Why The Fosters is one of the best shows on TV right now!

Are you watching The Fosters on Freeform (previously ABC Family)? If you aren't you should be!

Premiering on Freeform back in 2013, The Fosters has had me hooked from the very first episode. It's centered on an interracial lesbian couple, Stef and Lena, who have adopted twins Mariana and Jesus, and also care for Stef's son, Brandon, from a previous marriage. In the first season they take in Callie and her little brother Jude as foster children only to later decide to adopt them.

The series is in it's 5th season and throughout it's past seasons it has covered some heavy topics from rape, abuse, abortion, civil rights, adoption, sexuality, and so much more. Each topic has been handled with care and shown in a realistic light. While the show definitely has it's fair share of overdramatic plot lines and unrealistic events, it's balanced out nicely with real life struggles that teenagers and parents face everyday.

My favorite aspect of the show is the relationship between Stef and Lena. It's real, its honest, and it shows that you absolutely can portray lesbian relationships on TV without over sexualizing them and people will still be interested. Stef and Lena are not perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination. We see them work and communicate through multiple issues both relationship and otherwise. When Stef, who is a cop, is partnered with her ex husband (also father of her son), Lena does not become this raging jealous wife. She communicates to Stef her insecurities and instead of dismissing them, Stef listens and sympathizes. Of course they don't always get it right, in the current season we are seeing Stef become more detached from the family, choosing to spend more time at work and less time at home. In the episode that aired last night we finally see Lena confronting Stef about how she feels like she's in this alone. I have no doubt that the show will get them through this conflict with the same grace it has in past seasons.

There are a lot of shows on TV right now that have gay, lesbian, and transgender characters, but that doesn't mean they always get it right. This is where The Fosters is in a league of it's own. In the second season we start to learn that Callie's little brother Jude may be gay. Instead of trying to fit this plot line into one episode, or have it wrapped up nicely with bow, they show you his real life struggles with learning this about himself over the span of a few seasons. From hiding it at school, struggling with understanding how sex works, and even dealing with his first boyfriends father not being as open as he should be, it's all captured in a realistic light. Something that I love is how his characterization isn't centered around him being gay. Yes, it's a big part of who he is and it's important that we see those struggles, but he's always a teenage boy who had a rough childhood and we get see those struggles as well.

The Fosters doesn't just get it right when it comes to gay and lesbian relationships and characters, they also do well with the transgender community. In the current season Callie is dating Aaron, who happens to be transgender. In the last season, we learned that Aaron came out to his family that he was transgender at age 17. When Callie joins him on trip home for his birthday, we see that his mom still calls him 'Alison' and his dad makes mean comments about his tattoos, saying "haven't you mutilated yourself enough." This is one of the many harsh realities the transgender community faces when it comes coming out to their family. In the current season, we are getting to see the different struggles that Aaron and Callie will face as a couple, one of those being sex. This isn't the first transgender character The Fosters have given us either. In an earlier season when Callie was forced to stay at a group home for girls we met Cole, a transgender boy who was made to stay at the girls group home because he was pre-transition. It's important to mention that both of these characters are played by actual transgendered people, something we don't see enough of.

I could go on and on about The Fosters for probably much longer then anyone wants to sit here and read. The fact is, it's one of the most progressive shows on TV right now, and every season it surprises again and again with its ability to cover topics that most shows wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Last season, when Jesus's girlfriend Emma made the decision to get an abortion because she knew she wasn't physically or mentally prepared to be a parent, I sobbed with pride. Watching Callie grow from the defensive closed off girl she was in the first season, into the fierce and passionate woman she is becoming now has been one of the many things I've loved about this show. I could go on for days about how strong and capable Mariana is, from confronting her bio Mom about childhood abuse she still remembers to advocating for those who don't have to do so for themselves.

The fact is, The Fosters is an important and ground breaking show that has done amazing things for representation for POC, the LBGT+ community, and young people as a whole. If you aren't watching, I suggest you free up some time in your schedule for a Netflix binge because this isn't a show you should be missing.

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Hope you enjoyed this week's What I'm Watching Wednesday! Comment below and tell me a show you feel strongly about!

Thanks for reading!
- Fallon xo