In the last six months, I signed up for Hulu. I didn’t know much about Hulu before getting it, other than knowing it had every episode of How I Met Your Mother (I got Hulu because HIMYM was being taken off Netflix). Upon signing up, though, I was surprised to see how many GREAT shows Hulu has to offer. I found myself adding every show I saw to “my list”: Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Drake and Josh, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and many more. One of the shows I noticed was Golden Girls. I loved this show, but I was not a devote viewer. Of course, I knew every word to the theme song, but that is from countless Sundays of watching the marathon on TVLand. My mother watched the show with her mother, and I grew up watching it with my mother.
This semester, I decided to actually dive into the series and watch it in its entirety. Currently, I am only on season 4 and cannot stop watching it! Here are reasons why you should watch it, too:
Great Laughs
The series follows four women, three widows and a divorcee, and their adventures and misadventures together. The four women (Dorothy, Sophia, Blanche, and Rose) live together and are constantly seen up all night eating cheesecake and gossiping. The four women talk about their children, their husbands, and their sex lives. Dorothy is known for her snarky, sarcastic remarks. Sophia, Dorothy’s mother, is also known for her witty remarks and hilarious stories of Italy (which were usually fables). The characters, in general, will always make you laugh.
Women Representation
Golden Girls was, and still is, a very groundbreaking show. The show is centered around women who are in their 50s and growing older, which can be seen as bad and, especially in Hollywood, women did not work at that age. This show employed older actresses and they spoke about topics that usually would not come up in regular TV programs, like menopause. The women are also seen talking about sex constantly, something other women might be uncomfortable talking about. At some points, the women even joke about it being one of the only things they talk about. Older women still finding themselves sexy and confident enough to talk about sex can be hard to find, but this show helped start the conversation for some women. These women are strong, independent, and inspiring to all women viewers.
Groundbreaking Topics
Golden Girls spoke about other topics that were essentially taboo at the time, or just not talked about. For example, homosexuality is covered frequently on the show. Also, there are episodes about sexual harassment, Alzheimer’s, interracial relationships, and many more. The show also brings up things like age discrimination, addiction, HIV/AIDS, and gay marriage. Golden Girls was written by progressive writers and was known as one of the most progressive shows at the time.
Teaches Valuable Lessons
In about every episode, the women fight, but then come together at the end. The fight could be about anything: men, money, leadership positions, but the women always know that friendship is more important in the end. Sophia, the matriarch of the house, is always there to share her wisdom and teach the ladies a lesson.