Show recommendations for my parents
Would anyone who watches more TV than I do (not hard) like to help me pick some shows for my parents to watch? On their own they just watch whatever's on cable/satellite channels and don't enjoy it very much. They're conservative-leaning boomers, but I like to give them subtly progressive stuff. In the past they have praised The Good Place (but, crucially, lost interest before the end of season 2). They really loved the first two seasons of Ted Lasso (will watch the third one soon) and of Only Murders In the Building (I believe they'll watch season 3 of that as well, when it's out).
Some more information about their tastes: Probably no recurring kid stuff whatsoever (a side character or two in their late teens are probably fine). Good humor is fine but nothing that gets too goofy (might be why The Good Place was dropped). Nothing that's too heavily horror or mystery; no police procedurals (Only Murders was skirting that line). Anything that feels like generic, quintessential hollywood will probably be rejected outright (european shows will get more of a pass). And definitely, absolutely, not a hint of high fantasy, sci-fi or space travel of any kind. Some light romance is good; travel is good; places around the world instead of LA-is-everything.
I'm looking for modern shows with good writing and actors, don't necessarily have to be famous. Modern shows - especially shows made for streaming - are more likely to have portuguese subtitles available, which are a must.
Thanks!
EDIT: A clarification re: children - My parents love children. They have toddler grandkids and spend an unreasonable amount of time with them. They're just the kind of TV watchers who aren't at all interested in kid POV/kid centric episodes, because they don't identify with their worries and dramas anymore, so these quickly make them lose interest. I know there are people right here on tildes who feel the same way.
It's still OK for children to exist in the story, though. Don't overthink it too much :)
Try them on Grace and Frankie on Netflix. It stars a few Boomer-era actors: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen, Sam Waterston.
It's about two women in their 70s whose husbands are partners in their own law firm. The wives hate each other, but have to put up with each other because their husbands work together. Then one day, totally out of the blue, the husbands reveal that: they're gay, they're in love with each other (and have been for years), they're going to start a relationship together, they want divorces. By the end of the first episode, everyone's life has been thrown into confusion, and the two women (who don't like each other) are forced to live together during the divorce process. It's a classic "odd couple" premise: one of the woman (Grace, played by Fonda) is straight-laced, a touch conservative, and a business woman; the other woman (Frankie, played by Tomlin) is wacky, out there, and quite the hippie type.
Because the main characters are in their 70s and have been married for decades, they do have children - but they're all adults in their 30s/40s. No kids for miles (except that one of the daughters has small children, who we almost never see).
And it's great. Absolutely great. It's a dramedy, rather than a full-on sitcom, with drama and lighter moments. For example, in later seasons, the two women go into business together... making vibrators for elderly women with arthritis. But it's a serious business, even if it seems like a silly premise.
It's seven seasons of brilliance (well... maybe not Season 2, as the show needed to find a new footing after burning through the original premise, but it found that footing by Season 3).
The only drawback on your list is that it's based in California, but it doesn't really lean into that very much. It could be set anywhere that has a beach (they live in a beach house) and suburbs.
My parents uncharacteristically binged this show after we introduced it to them! I hesitate a bit to recommend it to OP for their “conservative-leaning” parents though; depending on how strongly that leans against lgbt relationships, divorce, female sexuality, “hippie woo woo”, etc, they might not give it a real chance.
I considered that aspect before recommending the show to @Protected.
The progressive aspects of 'Grace and Frankie' aren't preachy. They're just there. They're things our main characters have to deal with.
And, Grace as a character is someone who conservative people would be sympathetic to, as she deals with the fall-out of her husband coming out as gay and being forced to live with a wacky hippie. In one way, she could be considered the main protagonist of the show, as everyone piles shit on her for her to deal with.
Also, conservative-leaning means different things to different people. My conservative-leaning Baby Boomer parents are totally accepting of gay people, for instance.
They aren't very accepting, but it's good for them to be exposed--for example through shows--to the outlandish notion that (gasp) maybe gay people are just people!
Well, it's up to you. We can only make suggestions. You know your parents better than we do.
All the suggestions seem great! Looks like this thread will last me a good amount of time.
A lot of older Conservatives hate Jane Fonda (they called her Hanoi Jane). I'm not sure how accepting they would be watching a show with her as a star.
I know about Fonda's very activist reputation. I was merely observing that the character she plays in 'Grace and Frankie' is someone that conservative people could relate to.
I know I've enjoyed some shows and movies, despite disapproving of the off-screen behaviour and/or beliefs of some of the actors in those shows and movies. When I'm watching a character on the screen, I'm focussed on what's happening in their fictional world, not what the actor might do in reality.
Ultimately, though, this isn't our decision. It's up to the OP to decide what shows to present to their parents, and it's up to the parents to decide what shows they like. All we can do is make recommendations based on their criteria, and leave it to them.
Not the OP but thanks for the Grace and Frankie recommendation. Flew under my radar and looks fun.
I recommend Patriot (on amazon Prime) to anyone and everyone I can. It got cancelled after two seasons by an exec with an axe to grind, but those two seasons were some of the best TV I have ever seen. I think it ticks most of your boxes? It certainly seems like something they wont reject outright I think (if for no other reason than the show's title, which happens to be sarcastic).
To describe the premise of the show in a sentence or two would be a clinically depressed Jason Bourne type is tasked with going undercover as an engineer traveling with his company from Wisconsin to Luxembourg to stop Iran from gaining access to Nukes simply by transporting something from A to B. There is a bunch of (dark) humor (but nothing I would call overly goofy or slapstick), but also a profound message. Trailer here.
It has some recognizable faces and names in it, produced by the guy who did the Secret Life of Walter Mitty, John Locke from Lost is in it, as is Ricken from Severance (another show I highly HIGHLY recommend). And if your parents end up liking it Steven Conrad also did another show called Perpetual Grace Ltd that has a very similar feel to it.
Other recs:
Severance - (apple TV) (as mentioned above)
Shrinking - (apple TV) (feels A LOT like ted lasso, but if it was about psychology instead of soccer)
White Lotus (HBO Max) (Rich people at a resort get up to shenanigans, a bit weird some people don't like it but it may fit the bill?)
Halt and Catch Fire (Netflix) (Show about the rise of personal computers and the internet age starting in the 80s)
Succession (HBO) (This was THE show recently. Think breaking bad a la 2014. About billionaire kids fighting for control of their dad's media empire)
Barry (HBO) (If they like Patriot they will like this and visa versa. About a Marine with PTSD who joins an acting class. First season or two mixes comedy with heaviness pretty well, but then after that its mostly heavy. Still very good.)
I actually checked out Shrinking myself as a possible candidate, but rejected it because I thought they'd find it too "american" in a sitcom kind of way. Too much focus on the kid (at least in the early episodes), american suburbia and goofy behavior from the MC. But thanks for all the suggestions (as well as everyone else), I'll start looking into these tomorrow!
EDIT: Severance looks like an awesome rec for me to watch. I probably will.
EDIT2: Might give them Succession! (there are portuguese subtitles)
@Protected I would be very cautious of any of those recommendations. Patriot, White Lotus, and Succession are all incredible shows, but I would definitely not recommend them to my conservative grandparents. White Lotus and Succession in particular have a ton of extremely explicit language about sex, and S1 of White Lotus has a quite explicit gay sex scene. Patriot is incredible (probably my favorite all-time show), and while less explicit than the other two, it's quite dark and just odd, and has a lot of jokes that may not land with your parents.
That being said, you should definitely watch them!
Understandable, there is enough of a focus on the daughter that I could see it being off putting if thats an issue.
I second Severance. It's a great mind twist of a show and I recommend it to everyone I can. Shrinking feels a lot like Ted Lasso because the same people are running the show. Bill Lawrence, the creator of both and Scrubs. Brett Goldstein (Roy in Ted Lasso) writes the first two seasons of Ted Lasso and the first season of Shrinking. Zach Braff, Scrubs, directors episodes on both shows. Again, I recommend both shows to everyone.
I was recently in vacation in Boston to see my family. I introduced some of them to Severance, we watched all but like the last 2 episodes together. As I was taking my phone off airplane mode I got a text from my cousin saying "FUCK YOU for introducing me to this good of a show while there is a writer's strike on".
Man I loved Halt and Catch Fire. Such an underrated show. Having grown up through that time of early personal computers, it really tickles my nostalgia muscle. But it also had some really interesting character development.
Its also one of my favorites. Its one that I go back and rewatch every now and again since everything about it just hits all those right notes. You're right that the character development is fantastic. In fact I remember reading somewhere that its cyclical. The 4 major characters all take turns as the villan, hero, being down and out, and on the rise during each of seasons. For example in S1 Joe is the villan, Donna is down and out, Cameron is on the rise, and Gordon is the hero. Then it cycles each of the next 3 seasons which is part of what kept it so fresh.
Detectorists is a comfy, happy show that they might like. It is humorous without being silly and over-the-top. It is about two friends who use metal detectors to look for archaeological findings in the English countryside.
I'm delighted that you've made this recommendation. It feels like it's been a few years - aside from the long episode last Christmas - so I often forget about this. But it's an amazing show. I wouldn't have thought I'd enjoy it - a show about metal detectorists?! But it's absolutely charming. And there's nothing at all offensive about it, so I can recommend it to anyone. Thank you for reminding me of this gem.
This is such an amazing show. The theme song is one of the most wistful things I have ever heard.
This looks like a great fit and personally I love english shows, but as an "old" enough BBC show (not made for streaming, not even native 1080p) I wasn't surprised to find that unfortunately there are no portuguese subtitles! The prime video website simply says it's not available in my region and of course can't access the bbc iplayer. I might still procure it for personal watching at some point (with english subtitles).
Sounds like they might enjoy The Crown, Netflix's drama about Queen Elizabeth's reign. It starts at Elizabeth's coronation and each season focuses on roughly a decade at a time, chronicling her external and internal struggles with world crises, political legacy, and family dilemmas. The final season is set to air later this year. My family is not particularly Anglophilic, but my parents enjoy this show especially for its historical perspective. Bonus points for not having any content that would make watching together awkward.
Historical/period dramas could definitely appeal, I think.
Hi, OP, if they like dramas based in the real world. Might I recommend Dopesick and Chernobyl. Then you have Billions, which isn't perfect, but somehow keeps me watching every year.
We just watched Poker Face, it's a peacock exclusive starring Natasha Lyonne. It's a fantastic show, but I'm telling you it's just a modern day Murder she wrote or Matlock. Sorta progressive but not really in your face just some snappy comments by Lyonee's character here and there. There's a big story and she's on the run, but each episode she's trying to figure out a local murder kinda like a procedural. I really dig it, and Lyonne is always a treat.
Several people opted for recomending crime/mystery shows and when deciding which one to check out first I thought the premise of Poker Face seemed interesting, but unfortunately this has no portuguese subtitles either (as you say, it seems to be only on Peacock, which can only even be accessed from Portugal - based on what I'm finding online - using a vpn).
For those wondering, I am checking opensubtitles too. This is hard!
What a bummer, I assumed being a new show that the subtitles would be diverse. I didn't even think about access, so sorry about that!
Don't worry, this was fully expected. I got plenty of recommendations and some have subtitles, so that's great! Some of the others I can watch myself (I don't need subtitles).
It's way worse with books, unfortunately. Nothing gets translated these days.
My parents got super into Korean dramas on Netflix. They sound similar to your parents in a lot of ways. Since it sounds like they rely on subtitles they probably won’t mind Korean language.
K drama is all these things.
I was looking into This Way Up and it seems great, but unfortunately I couldn't find any portuguese subtitled sources. I see on wikipedia it's distributed by Hulu in the US, which means it might be on Disney+ in Portugal, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Thanks anyway!
With a lot of these I just get the English subtitles (especially this show with its heavy Irish accent). I'm not far enough to read them fully (English isn't my native language either) but it helps to fill in the blanks when I can't understand some pronounciation
Though I didn't actually finish the first season (because distractions, not because I didn't like it) I thought Outlander was pretty good, it's on Netflix and it has .... holy crap 7 seasons now? There's some initial time travel to set up the premise, but after that it seemed to be solidly character driven. No idea if it got weird later.
I don't think you made it far enough into season one. There is a whole gay rape episode that would likely be a major turnoff to OP's super conservative parents. In fact, I didn't make it past season one because the show was so rapey. Especially later in the season, I felt they used it frequently to move the plot, which was just lazy writing (although I understand this mirrors the books, which just means to me that the original author is also a lazy writer).
This may not be the sort of show you have in mind, but I think it actually fits your requirements. I loved Shtisel (Netflix). It’s a sort of family drama about an orthodox Jewish family in Jerusalem. It’s beautiful, touching, and funny. It doesn’t gloss over negative aspects of Orthodox Jewish culture, but portrays things (I think) in an honest way, and just shows the humanity of everyone.
You reminded me of The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch.
The Crown
The Queen's Gambit
Chernobyl
The Diplomat
Le Bureau des Légendes
Sharp Objects
Mare of Easttown
I Know This Much is True
I really loved this show myself. It was popular in Portugal, though, so I suspect they've already watched/tried it. Still a great recommendation!
There appear to be two shows with this name, one english and one american, both from 2023, unrelated. Which one are you recommending?
Huh, that's quite a coincidence.
I am recommending the one with Keri Russell - IMDB link
1883 is a Yellowstone prequel that boomers SWOON over.
Succession is something they would love. It’s like a fake behind the scenes of the Murdoch family.
Ozark is dark, but masterfully written.
Let me know what they would like out of those and I have more suggestions!
Yellowstone itself is a great recommendation. Conservatives seem to really love that show.
Yellowstone is awesome. It's complete disregard for anything other than "me" and it's also old school cowboys and Indians in a modern day scenario.
The characters are really well written although there's a lot of plot holes. Still worth a watch and there's not many seasons to get bogged down by.
Yeah, I might just check out Yellowstone first. There are portuguese subtitles!
Not a show in the sense as all others, but Clarksons Farm might fit them. A conservative boomer, living in the UK, learning to work on a farm, while battling with laws and regulations that seem to inhibit farmers rather than help. Can't think of a better series for boomer conservatives.
The original, BBC version of Ghosts. It's a cute lighthearted comedy about a group of ghosts in a mansion that gets bought by a younger married couple. No kids, no real cursing, not violent, and no direct sexual content. My mom recommended it to me first. You can check out some clips on YouTube.
My wife and I started watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime recently and I'm really enjoying it. Elevator pitch is that it's about a 1950s housewife who wants to become a comedian. It's a comedy-drama that leans more towards the comedy end of things, but not goofy in the way The Good Place was. Fantastic production values, beautiful sets, lots of soul, witty dialogue. The show is from the creator of Gilmore Girls, but isn't as sappy/cheesy/sometimes goofy as that show was (I enjoyed it but it's sappy and cheesy). The only kids in the show are the main characters' kids who you only see occasionally (they're young so there's not a lot going on with them plot/acting wise).
The show is largely set in New York but goes to other locations as well and they're all gorgeous. There's romance, travel. One thing that's nice is that it not only explores the relationship dynamics between the younger characters but also the older ones (parents of adults). It also ended recently (just last month) after 5 seasons so they can binge the whole thing if they want. And there's Portuguese subtitles available + "English Dialogue Boost" for Portuguese audio, whatever the hell that means.
For the record I don't normally watch shows on Amazon Prime, most of the ones I've watched have been not so great -- this is the best one I've seen by far, at least so far (we're only on season 2/5).
Lastly, I think it's probably a good show for "slightly liberal stuff" for conservatives -- the show is set in the 1950s... with so far a mostly-white cast. It's set in that conservative, proper, environment and also to some extent in the upper-class Upper West Side of NYC, but focuses on a female main character who is feeling the constraints of 1950s gender dynamics - the central character has a desire to transgress traditional gender roles, but isn't looking to turn the world upside down or be excommunicated from society... and in the process of doing that, she ends up crossing paths with a lot of people living "underground" so to speak that she wouldn't have normally met in her comfortable upper-class existence.
Thank you, this is definitely a candidate. I'm checking it out! Opensubtitles has season 1 subtitles if necessary.
EDIT: Congratulations, I watch the pilot and it was so good! You have great taste in shows!
I don't have a recommendation (I will.come back and add when I think of one) but my conservative in laws cannot tolerate anything with cursing or sex. So keep that in mind with the suggestions.
One sitcom they loved (but that I have only seen a few eps of) is Mom with Anna Faris and Alison Janney. There's sex alluded to in it but it's broadcast prime time TV level of sexual innuendo.
If there's too much sex they'll definitely drop it. For example Sense 8 would be impossible.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Are they into military thrillers at all? I've been watching Last Resort on Crackle this past week and I'm enjoying it. It's from 2012 and it's a little over-acted at times, but seeing Andre Braugher in something other than Brooklyn 99 has been a lot of fun.
Its not a police procedural but it is centered pn a cop, but is written more like a drama, I recommend Justified. Might not skirt the line enough for them though, but I never miss a chance to recommend it.
Maybe they've already watched it, but I really liked Around the World in Eighty Days with David Tennant (Trailer)
It's beautifully and colorfully filmed, there's a lot of (historical) travel, some light romance (but barely), funny but not over the top.
I also really like Gentleman Jack but that might be too 'liberal' - the story is based on the (real) diaries of Anne Lister who was a lesbian in the 18th century.
Some progressive shows my conservative parents have liked recently include Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+) and Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+)
Black Books! A show I recommend to everyone, but it actually does fit most of your categories here.
How about Longmire? It's about a sheriff in rural Wyoming, which doesn't sound like it would be interesting, but it really is. My wife's and my taste in TV shows is the polar opposite of what you're looking for (we generally only watch silly comedies, sci-fi, or fantasy), but for some reason we both loved Longmire.
They could try "Shrinking" with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford. (Apple TV+)