Who Are the Best Moms on TV?

Mother's Day is this Sunday, and I'm excited! I'm a huge fan of moms — not only my own (who is, no offense, the best out of all moms ever), but moms in general. Moms rock! They believe in you when no one else does, love you unconditionally, and give amazing advice, even if sometimes you don't want to listen. They've known you at your best, worst, and everything in between, and through it all they've made sure you're eating right and wearing a warm enough sweater.

It's nice to move past your teenage years and realize what an actual, cool human being your mom is. Sure, she has faults, but so does everyone who's not Beyoncé, and even Blue Ivy's going to grow up to have some adolescent fights with her mom. And 364 days out of the year, she does everything she can for you — why not take one day out of the year to do something special for her?

On TV, like in life, moms are often the underappreciated glue holding a family- or an entire show!- together. In honor of Mother's Day, let's take some time to appreciate some of the sweetest, toughest, funniest, craziest, and coolest moms in TV history.

Tami Taylor, Friday Night Lights

I would be remiss to not start this list off with Tami, the moral and emotional backbone of one of the greatest primetime dramas in history. Tami always knew exactly what to say, and she and Coach Taylor were, what, the cutest couple on TV? In all of human history?

Marge Simpson, The Simpsons

Marge has been a TV mom longer than anyone, so it's no wonder she's the best at it. Homer and Bart might be the irresponsible ones, but that doesn't mean Marge doesn't get her own special brand of weird as well.

Lois Wilkerson, Malcolm in the Middle

I just looked it up, it turns out the family from Malcolm in the Middle did have a last name, even if it was intentionally kept a secret by the writers. No secret was the fact that Lois somehow managed to (barely) keep it together through all the chaos caused by Hal and her boys.

Skyler White, Breaking Bad

Bryan Cranston's a lucky man when it comes to TV wives. Skyler made a lot of important decisions over the course of the show — some good, some bad, all instrumental in Walter White's downfall — and she was certainly a controversial character. But I can't think of another TV mom who's had to go to the lengths that Skyler went to in order to keep her children safe.

Clair Huxtable, The Cosby Show

A high-powered, New York City lawyer and a mother to five kids, Clair was an excellent mom and wife, but that didn't mean she'd stand for anybody's bullshit.

Sophia Petrillo, The Golden Girls

Sophia's the brassy, bossy, no-fucks-giving grandma we all hope to be one day. Fun fact: Bea Arthur, who played Sophia's daughter Dorothy, was actually a year older than her on-screen mom!

Claire Dunphy, Modern Family

In the first season of the show, Claire often had to be the no-fun member of the family, shutting down Phil and Luke's often dangerous schemes. More recently, though, Claire has burst out of her shell, inhabiting the role of a kickass wife and mother who just so happens to be an ex-wild child with a history able to rival even Haley's. Watching Claire and Phil being goofy together is one of the great joys of the show.

Gloria Pritchett, Modern Family

A gorgeous Colombian woman married to a wealthy older man, Gloria could have easily been reduced to a one-dimensional stereotype. Instead, Gloria is a force to be reckoned with, an independent woman with a hair-trigger temper and a possible history of violence. What I'm saying is, don't mess with her.

Linda Belcher, Bob's Burgers

I've made no secret of my unapologetic love for Bob's Burgers, a huge part of which is because of Linda's boundless enthusiasm and unwavering love and support for her family. She is deeply imperfect, and completely relatable because of that.

Morticia Addams, The Addams Family

A role model for little goth girls everywhere, Morticia proves that you can have it all- a family, a life of your own, hobbies... oh, and the kind of sex life most of us hope our parents don't have anymore. She's sweet and caring to a fault, but scary and surprisingly accurate with a knife to boot.

Lorelai Gilmore, The Gilmore Girls

Lorelai was a "cool mom" without tipping into Mrs. George territory. So sometimes Rory took care of Lorelai more than the other way around, but at the end of the day, the Gilmore girls took care of each other, and that's what counts.

Honorable mention:

Lucille Bluth, Arrested Development

Okay, so she's an alcoholic, a criminal, and a downright terrible mother. Doesn't mean we don't love her anyway!

Images: giphy.com