Some people are emotional individuals in tune with their feelings, and they wear their hearts on their sleeves.
Then there are others who keep their feelings a bit closer to the vest, or they like to go about pretending as if they don’t have those pesky feelings at all. They can be so inconvenient, you know?
If you happen to be in that latter group of individuals who pride yourself in being unfazed, emotionally repressed, or flat out cold-hearted, well, here’s a list of heartwarming and emotional series that may put that cold, dead heart of yours to the test.
Warning, there will be feels!
Check out our list of shows that are guaranteed to warm your heart, and then hit the comments. No worries, there’s no judgment here!
Parenthood
Parenthood is one of the greatest family dramas ever. Following this big, diverse family through every imaginable thing life could throw at them was beautiful and heartrending. The series didn’t shy away from broaching difficult life events like cancer, grief, divorce and more. Most notably, the series was groundbreaking in educating millions on Aspergers at a time when knowledge of the disorder was far from mainstream. It’s guaranteed to make you cry and give you all the feels. There’s no escaping it.
This Is Us
This Is Us is the ultimate tearjerker expertly weaving storylines and characters that span decades without being difficult to follow. It’s profound, and it taps into something that touches masses in a way that transcends barriers. This is Us is a universal experience, and we are all Pearsons when we come together to enjoy this emotional, incredible series. You can say it’s overhyped, or that you never shed a tear watching it but we know the truth. It’s impossible not to be moved by this family drama.
New Amsterdam
If you don’t like this series, you must be allergic to feelings. However, it could move the most stoic, emotionally detached individual to tears every episode. It’s a medical drama without all the flash; it’s all about patient care and humanity. The world is lacking that, so New Amsterdam is the perfect feel-good cure. It’s like a hug on a bad day in series form, and all it took for that warm and fuzzy feeling was a well-intentioned, pure soul asking “How can I help?”
The Fosters
This series put on of the most contemporary spins on a traditional family drama. It followed a family of biological, adopted, and foster kids led by an interracial lesbian couple. There is no ground this series left uncovered from school shootings to sexuality and sexual orientation, from abortions to statutory rape, the juvenile justice system to immigration. It was a champion of visibility for the LGBT community by effortlessly exploring issues affecting it. It’s one of the best family dramas ever, and it’s one of the most emotional too.
The Good Doctor
You need only watch the pilot of this medical series based on a Korean medical drama to know that it’s all tears and feels from there. It’s one of the best shows on the air, and Freddie Highmore is amazing as Shaun Murphy a doctor who happens to be on the Autism Spectrum. Shaun and his mentor Dr. Glassman alone will leave you hugging yourself in comfort after each installment, but the series also has moving cases and patients and intriguing interpersonal plotlines.
Pitch
Tragically canceled too soon, Pitch had so much heart. Ginny Baker solidified her place as one of the best, most endearing, inspiring fictional characters on television. She was beautifully complex and multilayered. It was more than a show about sports or a woman in sports. The show was about family, friendship, and figuring out one’s identity — finding happiness. It was a coming of age story and a moving series that invoked many emotions, and it can make the hardened of individuals cry.
7th Heaven
Controversy aside, The Camdens led by Reverend Camden are one of the most memorable TV families ever. For 11 seasons this religious family grew, evolved, and faced many of life’s obstacles together. The Camden kids were no different than any other kids and had a host of issues. The family expanded often as they took in those in need. There was a lesson to be learned and an issue to reevaluate every installment. It’s a truly beautiful series.
Grey’s Anatomy
All the people behind Grey’s Anatomy over its 15-year tenure are masters at manipulating the hell out of fans’ emotions. Whether you tuned in from the original airdate or caught up along the way, no one is spared from the emotional rollercoaster ride that is this series. Love, loss, sex, and medicine is the name of the game, and Grey’s Anatomy leaves you emotionally scarred and down a dozen beloved characters, but it also keeps you coming back for more.
Touched By An Angel
Whether you considered yourself religious/spiritual or not, there was something about Touched By An Angel that attracted all types of individuals. It was a beautiful series where fans followed Monica, a young angel who with the help of her mentor Tess took on individual cases and renewed the faith of troubled humans. The most emotional episodes involved Andrew, the Angel of Death, as he came to guide some individuals to heaven. It’s a total sobfest in the best way.
9-1-1
While the series is known for outrageous scenarios and ludicrous drama, there is so much more to this series. It’s just as much of, if not more a character study of the men and women who suit up and brave dangers every day including the gatekeeper between people in need and those who can help. We see the toll the job takes on these heroes, the personal issues they face in addition to that, and the friendship that is more like family. Yes, the series is exciting, but it is also gut-wrenching and heartwarming too.
Early Edition
Before God Friended Me, Kevin (Probably), and Friday Night Lights, Kyle Chandler was driven to do good deeds, spread kindness, and save people with the help of an early edition of the daily newspaper and a cat. In addition to that, it was a love letter to Chicago before the Chicago franchise too. There is something heartwarming about ordinary individuals, often reluctantly, becoming heroes.
Chicago Fire
There is an entire Chicago franchise now, but none of them will ever come close to being as emotional as the original, Chicago Fire. Whether it’s how often station 51 fights to stay together because they are a family, or it’s the number of times they have lost one of their own, or it’s emotional calls they are sent to, of which some of them end badly, there are so many ways this series will tug at your heartstrings or make you sob uncontrollably.
The Resident
The Resident is “infamous” (depending on who you ask) for showing the bad side of the healthcare system. It can be dark and gritty, but it also shows the good, and at the heart of the series are rich, complex characters, breathtaking medical cases that’ll leave you on the edge of your seat invested in characters you barely know, and beautiful, real relationships. It’s an emotional series, and the dedication of Conrad and the rest, as well as their individual journeys and bonds, pull at the heartstrings every installment.
Kevin (Probably) Saves the World
Kevin (Probably) Saves the World was an underrated gem that never should have gotten canceled. Not only does the cancellation sting, but so does a similar series being picked up on another network in the coveted timeslot fans begged to receive. Jason Ritter is an absolute delight in this series, and it was a pure, heartwarming, inspirational dramedy fit for all ages. If you haven’t already, watch it. I dare you to make it through that series without your heart growing three sizes.
Friday Night Lights
This series racked up many awards and accolades for its exploration of Middle America. Family, friendship, and football were front and center for this series, and the Taylors are one of the most iconic TV couples out there. It got to the heart of issues like racism, economic inequality, abortions, drugs, family values, and school funding. It was a real series with well-written characters who felt like real people, and with five glorious seasons, it’s more than likely to take you on an emotional journey.
A Million Little Things
Another tearjerker, A Million Little Things somehow manages to explore issues like suicide, depression, cancer, grief, alcoholism, infidelity and more while still being warm, witty, and funny. In that sense, it perfectly captures what life is like. The series is rooted in the friendship, and there isn’t an episode that goes by where you don’t fall in love with most of the characters.
Sense8
Despite the cancellation, this Netflix global phenomenon was a hit for a reason. In fact, it was a worldwide effort to get the series a finale special as a proper sendoff. It centered around eight enlightened individuals who are interconnected with one another despite being from all over the world. There were so many different walks of life, differences, and beliefs, and yet this cluster transcended all of that. There was something magical and heartwarming about the oneness with these lovable, diverse characters.
Ugly Betty
Before there was Jane the Virgin, there was Ugly Betty. It was a delightful series that made you laugh, but also made you cry. The best part about the series was following Betty’s growth as she went from a mousy assistant whom others picked fun of and didn’t love, to a lovable boss lady who found love herself, and she didn’t have to shortchange herself along the way. It’s the ultimate feel-good series about self-love, family, friendship, and fashion.
God Friended Me
This series manages to appease religious individuals and those who aren’t, which is difficult to pull off. It’s a show with religious overtones that don’t force them down anyone’s throats, and each case that Miles and the gang are assigned via a mysterious God FB account is more heartwarming than the last. It’s the definition of “feel-good,” and you can expect both happy and sad tears while watching this one, even if you swear that isn’t your thing.
Switched At Birth
Switched at Birth was a brilliant teen/family drama that explored two complex issues: the aftermath of families who discover their children were switched at birth, and the deaf community. It was the first time the spotlight was placed on an underrepresented community and its unique issues. The triumphs and challenges of this family are emotional, but a never before hour only done in ASL will blow you away.
The Good Place
Who would expect this comedy to be so emotional? The Good Place is so much more than a standard half-hour comedy out for a quick laugh. It’s much deeper and complex than how it appears, and while watching Eleanor and the gang attempt to be ethical, moral, good people, you kind of self-reflect on your own behavior too.
Jane the Virgin
The series may have kicked off with an outlandish, whimsical, and stereotypically telenovela premise, but it’s a beautiful series about family, love, life, and self-discovery. It’s a comedy, but it doesn’t shy away from exploring serious topics like death, loss, failure, classism, racism, immigration and much more. Jane is a lovable protagonist that you root for and want to see win.
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls will have you wishing you grew up in a quaint little town called Stars Hollow. Lorelai and Rory will have you wishing you were a Gilmore girl. This mother-daughter duo is one of the most iconic in television history. It was a fresh take on a young mother and her teenage daughter. Instead of watching the teenager mature, evolve, and grow, we were able to watch both of them do it despite being at different stages in life. It’s fun, cute, and a heartwarming series.
Black-ish
Black-ish is another family comedy that also knows how to explore serious issues plaguing the country or the black community. The beauty of the series is watching the funny, lovable, and relatable Johnsons work through life’s trials and tribulations no matter how big or small while still being this quirky, endearing family. You’ll laugh, cry, learn, and think with this one.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
It’s a lighthearted comedy, but it’s also a heartfelt comedy that touched enough people that it was uncanceled and moved to a different network after passionate fans raised all kinds of hell. You need only watch an episode of it to understand why. The characters are lovable, authentic, and relatable, and amidst the high-profile guest stars and all the funny, there is a deep, well-written, smart and emotional series.
One Day At A Time
It’s impossible not to make it through an episode of this Netflix reboot without smiling, laughing, and tearing up. In this reimagining, it’s a Cuban-American family and each episode addresses a plethora of issues from homosexuality, racism, religion, PTSD, and so much more. It’s funny, moving, and real, and it’s an endearing series that will give you all the feels.
Parks and Recreation
For seven seasons, the satirical world of Pawnee, Indiana was the best type of politics to tune into. In a time when everything is so divisive and bleak, Parks and Recreation made politics fun and funny while also bringing awareness to current events and social issues. It had an impressive roster of guest-stars including politicians, and the primary cast had so much heart.
