15 most likable TV leads

7. Jane Villanueva on Jane the Virgin

Every now and again, we meet a main character who’s so perfectly written and acted, that it’s beyond imagination for another performer to have played the role. That’s exactly how it feels to watch Gina Rodriguez, who won a Golden Globe for her role as Jane, lead Jane the Virgin. Rodriguez hits all the right beats as our sympathetic hero Jane Villanueva, taking the excellent writing off the page and turning Jane into someone all the more likable and worth championing.

Of course, Jane’s story begins in her early 20s when she becomes pregnant with her boss’ baby thanks to an accidental artificial insemination. Mess ups like that would only happen in the craziest of telenovelas, and that’s exactly what Jane the Virgin is: A satirical take on a telenovela that’s still tender and earnest. Jane centers this world of soap opera twists and turns with an honesty and emotion uncharacteristic of the genre the series leans into.

Without Jane humbling the show’s broad strokes at the very top of the pyramid, much of the heart would be stripped away. She’s one of television’s downright nicest characters, by any account. She’s a dedicated mother, daughter, granddaughter, and human. And as a human, she makes mistakes, but she’s willing to learn from them… even if she’s a little headstrong. All in all, Jane Villanueva is a character that you actively root for and cheer on to get what they want.