‘The more I know, the more I realize I know nothing,’ said the good ol’ jolly Socrates. And the man knew what he was talking about. See… the more you interact in conversations, social media, movies, or books, the more you learn about different narratives, and you start to form opinions and perspectives. These imprint your mind to think differently, making you more socially aware.
With technology and AI sweeping in and the media giving us an all-access pass to every piece of information, our imaginations have certainly taken flight. With no limits to what we can conceive, it is rather a scary thought of what we are truly capable of achieving. The society we live in today is undoubtedly changing, and as we adapt to new realities around us, what better way to experience them than by watching movies and TV shows that give us a peek into these status quo-defining possibilities?
We are back with a new Top 10 list, and this time, we are bringing you shows that will make you think differently about what it means to be human, what it means to form new relationships, and what it means to embrace society’s new realities. These shows struck a chord with us, making us think twice, ‘Oh! That could happen too!!!’
Let’s check out our 10 best social issue TV shows and see if you guys agree with us. Or not?
Sex Education (2019-2023)
Normalizes conversations about sexual health, intimacy, and gender identity to help teenagers be more aware of navigating relationships in the 21st century.
Talk about making a bold statement, and Sex Education is exactly that. This coming-of-age comedy is about British high-school teens and their parents trying to make sense of their sexuality and desires to identify with what they think is right rather than what society deems it to be.
The show focuses on themes of physical intimacy and open acceptance towards the LGBTQ+ communities and sexual health — topics which are, well, let’s just say, not willingly discussed in South Asian households still!
Set in the fictional town of Moordale, which is picturesque South Wales in the UK, the show follows the life of Otis and Meave, who decide to run a sex clinic in their school to help fellow students be more sexually aware and earn some side hustle. What follows are beautiful story arcs of other students and their struggles with intimacy spread over four seasons. This one is exceptionally led by an ensemble cast delivering a vivid commentary about sex with humor and empathy.
Bonus: If you are an alumni of the University of South Wales, you will particularly enjoy this show for all the nostalgia as Moordale High School is set in the university’s now defunct Caerleon Campus.
When They See Us (2019)
A TV show about racism addressing racial profiling and inequality in the US justice system to expose systematic injustice against black communities.
You are black, and that is your biggest crime. This is what this four-part crime drama will make you believe — a harrowing reminder of the deep-rooted racial inequalities, social biases, and the systematic failures of the US justice system.
When They See Us dramatizes the 1989 Central Park Joggers Case and its aftermath on the lives of five Black and Latino teenagers who were wrongly accused and then prosecuted for the brutal assault and rape of Trisha Meili, a white woman.
This crime drama, created by Ava DuVernay for Netflix, recounts how the police tried to coerce confessions and pin the rape on these teenagers when all the evidence pointed to the contrary. No one believed them only because they were black; the police, the prosecutor, and the juries convicted all the teenagers with varying degrees of charges.
We particularly enjoyed the last part of the show, opening our eyes to the struggles of the teenagers in prison, their eventual exoneration when the real perpetrator confessed to the crime in 2002, and the implications of this experience, nay stigma, on their later lives, marriages, and work.
Black Mirror (2011- )
Reflects on the use of technology, its ethical and moral dilemmas, and social repercussions.
If there is one show that questions the future of humanity in an increasingly digital age, it is Black Mirror. This gripping anthology series focuses on the consequences of our technological advances — from surveillance culture to social media addiction to artificial intelligence. Every episode in the series is a banger!
All the episodes in the series are standalone, so you can watch them in any order. Each episode focuses on a dystopian theme where technology rules our daily interactions. You will love the storytelling, the nuances, and the plot twists, making you think twice about how life, relationships, and societies can be in the future we are heading towards.
Sci-fi fans will love it, and so will the conspiracy theorists warning us of an ever-impending doom from our excessive use of technology. Our favorites in the series, which you should definitely put on your watchlist, include Fifteen Million Merits, Nosedive, Be Right Back, and Black Museum — you’ll find an eerily resemblance to our present realities in them.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-2021)
Humanizes police officers and their struggles to reform and improve policing systems in the US.
On the face of it, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is your everyday police procedural drama with humorous and sometimes eccentric overtones, but as you go through the seasons, you’ll realize it is so much more.
This show humanizes police officers as people and coworkers who go through each day as any of us do. Along the way, they form a bond and a family, and through thick and thin, they have each other’s backs. Watching this is like experiencing our own corporate workplace, but instead of boardrooms and meetings, they are cops doing cop things.
The show’s writing, jokes, and comedic timing are spot-on and will surely make you laugh. Jake Peralta, beautifully portrayed by Andy Samberg, is the wittiest and the most lovable troublemaker in the group. He is full of himself, but the empathy he depicts in parts just melts your heart. The breakout character, however, has to be Raymond Holt, the black, gay captain getting his first commission in the Nine-Nine to fight systematic racism and genderism in the police force. Raymond Holt was portrayed by Andre Braugher, who died in 2023 due to lung cancer.
The show ran for eight seasons, and after Andre’s death, it has somewhat been memorialized as the best police comedy-drama of all time.
Shameless (2011-2021)
Addresses the struggles of marginalized communities in battling poverty and substance abuse.
Being broke is bad; being broke and living with your dad, who is an alcoholic, is even worse. Shameless is about just that: a family of six siblings who have an alcoholic father, usually drunk and good for nothing. The six siblings are troublemakers, running street scams and petty crimes to survive in Chicago’s south side.
The show is a comedy of situations. It depicts your American working class with hard-hitting perspectives and the marginalization of low-income groups. The writing is raw, gritty, and in equal parts, heart-wrenching and hilarious.
Watch this show for its dark comedic commentary on heavy social themes of poverty, substance abuse, and an understanding of how marginalized families make do with what they have. The character arcs are impactful, and so are the performances. Paul Abbott, the show’s creator, soulfully captures the essence of a dysfunctional family, which sometimes will mimic your relationship with your siblings and parents. If we have to sum it up, this show is about how circumstances drive our actions, even when our intentions are completely the opposite.
Orange is the New Black (2013-2019)
Explores the struggles of prison inmates and their reformation as model citizens. It also looks into gender inequalities and marginalization in women’s prisons across the US.
Orange is the New Black is sometimes a comedy and, at other times, a drama. It is the only show to have received Emmy nominations in both categories. The show is based on the true story of one Piper Kerman, who recounts her time in a minimum-security women’s prison in Danbury, Connecticut.
The show remained critically acclaimed throughout its seven-season run, but we personally began to lose interest after Season 3. Still, three seasons are enough to put this show on our list for its keen observation of prison life. They say mistakes eventually catch up to you, which is precisely this show’s premise. Piper Kerman once smuggled a bag full of drug money for her girlfriend. This event happened 10 years ago, and Piper was living comfortably in New York’s upper-middle-class neighborhood when her whole life came crashing down. Sentenced to 15 months in prison, Piper adjusts to an inmate’s life, reconnecting with her girlfriend, who, surprisingly, is the reason she was convicted in the first place.
What follows next is Piper’s perspective on how life parallels in prison and outside. She makes new friends and comes to terms with her reality. Even in the three seasons we watched, the show delivers compelling story arcs with underlying themes of racial profiling, sexuality, gender, and body shaming. We recommend you watch this show for how it humanizes prisoners and their struggles to return to the fold of society.
The Good Place (2016-2020)
Implores questions of ethics and morality in our actions and social interactions.
This is a personal favorite of ours. It is an understudy of Ethics and Morality that tells us that whatever we do, there are only two outcomes: good or bad. Trying to do good or be bad is a constant struggle that gives life its eventual meaning in the afterlife.
Eleanor, the lead protagonist, never cared about her actions. By all definitions, she was a bad person, but when she is sent to The Good Place, aka heaven of sorts, she is confused as to why.
She confides in Chidi, another major protagonist. Funny enough, Chidi was an ethics professor in his worldly life. Now faced with a dilemma that Eleanor should not be in The Good Place, he decides to help her. There are other characters: Micheal, the architect of The Good Place; Jannet, his programmable guide; Tahani and Jason. All of them have secrets to hide, and as the show progresses, we delve into each of these characters and their motives from the lens of morality.
But the show’s epicenter is Eleanor’s journey and her willingness to change. Her decision to be more conscious of her choices is a self-discovery of the good in her. If anything, watch this show for Eleanor and the situations she finds herself in, which in some ways depict our own struggles to maintain the fine line between good and bad.
Unbelievable (2019)
Highlights the struggles of sexual assault victims by shedding light on the systematic injustice through victim blaming.
You may think that victims of sexual assault face unfathomable pressure in South Asian societies to remain silent, but when you see Unbelievable, you will realize this plague on women’s rights is universal.
This is the second crime drama that makes our list. It tells the tale of the victim, Marie, who is now wrongfully charged for reporting that she was sexually assaulted. Based on the 2008-2011 Washington and Colorado serial rape cases, the story follows two detectives who are trying to find the serial rapist and, in pursuit, force Marie to recant her incident. This show is an eye-opener on how the US legal system fails rape victims and how survivors are traumatized, stigmatized through the victim-blaming culture.
With grace and gravity, the show responsibly delivers the stories of abuse, focusing not on the crime but the aftermath, building empathy and understanding toward such victims.
Euphoria (2019- )
Addresses substance abuse, mental health, and peer pressure through a bold take on teenagers of the 21st century.
We all remember our high school years, the unapologetic nature in us, exploring a new world, new friends, new influences, and new love. It is perhaps that time in all our lives when we felt invincible, that everything was in our grasp. If we could slang it, it was our euphoria high!
When you watch Euphoria, for a moment, it will take you on a whirlwind journey back in time. But the high school of today is not the high school dynamic we remember, and the ‘high’ wears off pretty fast to show the dark side: identity crisis, mental health, peer pressure, addiction, heartbreak, sex, and trauma all rolled into your backpack.
The show follows a group of high schoolers as they try to adjust to their new reality and are tempted to the dark side. Zendaya’s Emmy-winning performance as Rue, the lead protagonist, takes center stage. The show will make you relate to her struggles that feel all the bit real.
Compelling acting from an ensemble cast, breathtaking cinematography, and bold storytelling are all the ‘highs’ of Euphoria, which promises to deliver not just entertainment but a thought-provoking portrayal of today’s youth, their highs and lows, leaving you reflecting on a myriad of social realities long after the credits roll.
Modern Family (2009-2020)
Breaks family stereotypes by addressing modern family dynamics and the representation of multiracial and LGBTQ+ families in mainstream media.
If you need a lay of the land on navigating family and relationships in the 21st century, all with a hint of humor and fun, then look no further than Modern Family. The show rides on the dynamics of three interconnected families — a traditional couple, a blended family, and a same-sex couple as they interact and explore themes of love, acceptance, and the beauty of imperfection.
The show is ‘LOL’ funny, and where it matters, it touches your heart with ‘awww’ moments that will make you want to put more effort into your family relationships. One of our coworkers, a single dad, jokingly commented that Modern Family helps him navigate fatherhood and challenges many of his preconceptions about relationship stereotypes.
But do not take our word for it. Watch and enjoy this Emmy-award-winning show for all its charm and wit. Whether for laughs or life lessons, this show will undoubtedly strike a chord with you!
The shows we picked will not only give you a good dose of entertainment but also a unique perspective of our society and relationships, building more empathy and opinions on our social realities. In the comments, tell us what you think of our list of TV shows promoting social awareness. How many of these shows have you watched? And which shows are you planning to watch next?
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