If You Love ‘Ginny & Georgia,’ Don’t Miss TV’s Other Standout Mother-Daughter Duos
Many shows feature mother-daughter relationships, but few portray them with the complexity and nuance of Ginny & Georgia. Netflix’s new breakout dramedy series captures the multi-faceted relationship between Georgia (Brianne Howey), a struggling young single mother with a dark past, and Ginny (Antonia Gentry), her precocious 15-year-old daughter.
The pair’s relationship is rife with tension, mostly stemming from the secrets Georgia keeps from her daughter in order to protect her. Despite their constant bickering, the duo’s relationship is characterized by an unconditional love: Georgia would do anything for her family. Over the course of the first season, Ginny begins to understand the selflessness behind her mother’s dishonesty, and the two become more like best friends than mother and daughter.
If you’ve enjoyed watching Ginny and Georgia’s witty repartee (as well as their moments of warmth, argument, and mutual understanding), you’ll love the eight standout mother-daughter relationships that have graced television over the years below, from Gilmore Girls to The Golden Girls.
Ginny & Georgia, Season 1, Streaming Now, Netflix
Crazy Ex Girlfriend (The CW)
Rebecca Bunch’s (Rachel Bloom) relationship with her mom is extremely fraught. But that tense, antagonistic relationship produces some of the show’s funniest and darkest numbers. Though Naomi Bunch (Tovah Feldshuh) is overbearing and manipulative, the writing makes it clear that she subjects her daughter to the high-pressure parenting because she wants what’s best for her. Whether or not you think Naomi’s in the wrong, her relationship with Rebecca is a truthful and nuanced one that offers a fresh take on the contradictions of the mother-daughter dynamic.
black-ish (ABC)
Rainbow Johnson (Tracee Ellis Ross) is a hardworking doctor, but that never stops her from making time for her children. Many of the show’s most tender moments happen when Bow gets quality time with her oldest daughter, Zoey (Yara Shahidi). In these scenes, the two characters often manage to let their guards down and open up to one another — something both struggle to do outside of these precious interactions.
The Golden Girls (NBC)
It’s a throwback, but Dorothy (Bea Arthur) and Sophia (Estelle Getty) set the blueprint for hilarious mother-daughter banter. Through their witty, often combative, interactions, Dorothy and Sophia demonstrate a love for each other that is best expressed through jokes and gentle ribbing.
Jane the Virgin (The CW)
As Jane Gloriana Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) grapples with an unplanned pregnancy in her early 20s, she leans heavily on her mother, Xiomara De La Vega (Andrea Navedo), for support. Xiomara intimately understands Jane’s predicament, because she herself had Jane at only 16. Xiomara acts not only as a guiding figure, but also as a best friend to her daughter.
Arrested Development (Fox/Netflix)
Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) and Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter) don’t have a particularly healthy mother-daughter relationship, but their bickering does make for good TV. The two are constantly at each other’s throats, but their mother-daughter resemblance is uncanny. Lindsay and Lucille are both manipulative, materialistic, and vain — twin agents of chaos and drama, which is what makes them so fun to watch.
Modern Family (ABC)
ABC’s sitcom Modern Family focuses on the humor in contemporary domestic life yet always maintains an underlying sincerity, with some poignant lesson that ties each episode’s antics together. Many of the best dramatic moments come from Claire (Julie Bowen) and her two daughters, Alex (Ariel Winter) and Haley (Sarah Hyland).
The Mindy Project (Fox/Hulu)
Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling) is a fiercely independent OB/GYN — but that doesn’t mean that she can’t sometimes use words of wisdom from her mom, Sonu (Sakina Jaffrey). Some of the romantic comedy’s highlights come when Mindy turns to Sonu for support.
Gilmore Girls (Netflix)
Alexis Bedel was 19 when she took on the role of 16-year-old Rory Gilmore for the dramedy’s original 2000-07 run.
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