Things you should see: The Fosters

Stef (Teri Polo) and Lena (Sherri Saum) hugging their daughter Mariana (Ciarra Ramirez) in ABC Family's The Fosters.

  

I wasn't supposed to write about TV series two times in row but then again I was supposed to go to sleep hours ago and not dilly dally around the world wide web, so there you go. Anyhow in short: The Fosters – watch it. Rest of this post is a more wordy version of the very same tip.

The Fosters is kind of a sappy and melodramatic family series and those aren't necessarily my cup of tea. I mean, family relations as a topic, yes please, but think more like Mommie Dearest. That being said, I counted days until the return of all this teenage angst, parenting problems and other things that don't necessarily have anything to do with my life. Because how often do you really get it: a family show that revolves around multicultural family with foster kids and two mothers. That's a jackpot my friends!

The family includes a son from one of the mothers' previous relationship, adopted twins and two new family members, the foster siblings, who come to live with the family at the beginning of the series. As all these kids are more or less in their teens, there's all that. But don't be fooled; there's so much more. Actually the show brings up pretty heavy themes like expressing your gender or racial and cultural identities. In the latest episode there was a transgendered teen and that's something you don't come across as often as you really should in media. And then there's the fact that both parents of this family are women. But none of these things are too much in your face nor are they handled in too preachy way.

Usually whenever a show has a lesbian character (which kind of still is an achievement itself), it still means one can forget relaxing and fun times. Because that character probably dies. Or they lose a limb. Or they lose anything and everything. Very likely the one they love. Drama series don't acknowledge happy couples, let alone happy gay couples. So you're constantly ready to get your heart ripped out out of your chest and be trampled by a feral band of horses.

But you get none of that crap with The Fosters! Lena and Stef sure have their fair share of problems but fair is really a key word here. Shipping them is so relaxing you almost forget they are a gay couple because you're not worried they could burst into flames out of the blue. Only that you don't forget it for you are so aware of its uniqueness and beauty that your heart is about to burst into pieces: you're happy it's made so believable and real and sad because you aren't used to it and you rarely see it. 

And that's really why this show matters. That's why people should watch it. Those who think there's only one kind of family that's right and those on the fence about all the big themes of the show. But those, too, who need to see themselves and their family and their friends portrayed just as they are.