- Jane The Virgin
Courtesy of the CW
Sure, the premise is a bit wonky. The idea to make a modern soap about accidently artificially inseminating a virgin is laughable at best, but the truth is, it is a fantastic idea and it shows in each episode. This is a television show that is very aware of its audience and very conscious of the way they portray the Latin community.
Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez, who plays Jane Villanueva, is the helm of the series with her almost exclusively Spanish-speaking abuela Alba, played by Ivonne Coll, and her fun loving mother Xiomara Villanueva, played by Andrea Navedo. These women are fully-realized characters who are written as the flawed and beautiful characters we rarely see on primetime TV when depicting Latinos. The three women’s relationships with each other and the people around them jump out of the screen.
You’ll find yourself rooting for them every single episode. What makes the show so great is that it takes the stereotypes attributed to Latinos and turns them on their head. The greatest thing though, is that Xio, Jane, and Alba are treated like human beings, as they should be. Xio is fun loving, sweet, and passionate. She has big dreams of being a singer, while Jane has dreams of teaching and writing. These are dreams that Jane is just now going after. Alba wants the best for them all; she wants them to follow the word of God and find love, in that order.
Jane The Virgin airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
