Saagar Kote
‘Ginny & Georgia’ follows a mother-daughter relationship in all its complexities in the modern world. This Sarah Lampert creation narrates the story of an anxious teenage girl named Ginny Miller (Antonia Gentry) who believes she is more mature than her mother, the beautiful and curious Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey). The dynamics between the 15-year-old daughter and the 30-year-old mother form the show’s crux. Ginny has emotional issues with her mother, while Georgia is looking forward to settling down in Wellsbury, Massachusetts, and finally giving her family a decent life that is at least close to normal.
However, not everything is a smooth journey in this journey, as Georgia’s past threatens her new situation, and she must do everything she can to protect it and her daughter. This family drama centers around themes like identity, freedom, and the challenges of growing up in a not-so-normal domestic environment. The show explores the themes of race, sexism, and bullying within a coming-of-age tale. These shows, similar to ‘Ginny & Georgia,’ explore parallel themes in interesting ways.
12. Good Girls (2018-2021)
‘Good Girls’ follows the lives of three mothers, Beth (Christina Hendricks), Ruby (Retta), and Annie (Mae Whitman), who, under desperate circumstances and a burdening financial crisis, decide to do a heist at the supermarket. However, their successful robbery leads to unexpected twists when the supermarket manager glimpses one of the three women. This leads to the crux of the story. This Jenna Bans creation is a caper comedy that delivers thrills. It shares narrative elements with ‘Ginny & Georgia’ in terms of being a show centered around female connections, and also thematic similarities in terms of including humour and family drama.
11. Firefly Lane (2021-2023)
‘Firefly Lane’, based on the eponymous novel, is centered around the lives of Tully (Katherine Heigl) and Kate (Sarah Chalke), who support each other from a young age as teenagers till adulthood in their forties. Created by Maggie Friedman, this drama traces back the story of two women who met as young girls in the 80s and the present day, and tragedy occurs. This complex exploration traces the enduring power of women’s friendships and highlights themes like love and companionship. This is a worthy addition to the genre of female-centered stories like ‘Ginny & Georgia.’
10. Sweet Magnolias (2020-)
‘Sweet Magnolias’ follows the journey of three South Carolina women named Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Dana (Brooke Elliott), and Helen (Heather Headley) who are close friends helping each other as they face challenges of family, relationships, and love in a town called Serenity. This romantic drama, created by Sheryl J. Anderson based on the novels of the same name by Sherryl Woods, is a worthy addition to the genre. The show shares similarities with ‘Ginny & Georgia’ as it explores complex female relationships and the issues involved. Despite the apparent differences in the premises, both share tonal and philosophical commonalities that complement them.
9. Jane The Virgin (2014-2019)
‘Jane the Virgin’ follows the life of a devout Catholic girl called Jane (Gina Rodriguez) who finds out that she has mistakenly been artificially inseminated. This leads to turbulence and doubt in Jane’s life as she has to choose whether or not she carries the pregnancy to its full term. Jane’s mother, who had Jane at a young age, is scared that her daughter will potentially ruin her life if she decides to give birth to the child. However, Jane’s traditional religious grandmother, Alba, wants Jane to make this choice alone. Centered around a Latino family, this drama, created by Jennie Snyder Urman, loosely inspired by ‘Juana la virgen’ by Perla Farias comments on family issues, mother-daughter relationships, and love, akin to ‘Ginny & Georgia.’
8. The Fosters (2013-2018)
‘The Fosters’ centers around Stef Foster (Teri Polo) and Lena Adams (Sherri Saum), heads of a complex family of adopted, biological, and fostered kids. Jesus and Mariana are adopted twins, while Brandon is Stef’s son from the past. Created by Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige, the story is set in a home of three siblings and two mothers. The family sees a new challenge when two kids named Callie and Jude, who have been moved around many foster homes in their lives, find a new home with the Fosters. As this rather unusual family situation becomes a reality, the kids face new scenarios, the trials and tribulations of love, life, and growing up in a not-so-traditional family setting. Just like ‘Ginny & Georgia’, this drama explores the various facets of parent-child relationships and offers relevant commentary on pertinent issues that affect family life.
7. Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
Gilmore Girls follows a young mother and her daughter, who live in an idyllic town, and attempt to live their best lives. They put in their efforts to find love. With the help of their friends and family, the duo goes on the adventure of life, navigating complexities and troubles along the way. This Amy Sherman-Palladino creation remains popular and relevant even today. Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) has a close bond with her daughter Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), as the mother handles her relationship with her parents and Rory goes through the challenges of school, both go through an emotional rollercoaster. The show has an almost identical premise to ‘Ginny & Georgia’ as it explores the mother-daughter relationship in all its facets and offers excellent insight into women’s perspectives.
6. High School (2022)
‘High School’ is a comedy-drama based on the memoirs of twin sisters Sara Quin and Tegan Quin. Co-created with the twins by Clea DuVall, this tale explores the coming of age of the siblings in Calgary of the 90s, which was dominated by grunge and rave culture. The sisters go on a journey of self-discovery as they navigate school life and a changing cultural space to become musicians. The show centers around the two in their formative years as they begin to write and perform their music while navigating their relationship with family and friends in a bygone era. Like ‘Ginny & Georgia’, the series explores intricate relationships between close family members and tackles teen themes at vulnerable and exciting points in their lives.
5. The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022-2025)
‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ is a coming-of-age romance drama that revolves around the life of a teenage girl named Belly (Lola Tung) as she explores a complex love life where she is torn between her love for two boys, Conrad and Jeremiah, who happen to be brothers. Based on Jenny Han’s novel trilogy of the same name, the show (also created by Jenny Han) explores the complications of love triangles, the uncertainty of teenage crushes, and the challenges of growing up with these emotional complexities. Filled with impressive visuals, this drama follows Belly as she learns the real meaning of love and forgiveness in the emotionally vulnerable stages of adolescence. It shares thematic connections with ‘Ginny & Georgia’ based on the premise of teenage life and exploring relationships at the early stages of life.
4. On My Block (2018-2021)
‘On My Block’ is a coming-of-age drama centered around four friends navigating life and high school in a tough neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles. As they attempt to liberate another friend from a gang, their friendship evolves into something different and unforeseen. This creation by Eddie Gonzalez, Jeremy Haft, and Lauren Iungerich explores themes such as friendship, life in a complex environment, and identity and belonging in a community. The drama also offers commentary on serious issues like gun violence in the streets of America and its effects on people. While tonally different from ‘Ginny & Georgia,’ the show is also alike in many ways, as it also explores the lives of young people who struggle to fit into the boxes society has designed for them.
3. Sex Education (2019-2023)
‘Sex Education’ follows the lives of anxious and sexually curious teenagers of an idyllic town in England. This Laurie Nunn creation is centered around Otis Milburn, as he explores his awkwardness about intimacy, anxiety, and the struggles of living with his mother Jean, who is a renowned sex therapist. The core of the drama is based around Otis and his desperate attempt to woo Maeve Wiley, a fellow student he has a deep crush on. To overcome his insecurities and lack of popularity in high school, Otis, alongside Maeve, starts a secret make-shift and illegal sex therapy program to help the desperate and confused students of the school. The show explores several themes such as teenage anxiety, lack of sex education, sexuality, the challenges of the LGBTQIA+ community, and the art of finding love amidst the complexities of the modern world. These commonalities between the show and ‘Ginny & Georgia’ make them complementary television works.
2. Riverdale (2017-2023)
Set in the idyllic town of Riverdale, this teenage crime drama created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and based on characters of Archie Comics follows the death of a popular high school student hailing from a rich local family named Jason Blossom, which creates chaos in the town. Archie and his group of friends explore life’s challenges in this quaint town while also trying to solve the case of Jason Blossom’s mysterious death. To solve this case, the group must unlock the mysteries hidden beneath their town and accept that not everything is as it seems. ‘Riverdale’ is centered around teenagers facing the challenges of adolescence, love, and friendship while tackling crimes and unexpected scenarios. The show also explores themes like identity and peer pressure, akin to ‘Ginny & Georgia’, which connects the two, despite the differences in tonality and plot points.
1. Never Have I Ever (2020-2023)
Created by Lang Fisher and Mindy Kaling, ‘Never Have I Ever’ is an immigrant drama follows the trials and tribulations of a young Indian-American teenager named Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) living in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles as she explores her unique Indian cultural heritage while also trying to live the American Dream, while clumsily pursuing high school, crushes, and most importantly her identity. Mindy Kaling’s childhood partly inspires this drama. The clash of cultures, the narration by John McEnroe, and the fresh flavour make this show an interesting watch. The story primarily revolves around Devi’s relationship with her family and the hilarious situations that follow when she explores her love life and faces the challenges of growing up. This show connects to ‘Ginny & Georgia’ as both shows feature common issues and are based around familial ties, while also dealing with challenges faced by teenagers in America.
Read More: Ginny & Georgia: Is Wellsbury a Real Town in Massachusetts?
