"The females are strong as H*ll."

I usually like to do tributes to TV shows I really like. Lately, I'm lucky if I can get my blog project post done, let alone anything else. So I've decided to do a condensed post and give shout-outs to some new TV shows I've been enjoying over the past year. All three feature women in the lead roles and have a chick lit feel to them in one way or another. Now that two of them are done for the year, I'm looking forward to Younger, which premieres next week.

Jane the Virgin

The best thing to happen to TV since Ugly Betty. It's told in a telenovela format and is about a 20-something girl, Jane (played by Gina Rodriguez), who is saving herself for marriage and gets accidentally artificially inseminated when she goes for a routine women's exam. The problem is, the father, Rafael Solano (played by the ever-so-gorgeous Justin Baldoni), is the son of the owner of the hotel where she works as a waitress. And his wife was counting on carrying the baby herself in order to keep her marriage from failing. (Are you still with me here?) Meanwhile, Jane's mother, Xiomara a.k.a. "Xo" (played by Andrea Navedo) re-connects with Jane's father, Rogelio de la Vega (played by Jaime Camil and very active on Twitter), after lying to Jane about him her whole life. The other problems are that the OB/GYN is Rafael's sister, Luisa (played by Yara Martinez), who is having an affair with her stepmother (played by Bridget Regan), and Jane is engaged to Michael, a cop who gets involved in the hotel's business when some strange things start happening. Oh, the DRAMA! It's a deliciously fun show and I can't wait to come back from its hiatus in early April.

Love to hate: Michael, Jane's fiancé (played by Brett Dier). He's just boring and manipulative. I don't like how he tries to use his cop status to get in Rafael's face all the time and make unfounded accusations against him.

Hate to love: Petra, Rafael's wife (played by Yael Grobglas). She definitely has an evil side, but after hearing her back story, it's hard not to feel sorry for her. Even so, she finds ways to come out on top whenever things aren't going the way she'd like.

This trailer says it all...


Hindsight

This show immediately attracted me for two reasons...time travel and the 90s. And then it kept me drawn in through pop culture (especially the music), cute guys, and a captivating story line. It's basically about a woman who goes back to good old 1995 after collapsing in an elevator. It happens to be that she arrived on her wedding day and she decides to change the course of her own history, knowing what she knows in the present. (Or is it the future?) Even if there were weeks that Becca (the main character, played by Laura Ramsey) made a crazy decision, I still wanted to stick it out and see what would come of the new change she made to her past. I liked the supporting cast, which includes Donna Murphy (who did the voice of Mother Gothel in Tangled) and Mario Cantone  (I saw him hurriedly walking down the street when I was in NYC), amongst people I've never seen before. It was cool to see how one change Becca made totally affected the rest of the characters. Things that happened in her first reality might not be the same if she gets back to 2015. We won't know if she's there again until next year, but I'm thankful the series was renewed. It's too good not to be! You can watch it for free on VH1.com, so why not dig in?!?

Love to hate: Melanie, Becca's 2015 fiancé's girlfriend in 1995 (played by Jessy Hodges, who looks somewhat like Alyson Hannigan...enough to be noticeable). She was just so smug and I hated the way she talked. I felt like she basically existed to torment Becca.

Hate to love: Jamie, Becca's brother (played by John Patrick Amedori). He was a typical 90s slacker, but I just found him attractive, even when he was making bad decisions. He reminded me of Travis from Clueless.

If this trailer doesn't convince you to watch it, let me know what else I can say...


Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

I was never a fan of 30 Rock, and I know this is from the same writers and creators (including Tina Fey). However, the concept drew me in and the story line and level of humor kept me going with it. Not to mention, the catchy theme song. It reminds me of a cross between Blast from the Past, 13 Going on 30, and Arrested Development (I'm not the only one who noticed this TV show comparison either). The premise is that some women who were kidnapped and tricked into living in an underground bunker for 15 years have now been freed and they're adapting to life and all the changes that have gone on. The main focus is on Kimmy (played by Ellie Kemper), a 30 year-old with a middle school education who decides to live in NYC and ends up being roommates with a stereotypically flamboyant gay man, who is now Felix from Orphan Black's competition for my TV gay bestie (played by Tituss Burgess), and takes a job as a nanny for a stuck-up rich woman (played by Jane Krakowski). This lends itself to really funny lines and quirky comedy all across the board. Carol "I'm not a witch, I'm your wife" Kane also has a big role as Kimmy and Titus' landlord, Lillian. She and Titus play off each other so well. My husband and I have all sorts of inside jokes from the show, even just from doing a grand arm gesture and saying "it's a MIRACLE!" Or we'll just randomly sing "Pinot Noir." Kimmy is an adorable character (#girlcrush worthy) on a charming show. I definitely recommend it if you need a good laugh or even a break from reality. For those of you who already love this series, you will enjoy this post.

Love to hate: Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (played by Jon Hamm). He's just more and more awful every time he talks. (Runner up is Randy, Kimmy's non-father, because he's so annoying. He's played by Tim Blake Nelson.)

Hate to love: Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski's character). She's so shallow and full of herself, but I know she has this vulnerable side and I love that about her. I want to see her change for the better somehow.

Check out the trailer: