VH1's Hindsight goes the science fiction route back to the 90s. Becca, about to embark on her second marriage in her early 40s, suddenly travels back in time via a magical elevator to the eve of her first wedding twenty years earlier. Fully aware of her time travel, Becca must navigate the 90s and decide which past wrongs should be righted. This is the ultimate game of "what if?" What if you had quit that job before you learned it went nowhere? What if you had noticed your brother's drug problems earlier? What if you didn't marry the no-good man? We all wonder about different choices we could or should have made in the past, particularly the big life decisions of our twenties, and Becca has the impossible chance to find out the answers. However, while it seems easy to just make a new choice, Becca quickly finds out that knowing the future doesn't mean you can prevent it, and making "better" decisions can have disastrous effects. Becca ultimately just has to struggle through the 90s again, hoping she's doing the right thing like all the rest of us. At least she gets to listen to great music in her twenty-year-old body.
Younger, on TV Land of all places, has a more realistic, if still somewhat unbelievable, premise. Upon leaving her husband and finding herself financially stricken (said husband gambled all the money away), Liza attempts to find a career after 15 years away raising her daughter. She quickly discovers that she's considered too old and inexperienced to get a book publishing job. Since she looks young and her daughter is studying abroad, the 40-year-old Liza decides to pretend she's 26 and lands a marketing assistant position. In this act, she befriends other twenty-somethings - who introduce her to the crazy hot mess of being young with some spending money - and she even starts dating a hot tattoo artist. However, Liza must learn the intricacies of social media, the lingo, and the norms (shaving trends have changed since she got married). She eventually loses out on some great opportunities only her age and experience could provide because she has to pretend she doesn't understand the perspective of a 40-year-old woman. Liza's adventures let us see how fun, but exhausting and limiting, returning to your twenties could be.
These are both entertaining shows that feed on the nostalgia many feel for the past, but Younger is the better show. Hindsight provides an awesome time capsule of the 90s - the music, the clothes, the trends - which I love. Plus, it contains a great sidekick in Lolly. Becca, nevertheless, quickly gets annoying in her constantly switching love interests and ideas about how to fix the future. On the other hand, Sutton Foster's portrayal of Liza is utterly delightful. Younger is funny and cute with story lines that evolve steadily and keep the audience invested. It has the same feel as Sex and the City, which makes sense as it has the same producer. I can't wait for the next season in January!
Speaking of awesome shows on unlikely channels, everyone should check out UnREAL on Lifetime. My boss came in this morning explaining how she was so tired because she stayed up until two in the morning binge watching all the current episodes. I did the exact same thing last week. UnREAL is a scripted show about producing a reality series like The Bachelor. It follows the producers as they manipulate the competitors in truly awful ways to make drama. It's addicting as all get out!
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