Celebrate 4/20 With These 10 Weed Themed Films & TV Shows

04.20.2020 at 06:00

Stoner comedies are a genre unto itself. But don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking weed has only inspired broad laugh fests about lazy protagonists who’d rather stay home smoking. Contemporary film and television have broadened what kinds of stories for and about stoners can be told. That’s why we’re bringing you a sampling of the great work from U.S. Latinos and Latin Americans daring to tell new weed infused stories amid a changing world where legalization and criminalization continue to dominate local and global politics alike.

We’ve updated our list from a few years back of all things weed-related, and added a number of Latin American films as well as a number of classic TV and web shows that, as of late, have taken to telling stories about all things marijuana. From laugh out loud Chicano comedies to gritty Brazilian dramas and everything in between, the list below should serve as your very own 420-watch list.

Now sit down, light a joint and stream away.

FILMS

TV SHOWS

Pico de neblina

The series is set in a fictional modern-day São Paulo where marijuana has been legalized. The story follows 29-year-old Biriba (Luis Navarro), a drug dealer who decides to give up his criminal life and enter the legal drug sales industry. Unfortunately for Biriba, going straight is more difficult than he could have imagined. This brave new world of dealing means he has a whole new set of rules to follow, forcing him to reexamine everything he knew as a lowly dealer. To make matters worse, his new career isn’t sitting well with people from his past who desperately want to put him out of business. The series explores the gray area between what is criminal and what is legal, diving into the social and economic consequences drug trafficking can have on not only a person, but their country as well.

Available to stream on HBO.

High & Mighty

The concept of web series High & Mighty is right in its title. Without knowing why (mystery is key to this show), protagonist Chelo (suddenly finds that getting drunk or stoned makes him mighty: it gives him super powers. That his superpowers (strength, speed, even flight) are tied to different controlled substances is not good news for Chelo. You see, the young, perhaps too-laid-back Angeleno is trying to get his life back together. His well-adjusted girlfriend is tired of his drunken and stoner hijinks.

That 70's Show

Did you hate your high school years? So do the kids in this show. Set in Wisconsin in the 70s, the show follows six friends in high school who come together in a basement to smoke and discuss the troubles of young life. The show features Wilmer Valderrama as foreign exchange student, Fez, who manages to get the girl. The girl in this case is Mila Kunis. Bonus: Tommy Chong plays an aging hippie. Also, the theme song is a classic.

Available to stream on Netflix.

https://youtu.be/WqYAM-2OKZM

Weeds

What do you do when you’re a suburban housewife and your bread winner husband dies suddenly? You become a pot dealer. Duh. Mary Louise Parker kills as a Nancy, an iced coffee slurping mother of two, who is doing the best she can. As the series unfolds we get some nice surprises like Demian Bichir in perfectly tailored suits, Guillermo Diaz as a muscle man with heart and Kate Del Castillo getting thrown into a pool.