Mother’s Day 2020 is shaping up to be a strange holiday this year. But, it’s nothing moms can’t handle! Many mothers are having to forgo their favorite restaurant brunches and will be celebrating at home instead. Traveling to see mom, grandma, and other members of the family might not be an option for some as people are choosing to stay at home to keep family members safe during the coronavirus health crisis.
In light of the restrictions and limitations of celebrating a holiday during a pandemic, we decided to compile a list of TV shows that we think moms will thoroughly enjoy. These shows celebrate motherhood and many of them are created by moms. If you can’t be with your mother this Mother’s Day and you’re looking for something to bring you all the feels, check out these 10 TV shows.
10. Breeders – FX/Hulu
Darkly funny, Breeders just completed its first season run on FX and is currently streaming on Hulu. The show stars Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) and Daisy Haggard (Episodes) as two parents trying to care for their children in this hectic world. Haggard’s character, Ally decides to move to Berlin for her career and leaves the majority of the parenting duties to her husband, Paul back in London.
As you might imagine, the move to Berlin puts a strain on the marriage and leaves the kids vulnerable in Freeman’s character’s not-so-capable hands. You can’t watch this one with the kids as there is tons of foul language being hurled around (including at kids!). If you want to see a show about the “perfect couple” navigating parenthood with a sweet ending capping off each episode, don’t count on Breeders. This show is the antithesis of shows like Modern Family or Parenthood.
9. Great News – Netflix
If you’re a big fan of Tina Fey, you probably already know about Great News, otherwise, the show might have flown beneath your radar. The main character, Katie (Briga Heelan) lands a new job producing a TV news program. Things are going great for her until her mother, Carol (played by the legendary Andrea Martin) gets an internship for the same program. Hilarity ensues. This lighthearted mother-daughter comedy is a joy to watch and you’ll zip through the short, punchy episodes with ease. Great News feels like 30 Rock‘s peppy little cousin and will definitely make you laugh.
8. #BlackAF – Netflix
If you loved Blackish, you definitely need to give #BlackAF a shot. It takes on a more cynical and TV-MA worldview and mixes it with the now cliché video testimonial format (popularized by Modern Family) to new heights. Kenya Barris might be the lead of the show but its star is Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation). Jones plays the character, Joya, a high-profile lawyer who took time away from her career to raise the family’s five children. She’s hilarious and over-the-top and the kind of mom you’d want to grab a drink with. This is another TV comedy you’ll want to enjoy with your mature kids.
7. I’m Sorry – Netflix
I’m Sorry is a little gem of a show that we’ve written about before. The creator and star of the show Andrew Savage is a treasure and mines motherhood for comedy gold in a way that feels so right. Savage plays a comedy writer who can’t leave the jokes out of her everyday life. If you love cringeworthy, awkward comedies, this TV show is full of those moments. The horrific parenting scenes feel so personally uncomfortable and real that you’ll be thankful they’ve never happened to you.
6. Catastrophe – Amazon Prime
Comedian, writer, and actor Sharon Horgan’s (Pulling, Divorce)brand of comedy is not for everybody. It’s dry, fast, and deeply unsettling if you think about it for too long. Horgan plays a character who accidentally gets pregnant after a fling and she and the child’s father decide to raise the baby together. What could go wrong? A lot. This dark and gritty take on parenthood felt very refreshing when it came out in early 2015. It gets bleak at times, but so does motherhood. But, overall we loved this sitcom from the UK.
5. Jane the Virgin – Netflix
Jane the Virgin is one of our go-to feel-good shows. This family-friendly show features a cast of hilarious characters that appear and reappear of the course of five seasons in the most expected ways. The show borrows its format from telenovelas and it runs with it! The show’s star, Gina Rodriguez is phenomenal as the titular Jane. The show follows Jane who is accidentally impregnated at an OBGYN visit and chaos ensues. Funny and full of heart, binge-watching Jane the Virgin would be a great way to spend a quiet mother’s day at home.
4. Little Fires Everywhere – Hulu
Want to feel better about your own parenting? Watch Little Fires Everywhere. While the majority of shows on this list are comedies, this show is only funny when the melodrama gets cranked to 100. Soapy, messy, and absurd, Little Fires Everywhere is a show best enjoyed if you’re not taking it too seriously. Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington are fantastic as two very different moms with very different parenting styles. As their worlds collide things start to fall apart. It’s nuts. Nuts!
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3. The Letdown – Netflix
Australian import, The Letdown is a very funny show about how silly parenting can feel. Alsion Bell plays Audrey a woman who’s determined to not let motherhood define her professionally or personally. As she grows into the role, so too does motherhood begin to consume her every waking moment and thought. No one sets out to fit neatly into a category, but circumstance often shapes us into it. The Letdown explores this beautifully and never takes itself too seriously.
2. The Durrells in Corfu – Amazon Prime
The Durrells in Corfu is a sun-kissed charmer set on a friendly Greek island. Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard) slays as Louisa Durrell, a single mother who moves her four children from England to the ‘exotic’ locale in the mid-1930s. While the house they inhabit doesn’t have electricity, Corfu proves to be an earthly paradise for the family. The show is wholesome and very funny, featuring a quirky cast of characters and some great life lessons to boot. Although this show might not thrill your kids (unless they love animals!), you can watch with the entire family.
1. Better Things – FX/Hulu
Pamela Adlon (Californication) writes, directs, and stars in this emotional comedy about being a single mother in Hollywood. On the surface, Better Things is a comedy about that pokes fun at the absurdity of parenting. Underneath, the show is a profound meditation on the special bond mothers share with their daughters. There are four seasons of the show available and each season is better than the last. It’s one of the best shows on TV and one of our very favorites about motherhood.
No matter how you celebrate Mother’s Day this year, make sure you do it your way! If that means drinking some wine and chilling on the couch with a great show, do you! The coronavirus pandemic has stymied a lot of plans already, but don’t it keep you from enjoying yourself as best you can. These shows about motherhood are an excellent way to celebrate the day.
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