When it was originally on: 2014-2019

Original network: The CW

Where you can stream it now: Unfortunately not streamable on one of the flat-rate subscriptions, you have to VOD this one.

Had I seen it before: Yes. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this whole series, though there’s a chance I was caught up at one point and then forgot to watch the last season.

What IMDb says: A young, devout Catholic woman discovers that she was accidentally artificially inseminated.

Why I picked it: Jane the Virgin is a great show made from a highly questionable premise. I remember seeing ads for it back it the day and thinking it looked ridiculous, and it was only after other friends saw it and recommended it that I gave it a chance. It went on to be one of my favorites, a truly special mix of comedy and drama that hasn’t been replicated since. All that begs the question… how do you make a pilot from a logline so laughably ridiculous that launches a heartfelt, wildly entertaining show?

What I liked: The show does a shockingly good job of establishing a lot of different characters quickly. Now, part of this is due to the voiceover, but that works better than the usual voiceover because it actually tells some jokes and enhances the entertainment of the show. That said, I was also pleasantly surprised with how little voiceover there was knowing what a prominent role it plays in the show as a whole. It comes in, it does its job, it goes away. Honestly, yesterday’s Heated Rivalry pilot probably had more.

There are also still plenty of ways we learn who these characters are through other means. For example, when Petra fears that her marriage is on the rocks, she decides to thaw out her husband’s only sperm sample now that he can’t have kids due to cancer treatment and be inseminated WITHOUT TELLING HIM. Is that even legal? Either way, it’s the sort of decision that immediately establishes Petra as a villain who will stop at nothing to get her way, no voiceover needed. By contrast, Raphael wants to raise the baby but still shows empathy to Jane.

I also can’t say enough about how strong the performances are, and how far they go to help sell the absurd premise of the show. There’s a scene between Jane and her mother, Xiomara in which Xiomara admits that while she’s glad she had Jane at 16, it’s not the choice she would’ve made for herself if not for pressure from her mother. She reassure Jane that it’s okay to end the pregnancy if that’s what she wants. It’s the kind of poignant scene that shouldn’t work in a pilot since we don’t have pre-established relationships with these characters… and yet it does. It’s amazing how the show is able to feel grounded in these moments where it needs to, but also be a heightened, stylized romp in other moments.

What I didn’t like: I understand that realistically, it would take some time to decide whether to have the baby or not, and yes,
seeing how the different characters advise Jane helps us learn who they are and how they relate to Jane. The problem is that on some level, we know that Jane has to decide to have the baby in order to justify the show’s existence. I kind of wish she would’ve committed to that a bit earlier so we could get a little more insight into how these relationships are going to function in that new reality.

Do I want to watch Ep. 2?: Yes. I don’t know that I would be 100% sold on the ridiculous premise based on this episode alone, but I am invested in these characters already. And there’s a great reveal at the end that would have me watching further as well.