The Best T.V
My Top T.V Shows
I’m snowed in, here in the A2. With 10-15 inches of snow on the ground, there’s little to do but get snuggled in blankets with tea and freshly baked browned butter chocolate chip cookies and watch a good t.v show.
Ok—in reality, I don’t have much time for t.v at the moment, but I’ve been reminiscing on my favorite shows of all time and I thought I would share them with you. In no particular order:
Mad Men: If I could watch one show for the rest of my life, it would easily be Mad Men. Yes, Jon Hamm is easy on the eyes. But more importantly, the behind-the-scenes look into the advertising world of the ’60s was fascinating to indulge in. Every time I rewatch the series, I feel like I begin to understand the characters more deeply and the historical contexts a bit more. And the commentary on women in the workplace, relationships, power, and loyalty could be a dissertation all on its own. Mad Men is simply the best of the best.
Insecure: Issa Rae created a masterpiece. I am beyond excited for everything to come after this superb series. There are many things to love about Insecure, but I am a true fan of the way friendships between Black women are portrayed in the show. I am going to miss rooting for Molly every week.
Euphoria: Every episode is a roller coaster on friendships, boundaries, addiction, gender, sexual identity, self-love, and so much more. I happily return to HBO every Sunday, and I can’t wait to see the series and the talented cast grow over time. The show is not without it’s criticisms, but I love Rue’s storyline with every ounce of me. Here’s my favorite take, from Tee Noir.
The Golden Girls: With the recent passing of Betty White, I have recently gone back to this show and have revisited the impact it has had on me. Emphasizing the importance of friendships and that women can truly have fun at any age— there’s no surprise that this show racked up 11 Emmys in its lifetime. And boy oh boy does a slice of cheesecake with chocolate syrup go a long way.
The Nanny: I don’t know which I loved more: Fran’s outfits or the painfully miscommunicated tension between Fran and Mr. Sheffield. Either way, this show is such a joy to watch.
Boy Meets World: Name a better relationship than Shawn and Angela? I will never be satisfied by how their relationship ended. IMO, their relationship was so much more realistic than Corey and Topanga. This is a classic story of young kids figuring out the world. It’s precious but with a lot of lessons that anyone can learn from.
Sanford and Son: In this sitcom, a father and son duo run a junk shop out of their yard. So while navigating a parent/child relationship, they must also run a business together, which can be difficult, as (Fred) Sanford is incredibly rude and always trying to get into money-making schemes that never end well. You’ll get lots of belly laughs out of this one.
The Jeffersons: This is a sensational show about Black American mobility. Mr. George Jefferson is a newly rich millionaire after owning a successful chain of laundromats and moves his family into a luxury apartment complete with a live-in cleaning lady. The show chronicles the relationship with his wife and his brash decision-making.
A Different World: In full transparency, this is a spin-off of the Cosby Show— and although I would never support anything Mr. Cosby has created at this stage in my life, as a kid this show was my everything. Outside of the love story between a Southern belle (Whitley) and a Math major (Dwayne), this was an exceptional story about Black young adults at a fictional (mostly) Black college. This show covered everything from healthy relationships, partner violence, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic to colorism, classicism, and the race riots over police brutality. To say this show was transformational would be an understatement. Plus it spotlighted so many of the greats: Lisa Bonet, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tisha Campbell, Lena Horne, Gladys Knight, Tupac, Blair Underwood, Halle Berry, Whoopi Goldberg, and so many more.
Colombo: No crime show has done it like Colombo. In this series, you get to see the crime unfold at the beginning of episodes, including who did it. The fun is getting to see Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) discover the culprit and watching the tricks he uses to get a confession.
In the Heat of the Night: This show is a police drama set in Mississippi, and it follows the surprising relationship between a Black police detective and a white police chief from Sparta. It’s both a movie (starring Sidney Poitier) and a show. You can’t go wrong with watching both.
The Waltons: I get emotional thinking about this show. It follows a multi-generational family in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, during the Great Depression-era and World War II. The show is through the eyes of the oldest Walton—John Boy, as he is a novelist, reflecting on his childhood. There hasn’t been an American historical drama yet to outdo this one.
The Andy Griffith Show: Are you surprised? I can’t be from North Carolina, and not love this sweet show about a local sheriff and the relationship he has with the small town of Mayberry, his deputy Barney, and his son Opie. Andy proves that the good guys always win in the end. It’s a classic rural comedy, you’ll always turn to for comfort.
Good Times: This show chronicles a Black working-class family living in the projects of Chicago in the 1970s. It’s humorous and heartwarming and sometimes even heartbreaking. But it’s worth the watch.
Bonanza: This is one of the best Westerns there are— and one of the longest-running. It follows a wise father and his three sons, as they defend their Nevada Ranch. Looking back, I imagine this show is so problematic. It was set during the Civil War, and they weren’t particularly nice to Indigenous Americans. I don’t know why I liked it so much as a kid.
Little House on the Prairie: Based on a popular novel series, this show follows a family living in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. We watch this family go and grow through hardships including a daughter going blind, marriage and loss, and so much more. This is another show where I have no idea as to why I loved it so much, but it’s so easy to get connected to these characters.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: This should come as no surprise— it’s such a classic, and it’s fun to watch. Will Smith at his finest.
I Love Lucy: Lucy is such an icon— I’ve loved watching her find her way out of all her shenanigans and annoying the hell out of her husband Ricky. It’s one of the best comedies ever made.
The Brady Bunch: This show is also a classic. I adored the fashion, the sibling dynamics, and of course the theme song. It’s such a simple and sweet show, and it’s enduring to watch. Apparently, it originated from a statistic at the time (the 1960s), that 31 percent of all marriages involved people who had a child or children from a previous marriage. It’s crazy to think that blended families were a new concept back then when it is so normal now!
Here are some honorable mentions:
Living Single
Everybody Hates Chris
Martin
Girlfriends
iCarly
I Dream of Jeanie
The Mary Tyler Moore Show (I remember wanting her closet as a kid)
Most of these shows, you can find reruns as you watch cable tv. I imagine some of them have been canonized through streaming services! What are your favorite shows? I’d love to know!
cover photo https://unsplash.com/@thula25