This is the story of how she got there.

And for millions of viewers—daughters watching with their mothers, or women watching alone after the kids have finally left home—that is the most entertaining story of all.

Today’s mature moms entertainment isn’t about denying age. It’s about inhabiting it fully. The most popular shows and films now feature mothers who have sex in broad daylight, fail at work, ghost their adult children, start punk bands, and fall in love with women for the first time. They are no longer the background radiation of a hero’s journey. They are the heroes.