversity of its characters and I love Mae Whitman to pieces in this one! Plus, it introduces a serious topic of having a child with Asperger’s in a very respective manner.
THIS SERIES IS CREATED BY WANDERING THROUGH THE SHELVES
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I’ve never watched any of these shows but I’m familiar with them. Six Feet Under is one I do plan to watch eventually because I hear such wonderful things about it all the time.
Oh wow, you should definitely watch at least Six Feet Under!
My mother and one of my nieces love Gilmore Girls but I never picked up the habit. However if you ask them it was one of the best show ever. I was curious about Six Feet Under when it was on but didn’t have HBO and have never had the time to catch up with it but maybe one day. I loved the film of Parenthood but have never seen the series, there just aren’t enough hours in the day!
But I LOVED Brothers & Sisters from day one and would tune in without fail every Sunday night to see what Sally Field and those crazy complex kids of hers had gotten themselves mixed up with. The acting was some of the best on television.
Since there are hundreds of choices I winnowed mine down by choosing only series with the word family in the title.
Family (1976-1980)-Gentle family drama of the problems big and small of an upper middle class family, lawyer dad Doug Lawrence (James Broderick-Matthew’s father) wife Kate (Sada Thompson) and their three children Nancy (Meredith Baxter again), Willie (Gary Frank) and sensitive Letitia “Buddy” (Kristy McNicol), living in a small California town. Much of the power of the series came from its refusal to go for big showy emotions rather taking a naturalistic approach to the various issues that present themselves. Very well-acted.
Family Ties (1982-1989)-Former liberal flower children of the 60’s Steven and Elyse Keaton (Michael Gross & Meredith Baxter) are now middle class parents raising their three (eventually four) very different children in the Reagan 80’s. There’s the youngest, tomboy Jennifer (Tina Yothers), middle child acquisitive somewhat ditzy Mallory (Justine Bateman) and oldest son strongly conservative money hungry Alex (the series breakout star Michael J. Fox). The series looks with gentle humor and insight at the culture clashes that constantly erupt within the household through the years.
All in the Family (1971-1979)-Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) who Archie semi affectionately calls “Dingbat” their daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) and her husband Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner) who Archie far less affectionately calls “Meathead” live together often disharmoniously in Queens, New York. Archie is a firmly opinionated bigot and his daughter and especially his son-in-law equally fierce liberals so their exchanges are often incendiary. When this debuted in ’71 it caused a revolution in how TV comedy was seen, to this point it had been dominated by shows similar to Father Knows Best and even more progressive ones such as Julia with Diahann Carroll dealt with gently humorous situations. But All in the Family took aim at the hot topics of the time in a more realistic way.
Brothers & Sisters is a real gem to be honest, I’m quite happy that you enjoyed that. I feel like you would enjoy Six Feet Under a lot more though! Great performances across the board, serious story lines, just a lot of brilliance written into it from start to finish.
I’ve been meaning to watch Gilmore Girls for so long now, I’ve lost track of the number of people who have told me to just get on it. I haven’t watched your other picks either but I think Gilmore Girls is enough for me to catch up on for now, ha!
YOU NEED TO WATCH GILMORE GIRLS!
Hey, we share a pick in Gilmore Girls. Yeah, I’d like to wish the revival never happened except Emily Gilmore’s rant on the whole DAR. I would’ve wished she would told those DAR ladies “fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, you’re cool, and fuck you. I’m out! *quietly* I should call April and ask her how to build a pipe bomb”
Yay! But indeed, for me the revival does not exist so I don’t know what you’re talking about….
Ah yes, you’re right. For me, what would happen right now is that Luke and Lorelai would’ve already been married with two kids. Rory just had her first child (the father isn’t Jess, Logan, or Dean) with her fiance`. Emily is still alive living in Stars Hollow next door to Luke and Lorelai’s new home. April just graduated from Yale and is in a relationship. Jess is a successful author living in Philadelphia with a wife and child as he’s still close to the Gilmore-Danes clan that include 2 half-sisters.
I haven’t seen any of these. Only a few scenes from Six Feet Under but not enough to have an opinion about it.
Wow, that’s a lot of good TV missed! 😉
I know of all these shows, but sadly haven’t watched any of them. At all.
Yup, I haven’t seen any of these. Well, I have seen clips of Gilmore Girls and it was quite good but I wanted to see it from the beginning. I have always wanted to see Six Feet Under and will rent it out one day as it sounds great and right up my alley. I just never wanted to see Brothers and Sisters but I never gave it a chanCe either
Woah, that seems to be the general comment this time around. But I recommend Gilmore Girls and the rest as well. Just, watch them all!
Absolutely loved your choices. I might throw in 7th Heaven in there, just because it was one of my childhood faves. I also feel like the OC showed family quite well, especially the fact that you don’t always have to be related by blood to be family.
The OC is a good pick too indeed but I never really watched it watched IT! Like, I skimmed at it and know a lot about it but didn’t fall in love with it.
Fair enough, sometimes you just don’t click with a show and that is fine too.