Television series
Jane the Virgin
A telenovela wearing a wink, narrated by a cheeky offscreen voice who knows exactly how absurd this all is. Jane, accidentally artificially inseminated, gets pulled into crime lords, secret twins, and a love triangle worthy of daytime television — but the show never stops caring about its characters underneath the chaos. Big feelings, fast plotting, real heart.
If you liked this
Ugly Betty2006
Same DNA — a telenovela transplanted into English-language network TV, minus the narrator but just as heightened, with a kind, determined heroine navigating a ridiculous world with real heart underneath the gloss.
But The satire is broader and the fashion-world setting less personal than Jane's kitchen-table family stakes.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend2015
Another CW show that cracks open a genre — here the rom-com — with songs, self-awareness, and surprising tenderness about mental health and the stories we tell ourselves about love.
But The musical numbers are a big ask if you don't want singing interrupting your drama every few minutes.
Gilmore Girls2000
Trade the narrator for rapid-fire mother-daughter banter, but keep the cozy small-town warmth, a matriarch with strong opinions, and a heroine figuring out who she wants to become.
But No cartel subplot here — stakes stay charmingly domestic, which might feel tame after Jane's chaos.
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Yo soy Betty, la fea1999
Jane the Virgin is a loving, ironic homage to exactly this kind of show — the amnesia plots, outrageous coincidences, and sincerity beneath the camp. This is the real, unfiltered thing that started it all.
The actual telenovela genre Jane spoofs and adores, in its natural habitat — longer, wilder, utterly committed to melodrama with zero irony, and a genuine global phenomenon that outsold soap operas worldwide.
But Over 300 episodes in Spanish with none of Jane's English-language wink — a serious subtitle-reading commitment.
More like this (8)
One Day at a Time2017
A Cuban-American single mother, her strong-willed mother, and her kids navigate love, identity and money with the same mix of big laughs and unexpectedly moving family truth.
But It's a multi-camera sitcom with a laugh track, a very different rhythm from Jane's soap-opera pacing.
Desperate Housewives2004
Wants a nosy, all-knowing narrator guiding you through a neighborhood of secrets and betrayals — Jane's playful voiceover has an obvious, deliciously catty cousin here.
But The camp replaces Jane's sincerity; the humor turns nastier and considerably less warm-hearted.
Schitt's Creek2015
A family thrown into absurd circumstances slowly discovers they actually love each other — the same emotional engine as the Villanueva household, filtered through fish-out-of-water comedy instead of melodrama.
But Almost no romance-plot twists or crime intrigue; this one is quieter and more character study than soap opera.
Devious Maids2013no page yet
Made by a Desperate Housewives alum with an almost entirely Latina cast, it mines the same telenovela DNA — secrets, class tension, soapy plotting behind Beverly Hills gates.
But Less warmth, more camp — the emotional depth Jane earns through family isn't quite matched here.
The Mindy Project2012no page yet
A rom-com-obsessed heroine who addresses the audience directly and genuinely believes love is a spectacle — Mindy's voice has the same wink as Jane's narrator.
But No multigenerational family core or crime plot — the scale stays workplace-comedy sized, not saga sized.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine2013
Not soapy at all, but the same generous, big-hearted ensemble energy — characters who needle each other constantly but would do anything for each other.
But Zero romance-melodrama or narrator wit; the soap-opera engine is swapped out entirely for police-sitcom jokes.
Fleabag2016
Both use a narrator who breaks the fourth wall to let you in on the joke, and both are secretly about guilt and a woman writing her own redemption arc — just at wildly different volumes.
A woman talks directly to camera, undercutting her own pain with jokes, in a show about sex, guilt and grief — rawer and filthier than Jane would ever allow, but just as emotionally exact.
But Much shorter, much darker and considerably more explicit — no coziness, no crime caper, no easy redemption.
Moonstruck1987
A big, superstitious immigrant family, a heroine caught between fate and practicality, and a story that treats love as operatic destiny rather than coincidence — Jane's heightened romanticism has real roots here.
An Italian-American family romance under a huge moon, treating love as fated and slightly magical — the same heightened, big-hearted register Jane brings to romance, wrapped up neatly in two hours.
But No serialized plotting or crime intrigue — it's a complete, contained story without the twisty melodrama.
People
Cast
Recommended by
Emily in Paris, Younger, Ugly Betty, The Bold Type, Yo soy Betty, la fea, This Is Us, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Gilmore Girls, One Day at a Time, Riverdale, Never Have I Ever, Ramy, Pushing Daisies, Undone