The Midnight Club, the newest horror series on Netflix, is remarkably true to life in one important regard: it sheds light on what young people endure when they are diagnosed with a terminal illness. Though it has elements of horror, this is what gives the series its bracing realism.
However, there have also been a number of other series which feature a similar verisimilitude. Thus, even though many people watch television to escape from the realities of their everyday lives, as the users of Reddit are quick to point out there are quite a few pleasures to be gained from watching realistic television series.
Scrubs (2001 - 2010)
Stream On Hulu
Scrubs is one of those series which manages to be both very funny and also, as the users of Reddit have pointed out, surprisingly realistic. IronDragonRider notes, “I had heard that Doctor Dr. Drew confirmed that, that show is the closest to what it's really like to work in a hospital than all the hospital shows out there. And I believe they had long time doctors as consultants, which is probalby how they got it to be so real.”
Of course, the realism doesn’t mean that Scrubs ignores its primary purpose: to make people laugh. The fact that it also features a very strong cast with excellent chemistry solidifies its reputation as a truly great television comedy.
The Wire (2002 - 2008)
Stream On HBO Max
The Wire is often rightly seen as one of the best HBO shows. Over the course of its several seasons, it managed to explore the realities of life in Baltimore, in the process having profound commentary on American life and culture.
One Redditor puts it this way: “The best part about The Wire's realism is that even the ridiculous situations you think couldn't happen in real life have actually happened in Baltimore.” It is, indeed, the series’ careful attention to details of life in Baltimore that gives it its resonant and evocative texture.
Roseanne (1988 - 2018)
Stream On Peacock
Often seen as one of the best television sitcoms of all time, Roseanne was remarkable for the attention it paid to a working-class family struggling to survive in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Though its successor series, The Conners, tries to capture some of this, nothing will ever quite match the original.
Madsock has this to say: “Roseanne is easily the most realistic portrayal of a struggling family I have ever seen.” Indeed, it is precisely the series’ ability to pay attention to the mundane details of life at the poverty line which helps to explain why it resonated with so many.
The Middle (2009 - 2018)
Stream On HBO Max
Though many sitcoms feature families and characters with a fair amount of affluence, this isn’t the case with The Middle. Among other things, this series focuses in particular on mother Frankie Heck (played by Patricia Heaton), who has to try to keep her family together while also contending with the many pressures of lower-middle-class life in the US.
TVFAN567 says that the show is “very relatable even though I live on the opposite side of the country from where the show takes place.” Because the series takes so much care to show the realities of life at the poverty line while also allowing its characters to change and grow.
King Of The Hill (1997 - 2010)
Stream On Hulu
For many, King Of The Hill is arguably one of the best animated TV series ever made. Its protagonist, Hank Hill, is in many ways the avatar for a certain kind of middle-class American man, someone trying to do best by his family, even as he also struggles to understand them.
It is also, as many Redditors note, remarkably accurate in its depiction of life in Texas. OxBakersTriumph humorously remarks: “As someone from Texas, King of the Hill feels like a documentary at times.” Fortunately, the show manages to find the right balance between gently poking fun at the foibles of its characters without ever reducing them to ridicule.
Friday Night Lights (2006 - 2011)
Stream On The Roku Channel
Friday Night Lights is often regarded as one of the best series about sports. It’s easy to see why this would be the case, as it does a very strong job of showing how central football is to the life of a small American town, even as it also explores a number of other pressing social issues.
Sumjonas has this to say about the series’ authenticity: Friday Night Lights really hit the nail on the head for life in small town Texas.” It is thus the kind of series which is designed to resonate with a broad segment of the American viewing public.
Malcolm In The Middle (2000 - 2006)
Stream On The Roku Channel
When it began, Malcolm In The Middle was very much about the title character and his experiences as a genius child growing up in a very zany family. As it went on, however, it explored many of the other characters, and one of its most consistent emphasis was on Malcolm’s relationships with his brothers.
This is an aspect of the series which has caused it to be seen as remarkably realistic by Reddit users. Xalimata puts it this way: “Yes it's exaggerated but Malcolm in the Middle was like a window into me and my brothers interactions.”
Shameless (2011 - 2021)
Stream On Showtime
Shameless has come to be regarded as one of the best series on Showtime. Beneath its dark comedy edge, it is actually a very sophisticated, and astute, look at the way that poverty operates in the US, often circumscribing and undercutting people’s ability to change their living circumstances.
Making_excuses remarks, “Shameless US is both quite realistic and not so realistic. A lot of their issues and how they interact and behave is very similar to my own family*, but on the other hand some of it isn't.” Indeed, for many Redditors it is one of those series which often cuts too close to the bone for comfort.
The West Wing (1999 - 2006)
Stream On HBO Max
Even now, so long after it went off the air, The West Wing remains a beloved series, and it is certainly one of Aaron Sorkin’s best projects. It is a remarkably optimistic show, in that it shows a group of politicians and public servants doing the best they can to govern and make the country a better place.
What’s more, it is also remarkably realistic in how it depicts the workings of American politics and governance. Batspank writes, “The West Wing. Even political experts say that the way they talked about and handled complex political story lines was very accurate with how government operates.”
Mad Men (2007 - 2015)
Stream On Prime Video
Mad Men has come to be seen as one of the best shows of the aughts. It managed to capture the heady and heated atmosphere of the 1960s, and it was particularly incisive in its interrogation of masculinity and its toxic influence.
Small wonder that many Redditors have praised its authenticity. ParkerZA writes, “Apparently it's also incredibly well researched and a very accurate depiction of that era's zeitgeist. Only unrealistic thing is the incredible amount of booze and tobacco consumed lol.” It is the type of series which makes the viewer feel as if they are truly inhabiting the period as they enjoy the drama.
Source:gamerant.com