Three TV Shows To Rewatch If You’re Feeling Lost
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is arguably the best tv show to watch (or rewatch) when you’re feeling the pressure to grow up, and I’m going to tell you why.
I remember a time when I would fast forward the adult storylines of a multigenerational show. And it made sense. I related to Rory, not Lorelai. I was living that on-campus study life (which never quite lived up to the American fantasy), and to me, my thirties seemed a world a way.
But then, the thirties did indeed arrive.
You reach a turning point when you realise you’re no longer Rory, you’re Lorelai. And you watch the show with fresh eyes. Lorelai is the perfect protagonist to watch when you reach your thirties. She’s silly. She eats waffles for dinner. She makes stupid mistakes. She falls out with people — including her daughter. She makes you realise that, actually, you don’t need to have everything figured out by the time you’re thirty-two. Her story starts at thirty-two.
Now, I’m rewatching it again, relating to Lorelai more than Rory. Yes, she smashes her career. Yes, she’s from a rich family. But she’d doesn’t know what she wants, and that’s okay. I can indulge in an episode (or five) feeling safe in the knowledge that it takes her the entire seven seasons to figure out that she wants Luke. And when I reach the age that she is when the series wraps up? There’s always Emily.
Sex And The City
Another TV series to watch where the protagonist begins her story at thirty-two. What is it about that age that screams beginnings to writers? Carrie may have her career figured out, but her personal life is messy. She is proof that staying out all night isn’t only for the twenty-year olds. She drunk-dials her exes, she lies to her friends, and spends too much time chasing the wrong man. She’s thirty-something and imperfect.
And if you include the cancelled follow-up, her story is still very much going, picking back up at fifty-five where she finds herself single in the city once again.
Friends
While season one starts with the youngest (Rachel) being twenty-four, the decade long TV show runs right up until the characters hit their mid-late thirties. It covers job changes, fertility problems, messy relationships, and evolving friendships.
The storyline most relevant to me right now? Chandler’s career shake up in season nine. At thirty-four, he quits his job and starts from the bottom in advertising as a junior copywriter. After being made redundant at thirty-two, this one really puts things into perspective for me.
It’s never too late to pivot. Whether it’s your choice or someone else’s, there is no shame in taking a few steps back down the ladder and choosing passion over pay. And Chandler wasn’t the only Friends character to take the risk. While admittedly at a younger age, Rachel quits her coffee shop job with nothing lined up to pursue a career in fashion.
So, if — like me — you’re feeling a bit lost about what path to take, settle in and binge one of these comfort TV shows. I guarantee it’ll make you feel better.
Thirty and thriving, or not so much? Check out my blog on the pressures of being thirty-something here.