Ten Worlds Worth Living In

I have always preferred TV shows to movies. I feel that it allows you to live with the characters and watch them grow. TV works better at capturing the character's essence instead of trying to cram everything into 2-3 hours. The following are my favorite TV shows and the worlds that I loved having a chance to explore. 

Parks and Recreation

A group of local government employees tries to improve the fictional town of Pawnee, IN.

Why I Love: It is what I really wish our government leaders were like. Leslie aspires not only to make her town look great, but also to put laws into place that help the citizens. She gets a lot of pushback, but she never lets that dissuade her. 

I also love the power of female friendship that they display with Leslie and Ann. It makes you wish you could hang out with them and celebrate Galentine’s Day. Also, I would be remiss not to talk about my favorite chaos gremlin, Ron. He and Leslie push each other’s buttons, but they do so in order to help each other grow. Quick note: If you decide to check out the series, start with season two. The first season is a rough watch, but it gets 10x better the next season. 

Golden Girls

Four single women in a house in Miami, experiencing their golden years with fun, sassiness, friendship, and spontaneity.

Why I Love: They broke the mold of women over 50 being in the spotlight and being headliners of their own shows. Just imagine. If Golden Girls never existed, we would have never gotten shows like Matlock (the one with Kathy Bates), Ride or Die (2026), Hacks, or Grace and Frankie (another show that will appear later on in this list). 

It proved that stories about women over 50 were not only entertaining, but necessary. All the girls lead active lives, careers, independence, and romantic relationships. It let women know that being 50 isn’t the end, but that you are still just getting started. The show also tackled taboo subjects during that time like HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ, suicide, addiction, social loneliness, deportation, mental health, artificial insemination, and much more. The show tackled each topic with the grace and dignity it deserves.

Watchmen

Taking place in alternate modern-day Tulsa, Oklahoma, the show explores a world where masked vigilantes are outlaws, and police now wear masks to hide their identities from a white terrorist organization called the Seventh Cavalry. 

Why I Love: It illustrated racial injustices in a nuanced way when discussing the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and other historical atrocities in the US. I wish that other shows went that deep, especially with the current administration trying to erase the effects of racism in history books and prevent it from being taught. Plus, the masked policemen are interesting foreshadowing of the society we live in now. 

Lovecraft Country

A fantasy horror series about a Black Korean War veteran who travels across the segregated US in the 1950s to find his missing father. 

Why I Love: Like Watchmen, Lovecraft Country gives you an idea of the horrors and racial injustices for Black people, except the series takes place mostly in the 1950s. Black people couldn’t drive around in certain parts of the country after dark. Books were made available to Black citizens to let them know which areas in the US were safe for them to travel to. It displayed the harmful imagery that was used to mock Black people. It was also interesting to see Black soldiers fight for their country when their country didn’t have respect for any of them. 

It makes you wonder what horror was worse for the main characters: being Black in America or fighting the supernatural forces around them. I still don’t know the answer, and I am angry that this show never got a season 2. 

Frasier

A spinoff of Cheers that follows the character of Dr. Frasier Crane as he moves back to his hometown of Seattle. 

Why I Love: You don’t have to watch Cheers to watch Frasier. It is an interesting choice because I didn’t think I would like a show about a person who is massively pretentious and egotistical. However, I found that one of the things that makes this show work is the interpersonal relationship between Frasier, Niles, and Martin. It is funny to see how Frasier and Niles are so different from their retired cop and working man father. It is great because it shows how different groups of people get along with each other and thrive instead of only associating with people who have the same thoughts as you. 

The Big Bang Theory

A group of socially awkward nerds and their neighbor navigate friendships, romance, and geek culture.

Why I Love: As a fellow nerd, I loved how it embraced Geek culture without necessarily pointing it out every single time. It was a part of their everyday lives, and it made me feel good to see others embrace their geek side as well. 

It was also a comfort to me when I was in the hospital last year. It was one of the few shows that was played for numerous hours of the day. It helped me to smile when everything felt deep and dark. 

Grace and Frankie

Grace and Frankie’s families have been friends for years. However, everything comes to a halt when their husbands, Robert and Sol, announce that they are leaving their wives for each other. Now Grace and Frankie, complete opposites who can’t stand each other, are forced to live together. What chaos will they get into next?

Why I Love: It puzzled my family why I liked this show so much because they really didn’t see the appeal. However, I felt that it is one of the few shows that relates to my particular situation. It sucks watching your body deteriorate and not being able to walk and move around much anymore. It was nice to see women going through the same thing as me, but not giving up. Grace and Frankie got creative and made devices that helped them with every struggle and created a business out of it. I wish I could be even a fraction as creative as Grace and Frankie. 

Ted Lasso

A former American football coach travels to Britain to coach a soccer team even though he knows nothing about soccer.

Why I Love: When you think of sports guys, the first thoughts are macho and restrained. However, I love that this show went in the opposite direction for Ted and the rest of the fellows in AFC Richmond. Ted in particular is portrayed with multiple layers and depths, and shows the importance of talking about your issues instead of keeping them bottled up inside. He provided a safe space for people to express themselves, which is not something that you see often. I wish that more shows explored the importance of mental health as Ted Lasso does. 

Loki

The story follows the Norse god as he is apprehended by the Time Variance Authority and helps them restore the multiverse.

Why I Love: It is not that often that the villain gets their own show, but there has never been one more deserving. The layers that Tom Hiddleston gives to the character in the movies and the TV series have been fascinating to watch. 

I also love how it tackles the concept of whether a villain can be redeemed or if villains are always to remain bad. Society has a tendency to write people off when they commit crimes. It would be interesting if more people were given a chance to be redeemed instead of being condemned until the end of time.

Resident Alien

An alien crash-lands in a small town in Colorado. He hides among the locals as he tries to continue his plan of destroying humanity. 

Why I Love: It is not that often that my entire family likes a show to watch together. We all have different likes. However, we gathered weekly to watch the show while it aired. I love that it provided my family with a topic we could talk about and engage with together. I also love that the show is very funny. The characters know how to balance each other well, even when a lot of the situations that the characters face are very chaotic. It was also interesting to see how an alien changes his view on humanity. He started off hating humanity, but then starts to wonder if there is more to Earth than what the universe thinks. It is a very compelling show. I was sad to see it cancelled, but glad that the last season wrapped up the show nicely. 

Thank you for reading about my TV journey. I feel these picks give you not only an idea of what I like, but also how I view the world. I hope you find something that you like within these selections, and love them as much as I do.