It’s essentially a love story (9)
There are a lot of TV genres that cover a wide range of options for viewers. We’ve discussed the wide assortment in unscripted television shows — dating and survival shows, competition and talent shows, documentaries, etc.
With scripted television, the variety is even greater. Animation, superheroes, dystopian societies, medical dramas, legal dramas, police procedurals, rom-coms, mysteries — and the list goes on. I like many of these genres — but what, I realized is that the one descriptor that makes the show so watchable is that it is essentially a love story.
Take Outlander. A logical description would be: “the time-traveling adventures of a WW2 nurse as she finds herself in 18th Century Scotland.” There’s war and violence, there’s drama and intrigue, there’s even humor. But Outlander, at its core, is a love story. Whatever Claire, the nurse, and Jamie, her super-hot hero go through, it’s because of love. Whenever they meet an obstacle (which is very often), love wins out. Wherever they go, their love perseveres. Love, adventure, history — Outlander is the perfect trifecta. Can’t do much better than that.
Drop Dead Diva was a mostly silly but also intelligent show (yes, a show can be both!) about a beautiful model, Deb, reincarnated into the plus-sized body of a hard-working attorney named Jane. The imaginative post-death construct actually worked on several levels and focused significantly on positive body image. Yet throughout the many seasons, the arc of Jane/Deb and her passion for Grayson, who happens to be an attorney at the firm, was strong and well done. With all the legal cases Jane tries, and the many people she and Grayson date, it’s their love that is the overriding sentiment. Drop Dead Diva’s creators might disagree, but to me, it is essentially a love story. By the way, Diva fans — there’s a reboot in the works called Drop Dead Dave where the show is less about acceptance of body type and more about gender identity because the reincarnation is a man in a woman’s body.
The recently concluded Lucifer was part fantasy and part police procedural, but it featured that critical element, a compelling romance. There was never a doubt that a Chloe-and-Lucifer love story would evolve, and the somewhat convoluted path their deep affection takes was highly entertaining. The wonderful assortment of supporting characters, both celestial and human, gave viewers a lot to root for. Learning that a celestial has wings, or can slow down time, or can root out what you truly desires is all great fun. But no one watches Lucifer without hoping to see Chloe and Lucifer get together. So, with all its Biblical references, self-actualization philosophizing, and magical battle scenes, Lucifer is — yup, you got it, essentially a love story.
The hit show Bridgerton was a period drama, with lots of historical elements. But really, the whole series focused on Daphne’s passion for the Duke of Hastings. Soap operas are all about love, and the occasional evil twin or amnesia ridden victim. Nighttime and Netflix shows such as This is Us, Virgin River, et al try to incorporate other dramatic moments — but they are essentially love stories.
Look at all the medical dramas. Everyone in Grey’s Anatomy is involved in some romantic arc and has been for what? 18 years? Saving patients plays second fiddle to the sex scenes in the supply room! New Amsterdam has become the Max and Helen love story. All the medical shows feature love, love, love.
Love stories have always been at the heart of sitcoms. Sam and Diane, Ross and Rachel, Penny and Leonard (I’ll even let a case be made for Sheldon and Amy), Pam and Jim, Ted and Robin, etc. These pairings made those situation comedies meaningful and memorable.
So here it is, in short: a comedy, a drama, even an unscripted show like those of Bachelor Nation, work better when it is essentially a love story.
