As award season is dwindling down the only thing they seem to have gotten right is giving Gina Rodriguez a Golden Globe for her role as Jane Villanueva from Jane the Virgin.
The CW’s Jane the Virgin is a hilarious comedy drama loosely based off of the Venezuelan telenovela Juana la Virgen. It surrounds the life of Jane a religious young, hard- working Latina woman who gets pregnant after accidently being artificially inseminated during a routine check up at her gynecologist. Jane’s life gets flipped upside down as she deals with her pregnancy, her relationship with her detective boyfriend and the biological donor of the baby, who is her married boss and former teenage crush.
When the show was first being promoted it seemed like a show about a highly religious and judgmental girl that would have to deal with a reality that she didn’t want at all however, the trailers and previews don’t do it justice. Jane is an intelligent and fierce young woman who chose abstinence based on religious and familial beliefs. She lives with her mother, Xo and grandmother Alba. These two very different women have influenced Jane’s outlook on life. Xo had Jane when she was young and although Alba doesn’t look down on Xo for her choices Jane realizes she doesn’t want to follow the same path as her mother and takes her vow of abstinence at a young age.
Jane the Virgin is such a diverse show in many ways. One, the lead cast of the show is three women and one male. Gina Rodriguez and Andrea Navedo who plays her mother are both of Puerto Rican descent. Yael Grobgias is an Israeli actress who is of both French and Austrian descent. Second, there are countless real life issues dealt with in the show. Jane’s grandmother Alba is an illegal immigrant, Jane’s mother Xo is very different with Jane considering a sexual history however, the show does not portray her as if she is lesser than Jane like many other shows do when dealing with sexual women, and Jane even though she is a virgin and believes in abstinence she isn’t prude. She herself is a sexual being with wants and needs too. None of the characters are stereotypical which is so refreshing. What’s even better is that the show does an excellent dance between being hilarious and serious. Even the narrator gives you chills. As a viewer you will never want the episode to end.
If you are dying to watch a show that is diverse and unlike anything you have really seen on television you must check out Jane the Virgin. It comes on Monday nights at 9pm on the CW. If you need more encouragement check out Gina’s adorable and tear jerker acceptance speech here.