"The Fosters" is a television series that has aired on ABC Family/Freeform for the last 5 years and has taken the hearts of millions. This television drama is about a bi-racial lesbian couple, a cop and a high school vice principal, who raise one biological and four adopted children in San Diego, California.
Stef Foster, the white mother, has a biological son named Brandon from a previous marriage with her ex-husband Mike Foster. Mariana and Jesus are Latino twins adopted by Stef and Lena, while Callie and Jude, who are half-siblings, were later adopted by the mothers after fostering them.
On to the good stuff! ***DISCLAIMER: SPOILERS AHEAD*** "The Fosters" to me, and many others is the most ground breaking tv show on television because...
1. LGBT Couple
The Fosters has the first prominent reoccurring lesbian couple, Stef and Lena. This show explains and really goes into detail on the hardships of being in a lesbian relationship.
2. Biracial Couple
The couple is not only two women, but also Stef is caucasian and Lena is African American. This couple goes through the different experiences each one faces based on race, but still come together to be happy with who they are.
3. Foster Parenting
The show brings us into the hardships of being a foster parent. It shows the audience that fostering a child is hard because there can be connected feelings to the foster child. The damage of the children makes it hard to interact as well.
4. Foster Care System
This shows us the struggles with being in the foster care system, and how it can be a terrible place. Domestic violence, abuse, drugs, alcohol, and much more can be some of the things foster children face.
5. Half/Non-Biological siblings
It speaks about half-siblings and adoptive siblings, explaining that related or not you are family. Brandon is the only child to Stef and Mike but later has a half-sister when his dad and Ana (Mariana and Jesus’ mom) have a child together. Mariana and Jesus are the only full siblings on the show, Jude and Callie have different fathers, and Callie’s father also has a daughter Sophia.
6. Suicide
One of Callie's mentors, Rita, has a suicidal daughter that ends up ending her life in the series. Callie's younger half sister, Sophia, also goes through a bout of depression and attempts to commit suicide. Lastly, Jack, a foster child at Callie and Jude's prior abusive foster home, kills himself.
7. Guns
During the first season the idea of guns is brought up when Jude is held at gunpoint when trying to be rescued by Stef. Later on, Nick, Mariana’s stalker/boyfriend, holds her at gunpoint basically saying that if she didn't stay with him that he would kill her.
8. Cancer
In Season 5 of the show, Brandon gets into a relationship with Grace, a girl that happens to have cancer. The storyline explains Brandon's struggles with the relationship and losing someone he loves.
9. Brain injury
Jesus attempts to build a treehouse without the help of his biological father, and accidentally shoot himself in the head with a nail gun. This ends up being a prolonged brain issue where he struggles with a TBI.
10. Transgender Rights
Aaron, Callie’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, happens to be a transgender male that goes through a lot of struggles on the show. His family doesn't support him and he struggles with not being seen as a male to those around him.
11. Lesbian and Gay Relationships
Obviously Stef and Lena, but this also goes in depth of the son, Jude, and his struggle with being gay. The show depicts a 13 year old Jude coming out and getting a boyfriend that moves away. Later on he gets another boyfriend, a priest's son.
12. Stalking
Nick, Mariana’s boyfriend found a note from Mariana’s ex-boyfriend saying that he never stopped loving her. This turned into Nick stealing his father's gun, sneaking into the Fosters household, and constantly stalking and trying to contact Mariana.
13. College Struggles
As "The Fosters" is coming to an end, Callie and Brandon are seniors in high school. Callie attempts to apply for the UCSD Arts program but doesn't get in and later applies for UCSD's Law program. Brandon gets into Juilliard, but then his hand gets broken after getting beat up.
14. Alcoholism
Mike, Brandon's biological father, had trouble with being an alcoholic. It shows the struggle and the heartache it puts on the loved ones around him.
15. ICE and Immigrant Struggles
Ximena and the Sinfuego family deal with immigration issues a lot in the last season. Ximena led a peaceful protest against a running candidate in a political race that was against allowing immigrants to stay in the US. Soon, ICE came and detained her parents and she ran from ICE because they took her DACA away for standing for what she believed in.
16. Sexual Relations with a Trans-Human
Callie and Aaron decided that they are going to have sex, in which Callie has a lot of questions. This is the first show to have a transhuman have sex, which is so groundbreaking. There is a long conversation between the two about what is going to happen and that Callie just wants to make sure she's not doing anything wrong.
17. Relationships within the Foster Family
Brandon and Callie, Foster siblings, fall in love with each other. The storyline explains that love is not as important as family and that in order for Callie to be legally adopted by the Fosters, she and Brandon cannot have any sort of relationship.
18. Mental Health
The shows Callie having a hard time thinking that she is enough for anyone and it makes her very depressed. Stef struggles with anxiety and having panic attacks throughout the final season of the show. Explaining that mental health is very important to know about but very hard for some to maintain.
19. Abortion
Emma, Jesus' girlfriend, finds out that she is pregnant with Jesus' child while he is in the hospital for his TBI. She knows that she will not be able to support the child and confronts Jesus' brother, Brandon, to go with her. The sadness and overwhelming feelings and thoughts of having an abortion are portrayed very well on this show.
20. Addiction to Drugs
Jesus and Mariana’s mom, Ana, give the children up for adoption when they are two because she would rather have a relationship with drugs than with her children. Later on, Mariana contacts her, and all Ana wants is money from her and nothing else. Soon she gets clean and maintains a relationship with her biological children.
21. Feminism
Emma struggles with the idea of being seen as feminine while also being a wrestler and being on the robotics team. She was told that she can't be pretty and smart, but she clearly defies those odds.
22. Self Discovery
Everyone has their own self-discovery, but Callie seems to have the most drastic realization. During the beginning of the series, she was a broken, lost, and confused foster child. Towards the end of the show, she is a confident, happy, and well-rounded young adult.
23. Murder
Martha Johnson, Kyle Snow's (Callie’s old foster brother) grandmother, was brutally murdered. Detective Gray paid the man he was with at the time of the murder, Patrick Molloy, to say he wasn't, and Kyle went to jail instead of the real murderer, Troy Johnson, Martha's grandson, who knew Detective Gray.
24. Police Brutality
This was when Mike's foster son, AJ, was stopped by the police because he was black. He talks about how being a black person in a white man's world is terrible, and they are all treated like dogs. Also, Aaron gets arrested for being at a friendly protest and sent to jail.
25. Bullies
Jude was bullied in middle school for wearing nail polish and being feminine. He soon just realizes that those who are bullies are probably not going to be going very far in life. He sticks up to them and knows that he is happy with who he is and shouldn't care about what others think.
26. Sexual Predators
Jesus and Mariana's dad, Gabe, is on the sexual offender list because of Ana's (Mariana and Jesus’ mom) parents tell the police that he had sex with a minor and ge her pregnant.
27. Child Molestation
Patrick Malloy, a suspect in the murder case of Kyle's grandmother, was caught collecting child pornography and had a case file of his molestation charges.
28. Miscarriage
Lena and Stef decided to get a sperm donor in order to have another child in which they decided to name Frankie. The whole family grew very attached to the child, but after many complications, Lena ended up having a miscarriage. This was very hard on the entire family and shows that this is a serious issue people all over the world have to deal with.
29. Drug Abuse
Mariana knew that her brother, Jesus, had medication to help him focus since he has ADHD. She begins stealing the pills and using them so that she could focus on school and outside activities. She became dependent on them, and it shows that this could be an issue for anyone.
30. Group Homes
Callie moved around from different foster homes, but also dealt with many different group homes. She became very connected to one of the supervisors, Rita, whom she saw as a positive mother figure in her life. She dealt with many types of other women and the struggles of living in those kinds of conditions.
31. Rape
Liam Olmstead, Callie’s older foster sibling from when she was young, pursued her wanting to start a relationship with her. First of all, there was a large age gap, and they were foster siblings. One night he came into her room insisting on having sex with her despite her saying no and not being ready. He ended up raping her despite it all, which shows how rape is a really big issue, especially with teens and young adults.
32. Death in the Family
Stef found her father Frank passed away on the couch which was a large shock to her. She was very distant from him since he never really approved of her being gay. It shows that no matter what happens in life, always try to have a connection with your loved ones because you never know when they will be gone.
33. Juvie and Jail
Callie was put into juvie after she acted recklessly toward her foster father during the first season. She hit his car with a bat and ruined it, but she only did that so her brother would not get hurt by the foster father. The show explains and shows exactly what it's like to be in juvie as a foster human. Along with that, Aaron was sent to jail as well for the protest.
34. Human/Sex Trafficking
Stef attempts to help Diamond, a girl that was stuck in the sex trafficking/drug ring. She was soon saved, but kept in contact with her pimp. Callie attempts to save her but both of them get stuck in the sex trafficking circle. Both of them are very scared, and it shows that foster children especially get caught up in all of this and the damage it can cause.
35. Teen Pregnancy
Daphne, Callie’s friend that she met while in a group home called Girls United, becomes pregnant after leaving the group home. She has her child, but loses her child once she gets stuck back into the foster care system. This explains the struggles of being a teen mother while also being in the foster care system as a mother and a child.
36. Biological Parents and Being Rejected
Jesus and Mariana never really knew their biological parents. This creates a lot of strain on them, and it shows everyone that not having any connection with your family makes it really hard for the children especially.
37. Injury
Brandon breaks his hand when it gets slammed into a door when he gets beat up by his old friend. It shows the hardship of recovery and the anger that can be brought up.
38. Sexual Relations with a Minor as an Adult
Brandon’s father Mike was seeing a woman named Dani whom then ended the relationship. Soon Dani pursued Brandon, and they ended up having sex, all while he was a minor.
39. School Shootings
Nick brings a gun to school after Mariana tries to talk to him about being crazy and he needs to get help. The school goes on lock down, and it shows the scary reality of an actual school shooting.
40. Sex
Throughout the show there are a lot of different types of sex that occur. Between Jesus and his girlfriends, Mariana losing her virginity, Callie and her relationships, Brandon and his girlfriends, and other female friends as well.