TV Shows That Remind Us What It’s Like To Be Human

Humans are complex creatures.

We’re selfish, self-absorbed and materialistic, compassionate, intelligent, and vulnerable. We’re raw and happy. We’re wrapped inside our own little world for most of our lives. It’s easy to forget what it’s like to be human - to be empathetic to other people’s suffering, to be sympathetic to other people’s pain, and what our purpose in life is. Society tells us who to be and what to achieve.

Rarely do they ever show us how to be human?

These shows are different. They force us to reevaluate our lives and make us wonder what it means to be human.

Scrubs

At the heart of the show is John Dorian (JD), played by Zach Braff. He’s goofy, in his own fantasy world, and starts out as an intern at Sacred Heart Hospital. His best friend Turk, played by Donald Faison, is just as outlandish as JD is. JD’s love interest is neurotic and a complete disaster of a person but a good doctor. His mentor, Dr. Cox, is callous and unforgiving. And Carla, everyone’s favorite nurse, says her mind and doesn’t take crap from anyone.

The chemistry of the cast, even the guest stars, are electrifying. But more than the cast, at the very core of Scrubs is a lesson in life, laughter, death, and everything in between. While Scrubs is a comedy, being set in a hospital setting means one thing - it doesn’t shy away from mental and physical illnesses, and of course, death.

One of the most memorable guest stars to ever grace the show was Michael J. Fox who played a prominent doctor who made everyone feel inferior. When JD goes to lay it out on Fox, he finds him washing his hands, 2 hours after surgery. Fox has severe OCD. He just wants to go home but he can’t. The scream he lets out as he turns the faucet back on is heartbreaking. Sometimes you’re so wrapped in your ego that when you have a problem, the first thing you want to do is blame someone else. You need to learn to own your burdens and not make someone else responsible for them.

Carla deals with postpartum depression and can’t stand to spend time with her newborn. Cox imagines his brother-in-law (Brendan Fraser) following and joking around with him at the hospital. But Fraser is the patient who died and they end the day at his funeral. A happy moment takes a turn for the worse when three patients get much needed organ transplants only to find out the donor had died of rabies resulting in all three recipients dying.

"Maybe The Best Thing To Do Is Stop Trying To Figure Out Where You’re Going And Just Enjoy Where You’re At." - Scrubs

Scrubs is a lesson in the burdens people carry with them, grief, kindness and laughter in the bleakest of moments. JD often falls into his fantasy world and I wonder if it’s his way of dealing with the everyday sadness of seeing people die every day. Even though it’s a comedy, each episode ends with me sobbing and grabbing tissues. Every episode has a lesson the audience can learn from whether it’s about death, love, regret, life, or just what it means to be human.

Breaking Bad

Walter White is a chemistry high school teacher and he’s been diagnosed with Stage IIIA lung cancer. He’s dying. His wife, Skyler, sets up an appointment with one of the top oncologists. That means money. Lots of money.

Walter seems to already accept the hand he’s been dealt early on in the show. He knows he’s going to die but before he does he wants to make sure his wife, teenage son, and soon to be daughter are taken care of when he’s gone.

So in addition to the two jobs he already has, he decides to recruit one of his former students, Jesse Pinkman, to produce and distribute meth. This leads them into a rabbit hole of drug dealers and murders with Walt eventually becoming a drug lord. The show essentially turns “Mr. Chips into Scarface” as creator, Vince Gilligan, puts it.

In his quest for money and power, Walter ends up destroying everything he ever loved - his family.

This show is not only about a mild-mannered high school teacher transforming into a murdering drug lord - it’s about what resentment and desperation can do to a person.

Walt could’ve been a millionaire. He had founded what would become a multi-billion dollar company called Gray Matter with his best friend in Caltech. Walt subsequently sold his shares for $5,000 and spent his days teaching high school chemistry while his best friend went on to make millions with the company they founded.

He lost everything when he sold his shares to Gray Matter. He went on to live in what Walt considered a life of mediocrity. When his best friend offered him a job at Gray Matter and assured him they have excellent health insurance, Walt didn’t even consider it, letting his pride and ego get in the way rather than thinking about his own health and family first.

First it was about the money, then it was about the power. Near the end of the show, it was revealed that Walt had made nearly $80 million in just a year. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted more, he needed more. It wasn’t about the money anymore, $80 million was more than enough for his wife and kids. He needed his drug empire to assuage his ego. As a result, he ended up losing his family.

This show highlights how fast and far a person can fall into the depths of corruption when ego, money, and power are involved, and how none of that matters when you lose sight of what’s truly important to you.

Working Moms

I watched only 2 seasons of this show. These moms are not the typical lovey dovey moms that society expects but that’s not why I stopped watching. While the overwhelm of being a working mom is completely relatable as a working mom myself, I found the main characters overly pessimistic, negative, and vulgar to the point where they became unlikable. It took away from the purpose of the show which is to highlight that women have a purpose outside the family and how difficult it is for moms who want to live their own lives but have a family to take care of.

It’s a different perspective on what society deems as a model mom. The main characters prioritizes their work over their family and from the 2 seasons I’ve watched, rarely show affection to their children. It seems that they find their children a burden more than anything else. This isn’t necessarily a criticism of the show but rather something that should be applauded for as not a lot of shows have the courage to explore this side of motherhood. Working Moms is the only show I’ve come across that puts the struggle of being a working mom front and center. We need more shows like this.

The Good Place

What happens when we die?

That’s the question The Good Place tries to answer but more than that, it’s an exploration into the purpose of human existence and what makes a person good?

Kristin Bell and Ted Danson are the stars of this quirky comedy that makes us question our own moral compasses and the impact we have as human beings.

Raising millions for charitable causes doesn’t necessarily make you a good person if you have selfish intentions. Studying moral philosophy and having a strict ethical code doesn’t mean you’ll end up in The Good Place if you can’t act on what you believe in. Actions and intentions have consequences in the afterlife.

The one lesson I learned from this show is that no matter how hard you try, sometimes there’s no right or wrong answer to how you should live your life. The complexities of trying to live your life the best way you know how will always be scrutinized. The basis for getting into The Good Place is an elaborate point system - buying your wife flowers might get you 20 points but those flowers, having been picked for consumption instead of nurturing bees means a deduction of 100 points. You can’t always foresee how small actions impact the world as a whole. The only thing you can do is try to do some good in the world with the best of intentions.

Schitt’s Creek

The Rose family is grabbing everything they can before getting evicted out of their own house. Everything they own is going to the government. Their business manager defrauded them out of their entire fortune.

John, Moira and their two kids, David and Alexis are officially broke. They have nothing in their name...well except for a little town called Schitt’s Creek which John bought for David as a joke. With no other options, they pack what they have and move into the motel of the town they own.

This town is nothing like the high-flying lifestyle they're used to. The show is about a wealthy family who loses it all but rather than wallowing in their bad luck, they form new relationships, start new ventures, and adapt the best way they know-how.

Schitt’s Creek has taught me:

1. “People aren’t thinking about you the way you’re thinking about you.” - Alexis Rose

I’m way too self-conscious about what others think of me but the truth is nobody cares what I do or how I do it. There’s freedom in knowing that people have much lower expectations of me than I have of myself.

2. The best person to be is yourself

All the characters in Schitt’s Creek are unapologetically themselves. They don’t act like someone they’re not to make an impression or try to fit in. They accept themselves for who they are and act accordingly.

3. Sometimes the only way to love someone is to let them grow without you

Near the end of the series, Alexis and Ted say goodbye to each other. Not because they don’t love each other but because it was time to let go so the other person could grow.

4. Never underestimate your ability to adapt and resilience

You are stronger than you think.