Here’s your list of 5 shows/movies on female bonding to binge-watch on OTT platforms
Gilmore Girls (Netflix): Today, on daughter’s day, a series you must binge-watch is Gilmore Girls. This story of the mom-daughter pair of Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory Gilmore (the porcelain-skin Alexis Bledel) is nearly two decades old but still stands the test of time as one of the warmest and humorous portrayals of this relationship. Graham’s turn as Lorelai Gilmore is outstanding in every sense including her comic timing. I binge-watched this series when I discovered it early this year. Five years ago, the story returned with a 4-part mini-series called Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life with the same actors, which tied up some of the loose ends pretty well.
Fleabag (Amazon Prime): This two-season series is a tremendous rule-breaker on several counts. Phoebe Waller-Bridge has created, written and acted in this series as a highly promiscuous, single young woman identified simply as ‘Fleabag’, whose way of coping with a tragedy in her past is to use sex indiscriminately. This affects all her relationships including with her sister, father and her Godmother, played fiendishly by Olivia Coleman of Broadchurch and The Crown.
While the second season features the Hot Priest (Andrew Scott aka Jim Moriarty of Sherlock!) and the whole series is about Fleabag finding herself, the chemistry and bonding between Waller-Bridge and Sian Clifford who plays Fleabag’s sister Claire, is one of the highlights of the series. Scarred as they are by their mother’s demise and their wicked Godmother trying to cosy up to their father, every interaction is heavily nuanced, ironic and laced with underplayed humour. Love it!
On the Verge (Netflix): Movies with female bonding themes have to necessarily have these elements; a minimum of four interesting women, boyfriend/man/partner problems, crises galore and precocious children. On the Verge has all of this. A single mom, a perpetual job seeker, a chef writing a book and an heiress, live and love in Los Angeles. While this may not be the most memorable cast of characters you have seen, it is still among the more interesting shows you will watch this year.
Wine Country (Netflix): A bunch of women get together for a weekend in wine country Napa Valley to celebrate one of them turning 50. In the process, they face up to each other’s weaknesses, and home truths some have been avoiding. The movie has some of the best names from Saturday Night Live like Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph, though Tina Fey has a very negligible role. You almost wonder what she’s doing here. It’s a good watch, on a slow day.
Big Little Lies (Hotstar): Aha! This is one of my most favourite series. A complete gem starring megastars Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley, it is set in the community of Monterey, California, where it’s the first day of a new school year for a bunch of first graders, whose mothers are divided into close-knit groups. One of the kids gets assaulted by another on day one, and from there on, the battle lines are clearly drawn between the moms.
There is also adultery, domestic violence, commentary on parenting, jealousies, and the most intense test of friendship one can imagine between the women. And finally, a murder, which is revealed in the first episode itself (though not who is murdered), but is resolved only in the last few minutes of the final episode, leaving you strung out, gasping, exhausted, and absolutely shocked! Season 2 was highly disappointing even with the addition of Meryl Streep. But ignore that and binge-watch Season 1.