{"id":713,"date":"2026-07-01T13:13:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T13:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=713"},"modified":"2026-07-01T13:13:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T13:13:04","slug":"a-peoples-view-of-america-as-seen-on-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=713","title":{"rendered":"A people\u2019s view of America, as seen on TV"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cI had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 George Washington, 1788<\/p>\n

Read more Texas Republicans may regret mandating Bible in classes<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re Americans, with a capital A! You know what that means? Do you? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We\u2019re the underdog. We\u2019re mutts!\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Bill Murray as John Winger in \u201cStripes,\u201d 1981<\/p>\n

When I picture the Fourth of July, old white guys in curly powdered wigs and buttoned breeches don\u2019t come to mind. No way. I think of Midwest summer nights where the humidity lies on my skin like a veil. Bomb pops and rainbow sherbet. Fireflies at dusk, flitting around outdoor gatherings as cousins trade jokes with a friendly, rough-and-tumble edge.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a show, in fact, that precisely encapsulates that experience: \u201cSouth Side,\u201d a departed Comedy Central treat that encapsulates life in Chicago in all its sweaty glory. Whenever anyone tries to argue that America is a homogeneous white Christian nation, I think of that old favorite.<\/p>\n

In that, we\u2019re lucky. Today, we have many shows that remind us we\u2019ve always been a nation of immigrants and many cultures cohabiting and often blending harmoniously, where most of us simply want to work hard and figure out how to laugh our way to better times.<\/p>\n

So with America\u2019s semiquincentennial celebration bearing down on us, here are 13 comedies that convey the diversity and splendor of what our multicultural democracy actually looks like and occasionally (mis)behaves. Feel free to binge them \u2014 or, if you prefer, your can check out my recommended episode to get a feel of each show\u2019s spirit.<\/p>\n

Around the same time that \u201cDownton Abbey\u201d was in its stride, Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome gave us Lillian and Beatrice Bellacourt, proudly ignorant, self-serving socialites invested in working against civil rights to maintain exclusive access to halfway decent treatment from men, which they only receive because they\u2019re rich.\u00a0While the series proved a little too caustic to achieve mass popularity when it first aired in 2015, today it\u2019s an apt reminder that the \u201cGilded Age\u201d glow-up to the 1% masks a mean, ridiculous side we should not aspire to. On the other hand, they have cocaine wine. Recommended viewing: \u201cThe Party of the Century\u201d (Season 1, Episode 1)<\/p>\n