Power of Three: How a trio of women — and their shows — shined brightly while staying grounded
When you think of strong feminist role models on television, you’re forgiven for not thinking of the ladies of The CW. However, you also…
When you think of strong feminist role models on television, you’re forgiven for not thinking of the ladies of The CW. However, you also would be greatly mistaken. Until this year, the network was home to three inspirational women who overcame the odds to be the heroes of their own stories.
And not one of them came from a DC comic book.
Okay, that’s not strictly true as one of them did come from a Vertigo comic and Vertigo is an imprint of DC. But you get my point.
This summer marked the end of a remarkable era on The CW. “iZOMBiE” and “Jane the Virgin” wrapped up their series, while “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” did so earlier this year.
These three original shows have women at the forefront. Sisters doing it for themselves and, in part, for the greater good in today’s world.
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” has Rebecca Bunch (co-creator/showrunner/writer Rachel Bloom) do something unplanned — following her ex-boyfriend across the country — only for it ultimately to be the best decision she ever made for reasons not solely related to a guy.
“iZOMBiE” takes Liv Moore (Rose McIver) from living medical resident to undead medical examiner to someone who saves the lives of those who have no other means to help themselves.
“Jane the Virgin” sees Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) become artificially inseminated, find love in more ways than one, and follow her true passion as an author.
While on the surface, these women doesn’t seem to have much in common, there is more that links them than meets the eye. With nary a cape, hood or mask to be found.
For example (and yes, this is now officially spoiler territory if you haven’t watched all three shows), Jane and Liv both mourned lovers and didn’t meet their fathers until they were in their 20s. Liv and Rebecca were estranged from their best friends for a period and also have found families outside of their biological ones. Jane and Rebecca each have a child in the world and have become tight with their romantic rivals.
Not to mention they are all strong, fierce, and will defend and protect what they love — whether it’s a job, a partner or a friend.
Each series will never be seen as tough or gritty or even naturalistic. One is a musical, another is rooted in magical realism and the third deals with zombies. That doesn’t mean the real world won’t be bleed through. On the contrary, these women are dealing with situations a number of us are facing.
Rebecca and those in her world are prone to break into song at the drop of a hat (a conceit enjoyably explained in the series finale). While “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is essentially a musical romantic comedy, it doesn’t mean everything is coming up roses. Mental illness is a recurring theme of the series, leading to Rebecca finally getting the help she needs in the final season.
Jane and her family deal with immigration issues as her abuela Alba (Ivonne Coll) had been in the country illegally for decades. Though she became a natural citizen, Alba has to relive some of that angst when she marries her second husband and they have to prove theirs is more than a green card marriage.
Liv is no stranger to bigotry as an undead woman in a world dominated by the living. That hate and fear lead to war with Liv becoming an abolitionist and forming her own underground railroad to help those in need get in and out of quarantined Seattle, which becomes a battleground.
Naturally, it’s not all ripped-from-the-headlines, all the time. Where’s the fun in that?
As I mentioned earlier, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is a freaking musical! There are ballads, like season four’s “The Darkness” that touches on Rebecca’s health issues or season one’s “You Stupid Bitch,” which deals with her self-loathing. On the lighter side, there’s Darryl Whitefeather’s (Pete Gardner) delightful ode to bisexuality, “Getting Bi,” and the ladies singing about generalizing men in, well, “Let’s Generalize About Men.” This is just four out of the 129 songs performed across 62 episodes.
What I did not mention earlier is “Jane the Virgin” is at its heart a telenovela. It also has a comedic streak a mile wide and a heart as big as the ocean. If you’re looking for something in particular, there’s an excellent chance it can be found in any given episode. Suspense, romance, family drama, medical issues, friendship, murder, flights of fancy. You get the idea.
“iZOMBiE” has never met a roleplay it didn’t like thanks to Liv’s undead state giving her the ability to internalize the personalities of others whenever she eats a human brain. This comes in handy as she’s not just a medical examiner, but the unofficial partner of Det. Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin). With her special insight, the two close cases — even the occasional cold one. What started out as a wacky bit of fun in the beginning becomes a welcome respite from the darker, more grounded storylines in the final half of the show’s run.
On a network where half of the landscape is crawling with superheroes and the rest is a mix of high school stories (both with supernatural creatures and without), poorly done reboots and a pair of brothers “saving people, hunting things,” the series spotlighted here were the exceptions.
They kept up the network’s pedigree going back to its days as The WB, following in the footsteps of “Gilmore Girls,” “Everwood” and even OG “Charmed.”
Kudos to CW President Mark Pedowicz for sticking to his guns and keeping these shows on the air. Allowing them to finish their stories the way their creators/showrunners intended is nearly unprecedented these days, especially considering how non-existent the ratings were for “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.”
Way back at the start of this piece, I stated this is the end of an era and it’s true. This trio represents the best of The CW. Considering the network they called home, their superpowers are intelligence, heart, humor and courage. There are still a few CW shows returning for new seasons that will fight the good fight, but it’s more of a wilderness now without these women and their inclusive series at the forefront.
Joanne Thornborough is pop culture junkie with a particular love for film, TV and the printed word. Find her at @cinelitchick on Twitter.