Awhile back, I wrote an article called “7 Divorce Movies You Will Love.” I also wrote one called “10 Movies Every Divorced Woman Over 50 Should See.” Both articles drew so much attention, leading me to believe that divorcing or divorced women love movies and shows about divorce that A, are relatable and B, make them cry in a good way.
I once pitched a movie I wrote to a well-known producer, who said quote, “No one wants to watch movies about divorce.” Well, he was very wrong because the reality is, if 50% of the country gets divorced, then 50% of the country thinks nothing of it if a movie or a show has a divorce storyline in it. In fact, they are probably curious. Not to mention, the same year I pitched my divorce movie to the clueless producer, the HBO series “Divorce” came out, which I thought was a terrible show. I found out later that not one producer or actor in it had ever gone through a divorce! How is that even possible?
One more thing I want to share is that several years ago, I reached out to The Bachelor and suggested they do a Bachelor season for divorced men and women over 40. They responded that they didn’t think people would watch it. Hello…The Golden Bachelor and the Golden Bachelorette have been some of ABC’s highest rated shows over the past few years! My point is, I know good movies and shows!
Which is why I want to tell you about 7 of my favorite shows about divorce.
Here are 7 great divorce shows, along with what I liked about them, and what we can learn from each.
Spoiler alert!!!
If you haven’t seen these shows yet, you might want to just glance at the titles and watch the shows first.
- The Affair
This was a popular Showtime series that ran for five seasons from 2014-2019. Guess who watched every episode? At first, it was a little hard to watch, and frustrating because you couldn’t believe this guy gave his family up for this young girl. It was almost maddening.
What I loved so much about the series is that over the years, there was this underlying recurrent theme of healing, which was gratifying. Helen (the wife who was left for a woman half her age) kicked ass being a single mother and reinventing herself. She wasn’t without mistakes and bad decisions, but in the end, you truly saw her strong and good character.
I have to say that the last season was incredibly gratifying and they could not have ended the show any better!
2. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Oh, how I adored this show. It aired on Apple TV in 2017 and had 5 seasons. The show makes the viewer want to be Midge Maisel, (not that everyone wants to be a standup comedian and divorcee in the 1950s) but rather you want Midge’s never-ending courage, drive, determination, and her belief in herself.
In the first episode, Midge’s, a wealth Jewish housewife, is left by her husband, and somehow ends up on stage doing improv at a local bar. She becomes a famous comedian, who lands on the Tonight Show, who fills Carnegie hall for a performance, and who dates Lenny Bruce! There’s also the heartwarming friendship Midge and her manager, Susie develop, and her nutty parents and in-laws. You’ll even love the ex-husband!
3. The Sopranos
Everyone knows the Sopranos, which launched in 1999, is not a show about divorce. That said, my very very favorite show of all time does address separation and divorce at the end of season 4 and into season 5, when Carmela and Tony split up.
Tony definitely plays dirty in the divorce, calling all the best divorce firms in New Jersey so that there’s a conflict of interest and his wife can’t get an attorney. Then there’s the explosive fights the couple has during those months of separation, exploding years of pent-up anger and resentment at each other. Hers is about feeling unseen and being cheated on, his about feeling nagged and bored being married to a housewife.
Then there’s Carmela’s love life after the separation. Still longing for Furio, she begins a relationship with her son’s guidance counselor, with romance better than she ever dreamed. But she quickly learns how much more important loyalty and family are than good sex.
4. Mad Men
Can you imagine getting divorced in the 1960s? Apparently, there was a lot more divorce in that decade then I’d have thought. And, there’s a lot in Mad Men, which debuted in 2007.
Duck was already divorced. Don and Betty separate and also divorce later, Roger and his wife separate and divorce, Joan gets divorced, Pete and Trudy get divorced, Don gets divorced again, and Harry Crane’s wife almost left after she found out he slept with his secretary. He slept at the office for a few weeks.
Here’s what’s different about divorce in the sixties and divorce now. Keep in mind I’m basing this all off of Mad Men, so I can’t say for sure that it’s accurate. First off, women don’t go back to work and reinvent themselves after divorce, they almost always get remarried. Secondly, the men get remarried right away and it’s always to someone much younger. And lastly, which I found surprising is that the dads took the kids on weekends. I would not have expected that, given that men didn’t do a damn thing around the house or have anything to do with caring for the kids back then. Today, I see so many hands-on, wonderful, caring, loving fathers, who see their kids just as much as Mom sees them. Good to know we went in the right direction on that one!
5. Sex and the City
Coming from someone who has seen every Sex and the City episode at least five times (which by the way launched in 1999 and my ex-husband was the one who got me into it!) let’s start with Charlotte and Trey. They are in a pretty high-conflict divorce, which is amplified by Trey’s overbearing mother, who never liked Charlotte from the start.
Two things happened that were unrealistic in that divorce. One, Trey (who must not have negotiated his contract very well with show producers because he was no longer in the show but instead apparently living in Scottland at the time that was towards the end of their divorce) sends a letter to his lawyer stating that Charlotte was a wonderful wife and deserves whatever she wants in the settlement. That probably has never happened in one real divorce on earth. Secondly, Charlotte ends up marrying her divorce attorney. Yeah, OK.
I also want to talk about the Sex and the City reboot, “And Just Like That.” First off, from the name to the entire show, I could not have hated anything more. Here’s where the loathing comes from.
First, Miranda and Stever were the couple everyone rooted for, and they ended up in a happy, healthy relationship at the end of the show and in the movies that followed. They were adorable and they’d been through so much. So, all of a sudden in “And Just Like That,” Miranda turns gay, and leaves Steve. What? So dumb and clearly a decision that was made to appease certain societal pressures.
Next, Big dies in the first episode. Huh? Here’s where I have a major issue with show producers. A much more likely scenario would have been Big cheating and divorcing Carrie. Think about it. Big was such a player and toyed with Carrie for so many years, that it would make sense that once a cheat, always a cheat. But no, that had to pretend that Carrie was the love of his life, and even at his funeral, all they talked about was Carrie, like he never had a life before her? So self-serving.
If I would have been a writer for “And Just Like That,” I would have had Carrie go through what all divorcing women go through: anger, fear, bitterness, sadness, etc. And then I would have let the world watch this strong, independent woman not only survive, but thrive as we all feel like Carrie would. She would have been our hero. Along the way, however, she’d have had these over-the-top, hilarious dates that would shape her journey into figuring out what she wanted and needed. That’s real life.
Plus, no one on earth has ever been asked to start a podcast and have everything paid for. Just saying. As a writer, I would have let Carrie struggle and work for it, and show people how hard it is to reinvent yourself, but that if Carrie did it, so can you! I then would have had her run into Aiden and possibly end up with him.
Regardless of all my bitterness about “And Just Like That,” I still think “Sex and the City” was one of the all-time great shows. It had it’s flaws for sending the wrong messages to people looking for love, but in its defense, it was a rom com meant to entertain and offer hope and inspiration. And yes, it did all those things.
6. Younger
Launching in 2015, Younger was created by Darren Starr, who created Sex and the City, which is why anyone who loved Sex and the City loved Younger, including me. I absolutely loved the main characters—all of them, but I do have to say Diana deserves a special shoutout. She was laugh out loud in almost every scene.
The plot: Liza is newly divorced and 41 (same age as I was when I got divorced). She’s trying to get a job, having a tough time, and realizing that the publishing business is all about youth, so she lies about her age and tells everyone she’s 26.
Let’s talk about the love triangle that is a constant throughout the series: Liza (41 but posing as a 26 year old), Josh (26 or so) and Charles (in his 40s). I was always rooting for Charles. It made the most sense. Josh was sweet and a perfect post-divorce cougar romance for Liza. But, why did the show have to make it more than it really was?
We get all the way to the end of the show, and Liza and Charles finally admit they want to be together. Perfect. Couldn’t have been happier about it. It was the moment we waited for for 7 seasons. It was like I could breathe finally.
But wait, then they have this awkward moment, and she says, “This just isn’t going to work, is it?” I was sitting there stunned. I’m watching this going, “What? Are you F***ing kidding me?” I was very disappointed in Darren for this choice.
All that said, it’s a wonderful show with cute, lovable characters, lots of heartfelt moments, and scenes that made me laugh so hard I cried. Hint: Diana casually taking off her spiked heel pump and smashing it into a pipe to get the plumber to come back into the building.
7. Grey’s Anatomy
I just saw an Instagram post where this woman is laying under a blanket drinking wine and the caption reads, “Are you doing OK or did you start watching Grey’s Anatomy again?”
I’m doing OK AND I started watching Grey’s Anatomy again! Why? Because it’s one of the greatest shows ever and if you watched it 20 years ago and you rewatch it, it’s like watching it again for the first time.
There’s lots of divorce in this drama series, which debuted in 2005. There’s Derek and Addison. There’s Christina and Burke. There’s Christina and Owen. There’s George and Callie. There’s Alex and Izzie. There’s April and Jackson. There’s Bailey and Tucker. There’s Callie and Arizona (which involved a custody battle). There’s Owen and Amelia. There’s Alex and Jo. I actually just asked Chatgpt to make sure I got them all and I did!
Here’s the thing about Grey’s. Every couple got married too quickly, they got divorced too quickly, and they moved on way too quickly-most of the time to another doctor in the hospital! These doctors slept around with each other so often, it’s kind of gross to think about it from a hospital patient’s perspective. That said, Gray’s Anatomy can do no wrong with me. The show is meant to entertain and it sure does. But, we shouldn’t be taking marital advice or divorce advice from any of these people. Just enjoy the drama.
Like this article? Check out 9 Characters Who Played Single Moms and What We Learned From Them
The post 7 Great Shows About Divorce appeared first on Divorce Blog | Divorce Support Blogs.