On TV today, Jewish characters and themes come into their own

The entertainment industry is famously full of Jews, from actors and writers to lawyers and studio heads. (We even have a Jewish-Israeli Wonder Woman now.)

But until recently, if you were watching television and wondering, “What are Jews like? What is meaningful to them?” you’d have no idea.

Sure, there are the old, superficial stereotypes. Jews and humor are a binding association that stretches back decades — even further than the character Tim Whatley who converted to Judaism “for the jokes” in a 1997 episode of “Seinfeld.” Maybe TV shows in December would show a menorah or offer a perfunctory “Happy Chanukah,” but there was never any further discussion. Actual depictions of Jewish life, customs, observance, tradition or meaning were very rare.

Compare that to today’s landscape, where characters keep kosher, battle golems and rap about seder plates. Nowadays, you almost can’t avoid overt Jewish themes, hidden symbolism, and even substantial narratives on anti-Semitism and Jewish identity.

On ABC’s “Agent Carter,” which takes place in the 1940s, audiences learn in the first season that Mr. Edwin Jarvis, butler of Howard Stark (future father of Iron Man Tony Stark) and Agent Carter’s partner in espionage, was discharged from the British Royal Air Force for crimes committed to save his Hungarian-Jewish wife.

And let’s talk about the 613s. This number, correlating to the number of mitzvot in the Torah, has popped up in so many television universes in recent years that it can’t be an accident. In the original science fiction series “Heroes” (2006-2010), genetics professor Mohinder Suresh lives in apartment 613, and in “Heroes Reborn,” which premiered in September, the major action takes place on June 13 (6/13).

On the ABC hit “Scandal,” the secret branch of the government is B-613. In the first season of FX’s “Fargo,” 613 is the street address of main character Lester Nygaard; in Episode Two, the amount of ransom money demanded is $43,613. I don’t know what the odds are of that occurring randomly, but I think if you add a lot of Jewish writers into the mix, the odds just keep getting better.

When it comes to mystical events, including Jewish and Hebrew references has become a no-brainer. We’ve seen golems on “Supernatural,” “Grimm” and “Sleepy Hollow.” And on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” the agents discovered an ancient chamber marked by the word “maveth” (Hebrew for “death”), that turned out to be a portal to a desolate and demon-filled alternate universe.

While one could explain away such references as winks from Jewish writers to Jewish viewers, the equivalent of a Carol Burnett ear-tug to members of the tribe, we’re still seeing not just a proliferation of these references, but a deepening exploration and consideration — even by non-Jewish characters — of what it means to be Jewish.

In Season Two of “The Knick,” Cinemax’s 2015 medical drama set at the fictional New York Knickerbocker Hospital at the turn of the 20th century, Dr. Bertram Chickering realizes he’s the only gentile working at Mount Sinai Hospital. Using Yiddish he learned from Eastern European typhoid patients — the only Jews he’s met previously — he earns some acceptance from his peers and catches the eye of Genevieve, an adventurous reporter who is Jewish.

Michael Angarano as Dr. Bertram Chickering in “The Knick.”

When his mother is stricken ill with cancer, Chickering complains to a former colleague that the head of surgery, Dr. Zinberg, won’t do experimental procedures (although Zinberg later changes his mind). “I have to say I feel like it’s because he’s a Jew,” Chickering says. “I believe being a universally despised race has stiffened their resolve to never act rashly and risk being thought a failure in the eyes of a hostile world.”

And while Whatley may have joined Judaism for the jokes, in Season Three of Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black,” inmate Black Cindy converts to get access to the kosher meals in prison. But by the end of that season, she finds meaning in her Jewish identity, taking the name “Tova,” and even getting her mikveh miracle in the final episode, as the inmates discover a hole in the prison fence and jump into a lake — immersing themselves, if only for a few minutes, in a ritual bath of freedom. Black Cindy’s embrace of Judaism becomes a catalyst for transformation and possibility, and fixes their broken world.

Black Cindy (center) converts to Judaism in “Orange Is the New Black.”

Speaking of mikvaot, the imagery of water, rebirth and reinvention also permeate Amazon’s “Transparent,” a show in which the patriarch of a Jewish Los Angeles family comes out as transgender. Its first two seasons are filled with Jewish themes and details: the family’s attitude toward Jewish ritual, identity through food, observance of Yom Kippur, a character who is a rabbi and helps them find connections and meaning within Judaism … the point keeps getting hammered home. “Transparent” is so Jewy that I wouldn’t be surprised if, in some communities, watching the show was a core requirement for conversion programs.

As for the CW’s wacky musical comedy “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” it drops Jewish references in nearly every episode. And what’s interesting is that many of these references reflect the current state of not-necessarily-religious Jewish identity. Consider the recent “J.A.P. Battle Rap” in which protagonist Rebecca Bunch battled her childhood nemesis Audra Levine with rap lyrics like, “We were egged on like seder plates” and “ ’Cause we’re liberals / progressive as hell / though of course I support Israel.” She also issued a threat to her opponent to “sheket b’vaka-shut-the-hell-up.”

The content was strongly — and proudly — Jewish, if not exactly glatt kosher. I don’t know why the “Will it play in Peoria?” network people didn’t object to these references as being too obscure, but I’m glad they didn’t.

And let’s not forget about Israel. A recent episode of “Broad City,” titled “Getting There,” featured protagonists Abbi and Ilana encountering obstacles as they try to get to the airport for their big trip to an unnamed location. They almost miss their flight, as the gate attendant says to them, “You are two lucky Jews.” As they enter the plane, they’re greeted by their ponytailed “Birthmarc” trip leader, Jared (Seth Green), who promises that the trip will teach them “all about Judaism, its rich history and — I’m looking at the two of you — its reproductive future.” He then starts a chant — “Jews! Jews! Jews! Jews!” — among the trip participants.

Abbi explains to Ilana that the trip is “about our souls … we’re going to find ourselves in the mother land.” Jared tells the besties — who are appalled by the fact that they’re not sitting together — that it is “a free trip to Israel sponsored by your living ancestors, so we’re seated according to match potential.”

The episode ends with a shot of the airplane’s screen: they’re flying “El Ol” and credits roll as the “Birthmarc” participants continue to chant “Jews! Jews! Jews!” The next episode, titled “Jews on a Plane,” debuted April 20 on Comedy Central.

Seeing Jewish culture, identity and exploration reflected on television — beyond the cliché tropes of circumcision or bagels or an unwillingness to pay retail — is good for us all. It creates nuance in conversations between Jews and other cultures, and engages Jews of all stripes in an active process of discovering Jewish identity, showing us that there’s more than one way to be, live, speak, act, write, produce Jewish.