TV Moms: The Good, The Bad, and Everything Between

By The Nice Girls | May 5, 2016

There are a wide variety of mothers on television today. Some are old-fashioned, some are more modern and some reflect the demands that today’s moms face. Society and career add pressure to an already exhausting job.

We gathered a list of the different moms presented on some of our favorite shows, and we’d like to share it with you. Are some of your choices listed here? Maybe you’d like to add your own in the comments below.

The Overbearing Mom – Beverly Goldberg (The Goldberg’s) wins the prize for being the overbearing, s-MOTHER-ing mom that we love anyway. (Nominated by Liz.)

– Marie Barone – From Everybody Loves Raymond, Marie was Super-Mom. She did it all! She cooked, cleaned, babysat, read mail (even if it wasn’t hers), offered constructive criticism when needed (mostly when not needed OR wanted), and she did all in the name of love for her family. Maybe a little too much love? (Nominated by Liz.)

– Dr Catherine Avery (Grey’s Anatomy) – Despite son Jackson being a grown man and very capable of making his own choices, this overbearing mama bear can’t help but butt into his life and often interfere when she shouldn’t. (Nominated by Ange.)

– Claire Dunphy (Modern Family) – Claire can be a bit of a hot mess! She spends so much time worrying what her kids may be doing and smothering them sometimes while watching, you just want to yell at the TV. Now, in her defense she has some great kids but she tries her best to control them instead of letting them learn from their own life experiences and mistakes (makes you wonder how wild she was as a child). (Nominated by Lisa.)

The Overwhelmed Mom – Mindy Lahiri (The Mindy Project) – When Danny went cross-country and was away for months to look after his sick dad, not only was Mindy left on her own to raise newborn Leo, but she also juggled it with working at the practice AND starting up her own fertility clinic. It was not easy but she rose to the challenge and did it. (Nominated by Ange.)

– Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation. After finding out that her uterus is having a “going out of business” sale and is having triplets, she balances that with having an amazing career in politics. Moving up the ladder to ultimately become the Governor of Indiana. Still, the triple terrors are a force to be reckoned with, and they share her hatred of vegetables. (Nominated by Karen.)

The Friend Mom – Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) – When I think Friend Mom, I immediately think of Lorelai Gilmore. Sure it could be because she had daughter Rory at age 16, but who doesn’t wish they had a cool, hip and understanding mom like Lorelai when they were growing up? Bring on the Netflix Gilmore Girls revival! (Nominated by Ange.)

The Pushy Mom – Jessica Huang (Fresh Off the Boat) – Jessica is a pushy mom because she wants her children to succeed and to be the best that they can be. Why strive for an A when you can get an A+? Sure she is full of opinions and has a no-nonsense attitude, but she means well and we love her anyway! (Nominated by Ange.)

The Stylish Mom – Mindy Lahiri (The Mindy Project) – Who says you have to dress like a soccer mom or have a permanent wardrobe of sweats when you become a parent? Mindy is definitely the best-dressed mom on screen to me! (Nominated by Ange.)

– Gloria (Modern Family) – Gloria always looks amazing. Her wardrobe is always stylish from her clothes to her accessories. Flawless! She is gorgeous and sexy. When I grow up I wanna be like Gloria. HA! (nominated by Lisa.)

The Mom Figure – Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights) – As well as being mother to Julie and Gracie, during her time at East Dillon and West Dillon high schools Tami took a lot of troubled and lost students under her wing and basically became mother figures to them. (Nominated by Ange.)

The Well-Meaning But Not Quite With It Mom – Donna Smoak (Arrow) – Being polar opposites, Donna and daughter Felicity have not seen eye to eye on most occasions. While Felicity is often exasperated by Donna’s antics, Donna’s actions come from a place of love and she says and does the things that she does with the good intentions. (Nominated by Ange.)

– Cynthia Carmichael (The Carmichael Show) – God love her. She means well sometimes she says something completely off and it makes you want to say “Bless her heart” (like we say in the South). She is so funny, loving and opinionated and it just works. What a great mom character currently on TV. (nominated by Lisa.)

Badass Mom – Lana from Archer. She steals her ex’s sperm, names the baby “Abgene”, then deals with being a single mother and a Secret Agent. Also, the father is Sterling Archer & the Grandmother is Mallory Archer. ‘Nuff said? DANGER ZONE! (Nominated by Karen.)

– Cookie Lyon from Empire. Cookie is a mama bear you don’t want to mess with. She takes no crap from anyone and there is nothing she wouldn’t do for her 3 boys and she looks great doing it. She is a total Badass mom! (Nominated by Lisa.)

The Reluctant Mom – Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time. After finding out the son she gave up for adoption needs her, she has to be coerced into joining him in Storybrooke “temporarily”. Ultimately, she’s made the town her home, and has found a place in her heart for her newfound family. (Nominated by Karen.)

The Evil Mom – Both “The Evil Queen” (Regina Mills) and her mother Cora would fall into this category, although Regina is now a Reformed Evil Mom. Cora shaped Regina into the Evil Queen by killing her first true love, and if that isn’t evil, I don’t know what is. Then Regina decided to seek vengeance on the person she blamed for that death – Snow White. In doing so, she upset the balance of the entire kingdom. She also enacted a curse that sent most of the Enchanted Lands to the “Land Without Magic”. So between the two of them, I call major shenanigans. (Nominated by Karen.)

The Barely There Mom – Donna Clark from Halt and Catch Fire. I know she’s supposed to be an 80s working mother, but hey, who watches their kids? Dad’s got a terminal brain illness and she’s always at “Mutiny” putting out fires. I guess they babysit… each other? (Nominated by Karen.)

– Pam Fields (Pretty Little Liars) – I can’t help thinking that if Pam had spent more time with her daughter than on the other side of the world with her military husband, Emily wouldn’t have had to borrow Hannah’s mother as a stand-in so many times. Pam, pay attention to your daughter once in a while! (Nominated by Liz.)

The Invisible Mom – Mrs. Wolowitz (The Big Bang Theory) – She did such a good job mothering that her baby boy found it difficult to leave home, even after marriage. Howard basically traded for a younger model. Still, Mrs. W managed to make her presents well known. Loudly. (Nominated by Liz.)

The Lawyer Mom – Veronica Hastings (Pretty Little Liars) – Mrs. H is a very successful lawyer and now State Senator for PA. There were a few times she had to pull the lawyer card on her own daughter. Sadly, her career and her legal view of everything kept her in the dark as to what was really going on in Rosewood with Spencer and her friends.

The Hippie Mom – Rainbow Johnson from black-ish. She tries to be tough, but those kids know how to get what they want. Her hippie upbringing makes her more likely to take a mellow approach to parenting in most instances, letting the children learn life lessons through experience. (Nominated by Mel.)

The (Recovering) Overbearing Mom – Eileen O’Neal from The Real O’Neals. Used to ruling her family with absolute power and Catholic guilt, Eileen has been dealing with serious insurrection in this new comedy as she and her husband get divorced; her oldest son admits that he’s anorexic; her youngest son comes out of the closet; and her daughter is revealed to be an unrepentant thief. As Eileen adjusts to the new normal in her family, she is learning a new way to parent as well. (Nominated by Mel.)

The Dedicated Moms – Kathryn Kennish & Regina Vasquez from Switched At Birth. These 2 moms were so dedicated to both girls throughout the Switched at Birth mix up and made an unfortunate situation into a wonderful blended family. They were not only dedicated to Bay and Daphne but to the whole family and how they would be affected. It’s refreshing to see such a strong family that -despite many challenges – stick together. Kathyrn and Regina may have different parenting styles, but they are equally dedicated to their children. (Nominated by Lisa.)