Netflix High-Concept Comedy Creates The Most Wild Possibility And Does It Right

It took me forever to finally watch Jane the Virgin. I just wasn’t interested in seeing what was being done despite my past studies in Latin American Culture and ability to speak Spanish fluently. My sister finally talked me into watching what has turned out to be one of my all-time favorite shows that really does bring Mexican and American culture together in the best possible ways. 

Jane the Virgin is centered, obviously around Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez), who, we find in the first episode, is madly in love with a police detective named Michael Cordero (Brett Dier). Michael has just proposed to Jane, and the two are very excited for the wedding and all the fun they plan to have since Jane has been saving herself for marriage.

Jane heads off to a routine pap smear and encounters the OB-GYN there, Dr. Luisa Alver (Yara Martinez), who is sobbing hysterically and a bit hungover after a bad breakup with her girlfriend, who also happens to be her father’s wife.

Yep. It’s a telenovela alright. 

Luisa mistakes Jane’s appointment for her sister-in-law’s, who is trying to get pregnant, and accidentally inseminates Jane… the virgin. When Jane discovers she’s pregnant, her mother and grandmother think it must either be a mistake or an act of God. Jane’s mother, Xiomara (Andrea Navedo), had Jane when she was just a teenager, and never told the father of the baby.

As a result, Xiomara and her mother, Alba (Ivonne Coll), have raised Jane to be a good, God-fearing girl who will wait until she is married to have intercourse. Alba teaches this lesson explicitly, and Jane learns it from her mother implicitly, as Xiomara is a serial dater, always looking for Mr. Right among dozens of Mr. Wrongs. 

Once it’s confirmed that Jane, the virgin, is indeed pregnant, the biological father, Rafael Solano (Justin Baldoni), a trust fund hotel magnate who has recently recovered from cancer and is planning to leave his conniving wife, Petra (Yael Grobglas), sees the coming baby as a gift from God. He promises to be there for Jane and the baby no matter what. Meanwhile, Michael is torn between loving Jane and being upset about the pregnancy. 

GFR SCORE

All of these characters are both flawed and redeemable. You can’t help but love them and then hate them, except for Jane, who is played beautifully and lovingly by Gina Rodriguez. Watching her for five seasons in Jane the Virgin made me love Rodriguez and hope to see her continue to do this kind of work because she is just as flawless as the girl with a heart of gold. 

And none of this is even to mention perhaps the biggest star of Jane the Virgin, the narrator, Anthony Mendez, whose Latino-accented voice lets us know what’s happening in people’s minds, what’s occurring behind the scenes, and what to expect around the corner. The plot points are silly and wild, venturing into true telenovela territory, but the relationships are genuine.

I cannot recommend Jane the Virgin highly enough for its storytelling and unique characters. Stream it on Netflix, and you won’t be able to turn the TV off. Now, if only Rodriguez could get another great show with lasting power.