Television series

Jem

Name: Jem
Genre: Drama, Adventure
Released: 1985
Cast: Samantha Newark, Cathianne Blore, Bobbi Block, Michael Sheehan, Cindy McGee

Animated musical
Light-hearted

Jem is a gloriously ambitious 1985 cartoon that treats its premise—a holographic disguise enabling a woman to lead a rock band—with complete sincerity. Built on synth-driven earworms and soap-opera plotting, it's genuinely about female friendship, ambition, and refusing to compromise. Silly in the best way, utterly of its moment, and weirdly moving.

TVMaze rating

2.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you grew up on bright, music-driven cartoons and want a sincere, glossy soap about a rival band, where the songs carry as much weight as the costumes and the feud.

Skip it if the animation and storytelling are dated 1980s kids' fare, so if you need sharp writing or modern animation, the episodic plots and marketing-driven pacing will grate.

What it asks of you: Thirty-minute episodes across three seasons, best taken in small doses, with a bright tone that stays sunny even when the plotting gets melodramatic.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Josie and the Pussycats2001

Captures the same winking tone about girl bands and secret identities, with knockout production design and unironic joy. It's in on the joke without mocking the premise.

But The meta-comedy and product-placement gags land unevenly, and it's aggressively early-2000s in ways that haven't aged as kindly as Jem's sincere earnestness.

She-Ra: Princess of Power1985

From the same Filmation stable, same year, same synth-score magic. A superhero cartoon with genuine stakes, gorgeous animation flourishes, and real emotional weight beneath the sparkle.

But The gender politics, while progressive for 1985, read as complicated now. And the action-adventure focus means less time for the band-dynamics and friendship stuff Jem does best.

Xyber 9: New Dawn1999

A late-90s cyberpunk take on the girl-band-with-secret-double-life formula. It has the same earnest commitment to the outlandish premise and surprisingly solid character development.

But The CGI is aggressively of its moment in ways that haven't weathered well, and the storytelling is more conventional than Jem's willingness to be soap-operatic.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Jem

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space1972

Both use music and spectacle as the language of the show; both make a found family of young women their emotional center; both are willing to be completely ridiculous about the premise.

A pre-Jem animated series that adds science-fiction to girl-band shenanigans. The same DNA of music, adventure, and found-family dynamics, but played for pure absurdist fun. Wildly weird in the most endearing way.

But The animation is genuinely crude even by 1970s standards, and the writing is thinner than Jem's more ambitious soap-opera plotting. It's more sketch comedy than narrative.

Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space poster

Katy Keene2020

A Riverdale spinoff that captures Jem's DNA: young women pursuing creative dreams in a glitzy world, with production numbers and genuine stakes. It's bright and earnest about ambition.

But It's tied to the Riverdale universe and its tonal whiplashes; the darker elements can undercut the aspirational fun you came for.

Winx Club2004

An animated series about a found family of magical girls with genuine character arcs, friendship dilemmas, and a willingness to be operatic about the emotional stuff. Italian-produced enchantment.

But The dubbed English voice acting is variable, and the fairy-tale fantasy trappings might feel too juvenile if you're looking for Jem's specific brand of '80s glamour.

Jem and the Holograms2015

A live-action attempt to capture the spirit of the show for a new era. If you love the core concept and want to see it reimagined with modern production values and earnest emotion.

But It fundamentally misunderstands the tone—trading the show's campy joy and soap-opera plotting for earnest YA melodrama. Many longtime fans found it a betrayal of the source material.