Watch to Write

Television has always been my escape when I get into a writer's rut. I'll step away for an hour or six days and then come back with fresh eyes and hopefully a new concept. Because I work from home, I usually always have some TV show or movie going on in the background. Recently, Netflix uploaded the entirety of Sex and The City and I realized I had never seen it all the way through.

A week and a half later, I had watched all six seasons and I had an epiphany. I sat down to write after and I had so much to say. Watching a TV show about writers, readers, and just putting yourself out there changed my entire mindset. So I made a list of shows that had this connection and I found that it was a lot of shows I had already seen. Note: I'm an avid show repeater. If I like it enough, I'll watch it over and over. The four shows that had the criteria: One Tree Hill, Sex and the City, Jane the Virgin, and The Bold Type.

Sex and the City (1998-2004)

My first watch of Sex and the City was an experience in and of itself. I knew it was an HBO show, so I was fully prepared for the nudity and the sexual openness, not that I minded that in the first place. However, I didn't expect it to give me some clarity about honest writing and how I connected with each character as went through life changes and handled adult situations. I shuffled between Charlotte and Miranda as favorites... granted I wanted Samantha's give no fucks attitude and Carrie's shoes and hair.

Charlotte - a girl's girl, drop anything for her friends, the most hopeless of hopeless romantics, which I have no doubt in New York City is pretty hard to be. Miranda, one of my constant connections - she loved her career, her space, and wanted love, but only if it was the right love that would ADD to her personal growth.

One of my favorite parts about Carrie's writing is she asks questions. Every single column, every single episode, she's answering a question that she has about her life and whether she finds the answer or not, she picks what fits for her at the time. As I watched her question and write honestly about every single aspect of her life, I knew I had some hard questions to ask myself as my writing goes forward. One of the first questions she asks herself is:

“In a city like New York, with its infinite possibilities, has monogamy become too much to expect?”

Taking into consideration the dating world in 2025 with polyamory, friends with benefits, long-term partnerships, etc... The question is still relevant today. If I HAD to pick one thing I learned from SATC, it's that I've never been more excited for my thirties and asking myself the hard questions.

One Tree Hill (2003-2012)

I was late to the One Tree Hill gang as I started binge watching it in college after all nine seasons were done. Since then, I've probably binged it 6 or 7 times and honestly and started another rewatch when the Drama Queens podcast came out. It's a show that brings me such nostalgia, depth, music, and most of all writing motivation. I could write something on every single episode of One Tree Hill, whether it's the music, the relationships (romantic and platonic), or the plot itself. It gave just the right amount of reality with a touch of soap opera - and we all ate it up.

Lucas, one of the titular character's played by Chad Michael Murray, starts off a good amount of the episodes with quotes from classic novels. For those that would like to take on the list of classics: Lucas Scott's reading list.

Now after all of that reading, later in the series, you learn that Lucas has been writing his own novel - "An Unkindness of Ravens". Through the entirety of the show you hear quotes and stories from some of the greatest minds and see how a seemingly normal kid from a small town can become a best selling author by writing about his own life and it's idiosyncrasies

Not just the writing reels you in though. Brooke Davis, played by Sophia Bush, was my favorite part of the show from beginning to end, BUT I connected the most to Peyton Sawyer's character, portrayed by Hilarie Burton. Her love of music, her art, her bedroom, god - she was so cool. She also went through a lot in her childhood with both of her mom's passing away, her dad being gone all the time essentially raising herself, and being attacked by a stalker that pretended to be her brother. All that sound confusing? Time to watch One Tree Hill friends.

Jane the Virgin (2014-2019)

Have you ever put on a show because you saw the trailer and thought - "Wow that looks stupid, let's watch it as a joke." That was my thought when I watched Jane the Virgin for the first time. It's extra, dramatic, hilarious, romantic, and all together a fantastic watch. The synopsis itself is enough to tell you that you're in for a ride:

Jane, a religious young woman, who is accidentally artificially inseminated during a routine doctor's visit, becoming pregnant with the child of the wealthy, married hotel owner Rafael. Her life is thrown into a telenovela-esque frenzy as she navigates her unexpected pregnancy, a love triangle between her fiancé Michael and Rafael, and various family dramas and criminal conspiracies tied to the hotel and its eccentric characters.

Adapted from a 2002 Venezuelan Telenovela, Jane the Virgin absolutely holds true to the soap opera drama that we've all heard about. Five seasons later, you've watched every character go through turmoil, grief, romance, and yes, you see Jane follow her dream of becoming a romance novelist. Now, if you've ever read any of my other posts, you'll know that romance or even fiction is completely outside of my comfort zone. Watching Jane go to school for writing, join writers groups, and eventually publish her first novel, it's a whirlwind that would make anyone want to write - especially outside of their usual genre.

Jane the Virgin covers all kinds of devotion and intimacy, but it's the way the characters navigate, develop and eventually write about it for others to grow along with them that pulls you into their world.

The Bold Type (2017-2021)

Anyone remember when ABC Family moved over to Freeform in 2016? I sure do. The Bold Type was one the first shows I watched when my favorite channel changed over to a "younger" audience and I was convinced I was going to hate it... oh boy, was I mistaken. I've now rewatched The Bold Type, and convinced a ton of my friends to watch it, at least 10 times. It sits with a younger audience, but there are lessons for every age.

The show was praised for it's topic coverage with ideals like: sexuality, sex-positivity, racial identity, body image, and career advice. To be honest, it also opened up a lot of conversations for the younger generations, myself included, that didn't have the typical "sex talk" with their parents or for girls that were too scared to ask their gynecologists questions for fear of judgment.

The show itself follows three girls at a "Fashion Magazine" that all have vastly different jobs - social media director, writer, and fashion intern. Jane, the writer of the group, is a complex character that can be the critical voice of the women. She explores her writing through the loss of her mother at a young age, the ideals of friendship and career, dealing with heavier topics like breast cancer and self image issues.

Every time I rewatch any of these the shows, I find something new to write about in my own life. Whether it's asking myself questions about where I go from here at almost 30, considering writing a novel myself, about the current political climate, or just being a woman in the 21st century.

A huge sell that most of these shows have in common? Love. However, not always a romantic love. You see platonic love, familial affection, self-love, and deep friendship. You see people that love to read, write, and listen. Shows that cover hard topics like feminism and misogyny, self-love and depression, the political climate, racism, death, and of course, the hard work is takes to follow your dreams. For the writers, the listeners, the readers, if you're ever in a rut maybe turn to the creatives on the big screen and see what you find.