Published May 31, 2026, 11:54 AM EDT
Kendall Myers is a Senior Author with Collider. As part of the TV and Movies Features team, she writes about some of the most popular releases before, during, and after they premiere. In three years, she has written over 900 articles with topics ranging from classic sitcoms to fantasy epics.
Sign in to your Collider account
While grounded TV seems to be the norm, especially when it comes to dramedy series, not every story follows the trend. Plenty of series slowly become melodramatic as they continuously try to deliver twists more shocking than the last, but few series are made to do just that. Jane the Virgin* is unique in that regard, as* it intentionally uses overdramatic stories to create a borderline ridiculous series.** The 2014 show released five seasons, each growing more wild as the drama unfolds, but that is exactly what makes it so fun. *Jane the Virgin *is the perfect binge-watch as each unexpected turn leads to another, making it impossible to turn it off.
Jane the Virgin takes inspiration from telenovelas, but it is self-aware in its humor, making the story of an unexpectedly pregnant virgin that much more hilarious. However, underneath the heightened drama is a heartfelt story about a loving family. With an intergenerational family dynamic, reminiscent of Gilmore Girls, and the over-the-top story, ***Jane the Virgin *remains the ideal binge watch even seven years after its conclusion. **
Jane the Virgin begins with a simple, if unusual, concept of a woman who gets pregnant without having sex, but the story continues to expand, incorporating love triangles, family struggles, and crime lords alike. Jane (Gina Rodriguez), a 23-year-old virgin, goes to a routine check-up only for the doctor to artificially inseminate her instead of the next patient. **This one mistake alters Jane’s life forever. Not only does it complicate things with her boyfriend, Michael (Brett Dier), but it also places her between her boss and the father of the child, Rafael (Justin Baldoni), and his scheming wife, Petra (Yael Grobglas). Meanwhile, Rafael fears that, due to past health issues, this is his only chance to have a child, and Petra hopes to use the child to prolong her failing marriage. As feelings develop between Jane and Rafael, her choice becomes increasingly complex.
“You have to fight for what you want:” The cast of ‘Jane the Virgin’ did just that.
As if the baby drama isn’t enough, *Jane the Virgin *features a loving and complex family dynamic between Jane, her mother, Xiomara (Andrea Navedo), and her grandmother, Alba (Ivonne Coll), whose contrasting values and strong opinions often lead to arguments. However, as different as their perspectives are, the Villanueva family remains supportive. Xo and Alba are there for Jane, not only through her non-traditional path to motherhood, but as she chases her dream of becoming a writer, when her estranged father, Rogelio (Jaime Camil), enters her life, and much more. **The constant love between these characters provides a heartwarming anchor for the story, **keeping the audience invested in the characters even as the series grows to wild heights.
The series always has something going on, and the ever-growing twist only highlights the ridiculousness of it all, but that is the point. ***Jane the Virgin *has a wild sense of humor, which has little connection to logic, **such as the omniscient Latin Lover Narrator (voiced by Anthony Mendez) and the unapologetic use of magical realism to illustrate the character’s thoughts. However, this is what pulls the audience in. *Jane the Virgin *takes every opportunity to make the audience laugh, even when it doesn’t entirely make sense. Paired with the emotional storylines, this makes it impossible to look away.
The key to Jane the Virgin’s over-the-top antics is that it is making fun of the tropes rather than asking the audience to buy its realism. This is especially evident in the surprising twists that build as the story develops. In addition to the pregnancy that kicks off the story, Jane the Virgin pulls out all the soap-opera traditions that keep the audience guessing. With evil twins, shocking resurrections, and crime lord family members, the series doesn’t shy away from anything, yet the self-aware tone makes the overdramatic story hilarious rather than unbearably ridiculous**.** **The meta humor proves that *Jane the Virgin *knows what kind of show it is, and simply doesn’t care, inspiring the same feeling in the audience. This tone and the constant surprises leave the audience wanting more, making *Jane the Virgin *a perfect binge-watch, even after so many years.
2014 - 2019-00-00
Jennie Snyder Urman