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17 Most Politically-Driven Plotlines of 2018

Oscar Wilde wrote that “life imitates art for more than art imitates life.” Writers have been forever basing their stories and scripts on the world around them. Still, as Wilde suggests, the books we read, the shows we see, and the lessons we learn play a role in our decisions and behaviors.

Knowing this, writers like to feed us messages that make us think and even sometimes bring us to their way of thinking. In recent years, the real world (such a terrible place to live) has been fraught with a great deal of tension politically. The left and right seem more at odds than ever, and everybody is speaking out.

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So too, the writers of our favorite shows are making their positions known as this climate leaks into our shows, helping us see our world and the issues facing us in a different light. 

in 2018, many political plots and arcs have come across our screens. We’ve seen plots addressing the #MeToo movement, police brutality, gun control, immigration reform, and just general right versus left tension.

Here are some examples of the way politics crept into our favorite shows this year, sometimes adding to the story, and sometimes taking away from the escape we like to find when we tune in.