Fictional "historical" characters are celebrated over several U.S. holidays — Christmas, Easter, Groundhog Day, President's Day, etc. Meanwhile, the very real creators of life, moms, receive only one annual nod: Mother's Day.
Fortunately, there's television, the great equalizer. Here are five streaming TV series that showcase wildly different mothers at their best, worst and straight-up weirdest. And no, forwarding this article to your mom's Hotmail does not count as a Mother's Day gift.
Better Things (Seasons 1-2 on Hulu)
Is Pamela Adlon's Better Things a comedy or a drama? Yes. Adlon herself simply says it's an "incredible feelings show," which fits like a fresh pair of Spanx. It's also about motherhood; Better Things will make you laugh, cry and scream along with single mom Sam (Adlon) and her three daughters, the most complex kids on TV. Above all, Better Things is capital-A Art.
Workin' Moms (Season 1 on Netflix)
Like Schitt's Creek and Letterkenny, dark-com Workin' Moms is covertly Canadian. The struggles of these Toronto mothers (including It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Catherine Reitman, Workin' Moms' creator), unfortunately, are universal: postpartum depression, workplace sexism, inconvenient lactation and everything else men deny. Too real, but still funny.
Jane the Virgin (Seasons 1-4 on Netflix)
In this gringo-ized 2014-19 CW telenovela, engaged 23-year-old virgin Jane (Gina Rodriguez) is inadvertently inseminated with a sperm sample meant for another patient — even worse, the sample is from her handsome boss crush! Jane the Virgin is ridiculous, fizzy fun that detours into The Feels seamlessly. Best of all, Christian groups lost their minds over Jane before it even aired.
ODD MOM OUT (Seasons 1-3 on Vudu)
Momzillas author Jill Kargman stars as a manically exaggerated version of herself in this 2015-17 comedy about uber-rich Manhattan mothers, the smartest series Bravo ever produced. Naturally, Odd Mom Out was canceled to make room for more Real Housewives dreck, but at least Kargman and scene-stealing Abby Elliott cranked out 30 near-perfect episodes.
SMILF (Season 1 on Vudu)
The "S" in SMILF stands for "single"; you probably know the rest. Twenty-something mom Bridgette (Frankie Shaw) juggles parenting, an acting career and relationships in Los Angeles. Alongside the mom stuff, SMILF indulges in all kinds of raw sex and drugs (it's a Showtime series, after all), but "Bridge" remains a fiercely devoted parent who'll gladly discuss her vagina. ♦
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