Best Single Parent Movies & TV Shows

An elderly widow must find meaning and activity in her life when her son suggests she is no longer capable of handling her own affairs.

In 1971, in the small town of Shirley Falls, in Maine, the odd and lonely secretary Isabelle Goodrow raises her teenager daughter Amy alone. She has only two friends in her job among her gossiper colleagues. When her overprotected daughter is seduced by her mathematic teacher Peter Robertson, the world of Isabelle falls apart. She becomes lost and loses her confidence on Amy, spoiling their relationship. Their bond gets tied again when Isabelle discloses her inner secrets from the past to Amy.

Captain Emma Fitzgerald receives a two year assignment at Nellis Air Force Base with the Thunderbirds team, the Air Force’s famed demonstration squadron. While there, her daughter Lucy becomes friends with Alice, the daughter of a civilian widower named Paul. The two girls hatch a plan to bring their single parents together, with Lucy hoping it will keep her mother from continuing to move around.

A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.

A young boy takes his mother's place in a group of gemstone-based beings, and must learn to control his powers.

The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

Jamie is 16 and lives on a council estate in Sheffield. Jamie doesn't quite fit in. Jamie is terrified about the future. Jamie is going to be a sensation. Supported by his brilliant loving mum and surrounded by his friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness, into the spotlight. Sixteen: the edge of possibility. Time to make your dreams come true.

A depressed woman battles with her mother and abuses alcohol following the suicide of her husband.

Chicagoan Frank Gallagher is the proud single dad of six smart, industrious, independent kids, who without him would be... perhaps better off. When Frank's not at the bar spending what little money they have, he's passed out on the floor. But the kids have found ways to grow up in spite of him. They may not be like any family you know, but they make no apologies for being exactly who they are.

Three kids, Max, Neil and Nikki, spent the summer vacation at a dysfunctional campsite called 'Camp Campbell' which is currently in the hands the camp counselors, the overly cheerful David and the less optimistic Gwen.

Peep Show follows the lives of two men from their twenties to thirties, Mark Corrigan, who has steady employment for most of the series, and Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne, an unemployed would-be musician.

A bold portrait of misguided youth as they learn the cruelties of life in the American Midwest.

Sixth-grader Nate Wright has a never-ending need to prove his awesomeness to the world. Whether he’s dealing with disasters at home or detention at school, Nate is no stranger to a challenge. Luckily, he’s able to express himself through the world of cartoons that he creates. Charming, mischievous and a magnet for misadventure – trouble is always fun when Nate is around.

In this youthful drama, Tom, a 14- year-old who's parents have just divorced, is abruptly uprooted from his wealthy Chicago home and sent to the strange land of LA to live in the far-out beach bungalow of his aunt, an aging hippie still stuck in a by-gone era. He is unhappy with the new arrangement and finds his new bohemian lifestyle strange and the activities of his new peers, stupid. His life begins to change a bit when he befriends a young surfer named Fin. At first he thinks of the fun-loving Fin as a real dolt, but later he admits he was wrong. Like the Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn characters on which they are loosely based, the two new friends soon find themselves having a series of adventures, some of them dangerous; by the summer's end, Tom finds himself wiser, accustomed to California, and a lot more grown up.

Emma approaches adulthood, she tries to live an ordinary life and keep up to her late mothers expectations. However her anxiety weighs over her, stopping her from enjoying the last few youthful years.

Naota Nandaba is an ordinary sixth grader living in a city where nothing amazing ever seems to happen. After his brother Tasuku leaves town to play baseball in America, Naota takes it upon himself to look after everything Tasuku left behind—from his top bunk bed to his ex-girlfriend Mamimi Samejima, who hasn't stopped clinging to Naota since Tasuku left.

Germany, 1944. Leyna, the 15-year old daughter of a white German mother and a black African father, meets Lutz, a compassionate member of the Hitler Youth whose father is a prominent Nazi soldier, and they form an unlikely connection in this quickly changing world.

Looking down on her friends and family isn't a way of life for Mary Alice Young... it's a way of death. One day, in her perfect house, in the loveliest of suburbs, Mary Alice ended it all. Now she's taking us into the lives of her family, friends and neighbors, commenting from her elevated P.O.V.

In the small town of Rockwell, Maine in October 1957, a giant metal machine befriends a nine-year-old boy and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfishly saving people from their own fears and prejudices.

In a reimagining of the TV classic, a newly single Latina mother raises her teen daughter and tween son with the "help" of her old-school mom.

Animated comedy set in the futuristic year of 201X, where the world is populated by video game and manga-esque characters.

A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.

As the son of a Viking leader on the cusp of manhood, shy Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III faces a rite of passage: he must kill a dragon to prove his warrior mettle. But after downing a feared dragon, he realizes that he no longer wants to destroy it, and instead befriends the beast – which he names Toothless – much to the chagrin of his warrior father.

Julie introduces her single father, Peter, to the world of online dating. When Peter meets Alexis, it's love at first sight. But as Julie and Alexis get to know each other, she begins to learn that Alexis might not be what she seems.

My Flesh and Blood is a 2003 documentary film by Jonathan Karsh chronicling a year in the life of the Tom family. The Tom family is notable as the mother, Susan, adopted eleven children, most of whom had serious disabilities or diseases. The film itself is notable for handling the sensitive subject matter in an unsentimental way that is more uplifting than one might expect.

Four year old Desi learns to accept the death of her father by sending him a letter on a balloon to which she receives a reply. Based on a true story.

Louis C.K. stars as a fictionalized version of himself; a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two daughters in New York City.

A man without attachments or responsibilities suddenly finds himself with an abandoned baby and leaves for London to try and find the mother. Eight years later after he and his daughter become inseparable Gloria's mother reappears.

When the popular, restless Landon Carter is forced to participate in the school drama production he falls in love with Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's minister. Jamie has a "to-do" list for her life and also a very big secret she must keep from Landon.

T.J. is a boy genius who gets bumped up from the fourth grade to high school. T.J. tries to adjust to his new life, but he shares some classes with his 14 year-old brother Marcus, the school jock, and his clueless and self-absorbed 16 year-old sister Yvette.

Cassie Nightingale, Middleton’s favorite enchantress, and her young-teenage daughter Grace, who shares that same special intuition as her mom, welcome Dr. Sam Radford and his son to town. When the New York transplants move in next to the Grey House, they are immediately spellbound by the mother-daughter duo next door, but Sam and Cassie quickly find they may not see eye to eye. With her signature charm, Cassie attempts to bring everyone together, ensuring all of Middleton is in for new changes, big surprises and, of course, a little bit of magic! "Good Witch” is based on Bell’s beloved character Cassie, the raven-haired enchantress who kept audiences spellbound for seven installments of Hallmark Channel's longest-running and highest-rated original movie franchise of all time.

When Dr. Mike and Sully travel to Boston for Colleen's graduation from medical school, they find Dr. Mike's mother terminally ill. Sully finds himself a target for assassination by a corrupt politician.

After her father dies and she moves to a new town, Mackie wants to join a certain gang/band. But they've got this boys-only rule. So Mackie comes up with an audacious plan...only it begins to backfire.

Valentin is Acapulco's resident playboy, until a former fling leaves a baby on his doorstep and him heading with her out of Mexico.

Two teenage girls must come to terms with their stepfather when their mother is struck by illness.

An aging Southern belle's preoccupation with her past and her dreams for her children's futures threaten to smother her painfully shy daughter and her aspiring writer son.

Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control when her secret letters to every boy she's ever fallen for are mysteriously mailed out.

Christine Collins is overjoyed when her kidnapped son is brought back home. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, the police captain has her committed to an asylum.

Dr. Mary Harris, a single mother and emergency doctor by day, also moonlights as an underground angel of death - helping terminally ill patients who want to die and slip away on their own terms. So far Mary has managed to stay under the radar; but business is booming, and her double life is getting complicated. When her world starts to unravel, Mary realizes she's going to have to fight dirty if she's going to stay in the killing game.

Set in 1980s Toronto, a young boy shuffles between the homes of his recently divorced parents.

Corinne is a single mother of twin 5-year-old boys, Steven and Phillip, who are diagnosed with autism. Public school officials threaten to remove them from school due to their behavior, but through therapy, the boys are able to make major strides in their capabilities. A decade later, teens Steven and Phillip seek to prove they can handle high school while still struggling with their disorder.

Robyn McCall, an enigmatic former CIA operative with a mysterious background, uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn.

A widowed new dad copes with doubts, fears, heartache and dirty diapers as he sets out to raise his daughter on his own. Inspired by a true story.

When space galleon cabin boy Jim Hawkins discovers a map to an intergalactic "loot of a thousand worlds," a cyborg cook named John Silver teaches him to battle supernovas and space storms on their journey to find treasure.

James "Jimmy" Chance is a clueless 24-year-old who impregnates a serial killer during a one-night-stand. Earning custody of his daughter after the mother is sentenced to death, Jimmy relies on his oddball but well-intentioned family for support in raising the child.

Catweazle is a British television series, created and written by Richard Carpenter which was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for London Weekend Television under the LWI banner, and screened in the UK on ITV in 1970. A second season in 1971 was directed by David Reid and David Lane. Both series had thirteen episodes each, with Geoffrey Bayldon playing the leading role. The series was broadcast in Ireland, Britain, Gibraltar, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Czechoslovakia, Nicaragua and Quebec. The first episode is available to view in full at the BFI Screenonline site.

A former professional baseball player, along with his preteen daughter, moves into New York advertising executive Angela Bower's house to be both a housekeeper and a father figure to her young son. Tony 's laid-back personality contrasts with Angela's type-A behavior.

The story of two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother, while Daphne Vasquez, who lost her hearing at an early age due to a case of meningitis, grew up with a single mother in a working-class neighborhood. Things come to a dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls.

Sara Crewe is the pampered daughter of an army colonel in a Victorian London girls' school. But when her father dies, penniless, Sara becomes a skivvy in Miss Michin's school, befriended only by the scullery maid, Becky, her friends Ermengarde and Lottie, a little monkey, a lascar, and the mysterious man next door. Based upon the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends, even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.