Responsible for such hit television shows as Gossip Girl and 90210, The CW network isn’t usually the go to TV channel when it comes to queer TV programming. In fact, given that the channel had no regular LGBT characters in any of its shows (as of October 1st, 2014), The CW was actually a channel that LGBT folk avoided.
But that could all change with Jane The Virgin.
Based on a Venezuelan telenovela called Juana la Virgen, Jane The Virgin focuses on a woman named Jane who has chosen to save herself for marriage. But that all comes into question when she becomes pregnant via an accidental round of artificial insemination following a routine doctor’s appointment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgDz0s7xw8A
All of the drama ensues, complete with a tangled web of lies, tales, family members and love interests and it makes Jane The Virgin one of the most unique, original and outright brilliant TV shows to grace our screens. Here are three good reasons why you should watch it.
1. A Diverse Cast
Very often, we find ourselves rolling our eyes at just how white (and usually male) the casts of our favourite television series are. Not so with Jane The Virgin as the majority of the cast are actors of colour.
Jane and the members of her family, along with her best friend and her boss’s sister are Hispanic, while Jane’s fiancée and Jane’s boss’ wife are white, the best friend of Jane’s boss is mixed race and the police partner of Jane’s fiancée is black.
We very rarely get casts this diverse and with Jane The Virgin it never feels like anybody’s a token, merely, these are the characters and it’s just nice to see some more relatable faces. None of the characters are stereotypes either making it a shining example of good representation.
2. Queer Characters
Yes, for many of you the amount of queer characters is a deal-breaker as it rightly should be! No need to worry about Jane The Virgin then as the story kicks off thanks to the lesbian sister of Jane’s boss.
After she walks in on her wife mid-affair, Dr. Luisa Alver drinks and shows up to work dazed and out of it, which is why she fails to realise that she artificially inseminated the wrong woman. While the circumstances are unfortunate, with Luisa we have the plot of the show.
She also gets a love interest a few episodes in, which comes with its own strings and issues (naturally), but Luisa isn’t treated as a side character nor does her drama only focus on her sexuality. Rather, her problems are in the thick of it right with everyone else’s.
3. Brilliant Storylines
If you’re struggling to keep up with the immaculate pregnancy premise then don’t worry. As Jane The Virgin is based on a telenovela it’s meant to have these many branches of stories and lies, that’s what keeps it fun.
Rather than being campy or ridiculously as telenovelas can be, Jane The Virgin’s plots have migrated to network television incredibly well and each week, reveals that you’d usually expect shows to bookmark in a series premiere or finale pepper each episode and keep you addicted.
Watch Jane The Virgin on Mondays on The CW.