[ad_1]
Everything I Know About Love, the new series based on the memoir of the same name by Dolly Alderton, is a beautiful, moving, and often very funny exploration of the extraordinary friendships that often arise between women. Given that so many television series pit women against one another, it is quite refreshing the extent to which this one shows how difficult and how rewarding these bonds can be.
Fortunately for fans of the show, there are quite a few other series, both past and present, which have a similar dynamic. Each one is a timely reminder of why female friendship is such an important subject for television.
Designing Women (1986 – 1993)
Stream On Hulu
In many ways, Designing Women was one of the best sitcoms of the 1980s and early 1990s. Focusing on a group of women who work for an interior design firm, it follows their various adventures, many of which intersect with the key political issues of the period. It is a show that manages to bring together both timely social commentary with bitingly funny comedy.
There’s no doubt, though, that it’s the bonds among these four women that is the series’ most enduring legacy, and it is one of those series that has yet to be outdone.
The Golden Girls (1985 – 1992)
Stream On Hulu
When it comes to series about female friendship, The Golden Girls stands head and shoulders above the rest. Over its seven seasons, it explored the friendships and bonds among its four leads: Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia, each of whom emerged as a fully fleshed-out character in their own right.
Time and again, the series demonstrated that it was the bonds between the women that mattered the most, even more than their various romantic entanglements. And, just as importantly, it was also a series that wore its feminist politics on its sleeve, and it would go on to become one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time.
Hot In Cleveland (2000 – 2015)
Stream On Paramount+
Hot in Cleveland is a remarkable series for many reasons. Indeed, over the course of its several seasons, it would become one of the best series on TV Land. With its story about three women from California who unexpectedly move to Cleveland and move into a house together – complete with its caretaker, played by the divine Betty White – it has a great deal in common with The Golden Girls.
Time and again, the series emphasized how important these women’s relationships with one another were, and it’s for this reason that it became such a heartwarming offering on the network.
Everything I Know About Love (2022 – )
Stream On Peacock
From its very first episode, Everything I Know About Love reveals how invested it is in the central friendship at its core, that between Maggie and Birdy. What is particularly moving about the show is that it so artfully depicts the many challenges that come about as one enters one’s 20s.
This is particularly acute for these two friends, as they have to decide how to maintain their relationship, as well as their romantic ones. Though it never loses sight of its humor, it is also a show that is more than willing to explore its darker emotional depths.
A League Of Their Own (2022 – )
Stream On Prime Video
The original A League Of Their Own is often seen as one of the best sports movies. The new series, like its predecessor, focuses on a group of female baseball players as they attempt to succeed in their own league, despite the misogyny and homophobia of the era.
It is notable for the extent to which it includes LGBTQ+ characters who were largely excluded from the original. Furthermore, as the series goes on, the various women all come to rely on one another, and the series ultimately has a powerful and liberating message about female solidarity.
Sex And The City (1998 – 2004)
Stream On HBO Max
Sex and the City is often regarded as one of the best HBO series ever made. With its glamorous portrait of life in New York City and its fabulous central characters, it’s easy to see why it would remain so popular, even so many years after its finale.
As with so many other similar series, however, it’s the friendship among Samantha, Charlotte, Carrie, and Miranda that proves to be the heart and soul of the series. No matter what trials they might face in their romantic lives, they always know that when the chips are down, they can count on one another.
Girls (2012 – 2017)
Stream On HBO Max
Girls was one of those series that made a point of being confrontational. In part, this stems from the unlikability of its main characters, particularly Hannah, its main protagonist. However, there’s also no question that the series actually did a very good job of fleshing out the complicated dynamics that emerge among groups of friends as they confront the many difficulties of life in one’s 20s.
In particular, the series excelled at exploring the millennial experience. Though audiences may not have always liked the characters, they were at least led to understand them and (some) of their actions.
Broad City (2014 – 2019)
Stream On Hulu
Throughout its five seasons, Broad City established itself as one of the best sitcoms of the 2010s. Based on the real-life friendship of its two leads, it focuses on the efforts of Abbi and Ilana to get ahead in New York City.
The series has a very earthy sense of humor that sets it apart from many others that aired at the same time. Ultimately, though, it’s the emotional authenticity of these two women’s friendship that remains one of the most enduringly popular and moving aspects of its story.
Insecure (2016 – 2021)
Stream On HBO Max
Insecure is one of those series that manages to be both hilariously funny and yet deeply resonant at the same time (and often in the same episode). For the most part, the series focuses on Issa, an awkward young Black woman who is trying to get ahead, even as she also has to contend with both romance and the perils of friendship.
It’s clear from the beginning that Issa’s most important bond is with her best friend, Molly, and though the two come perilously close to breaking up altogether, in the end, they realize that neither is wholly complete without the other.
Grace And Frankie (2015 – 2022)
Stream On Netflix
Over the course of its several seasons, Grace And Frankie established itself as one of the best Netflix Original series. Starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the title roles, it follows their characters as they bond over their divorces and slowly establish a rich, meaningful, and enduring friendship.
What makes this series so remarkable and so powerful is the fact that it focuses so much on the unique experiences of older women. Like The Golden Girls before it, it goes out of its way to demonstrate that, when all is said and done, it is the friendship between Grace and Frankie that is the most important and enduring.
[ad_2]
Source link
(This article is generated through syndicated feeds, Financetin doesn’t own any part of this content)
