Suits’ Sarah Rafferty Is on a Mission To Make Sure TV Doesn’t ‘Do Moms Dirty’

TV moms have come a long way from June Cleaver and Carol Brady, but not always far enough. Mothers on television are still too often mired in overused (and unrealistic) stereotypes — and actress Sarah Rafferty wants to change that.

At the Flow Space Women’s Health Summit LA, the Suits and My Life With the Walter Boys star sat down with SHE Media CEO Sam Skey for a refreshingly candid conversation about how mothers are portrayed on television — and why she’s pushing back against outdated and oversimplified tropes.

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Best known for her iconic role as Donna Paulsen on Suits, Rafferty has long played characters who are sharp, strong, and multifaceted. Now, in Netflix’s My Life With the Walter Boys, she’s bringing that same energy to a very different kind of role: a small-town veterinarian who’s raising a blended family of biological and adopted kids. The series has struck a chord with both teen viewers and their parents, but it offers more than just teen drama — it provides a platform to rethink how motherhood is shown on screen.

“[My Life With the Walter Boys] is a family show a lot of parents are watching with their kids,” Rafferty told Skey during the summit panel. “I think I’m pretty hyper vigilant about making sure that we get away from any kind of tropes that undermine women.”

Rafferty recalled one moment from the show’s first season that highlighted just how easy it is to fall back on tired storytelling. “There was one moment I remember when we were on set in season one, and a director was just — she just had to get on with the day and she was being really quick — but she was like, ‘Respond to Mom, like, Mom’s the scary one, and Dad’s the fun one.’ And she did that and I was like, ‘No, don’t … let’s not do that.’”

It would have been easy to let it slide. But for Rafferty, whose character shoulders the emotional and logistical weight of a big, messy household, it felt worth speaking up. “I think we’ve had really great conversations on set about how to represent the moms that are spinning all the plates,” she said. “What I think is important now for me to bring to this character is that she’s a mom, she’s a vet, she’s got all these adopted and biological kids, and it’s messy, and she gets it wrong sometimes — and there’s opportunities in getting it wrong for repair.”

The idea that motherhood can be imperfect, and still powerful, is something Rafferty feels strongly about portraying with authenticity — even though she’s well aware that it doesn’t always align with network expectations.

“Now, it’s not always like that,” she admitted. “That’s not necessarily what the network always wants. But if we can just find moments of realness to just not do the moms dirty, that motivates me.”

Rafferty’s comments resonate with moms who are tired of seeing themselves portrayed as either nagging disciplinarians or wise, endlessly-patient martyrs. Her take was a reminder that progress in how we view women onscreen often starts with subtle decisions behind the scenes: a line of dialogue pushed back on, a stereotype refused.

With My Life With the Walter Boys already renewed for a third season, Rafferty hopes to continue evolving the role, and with it, how audiences see mothers — one TV mom at a time.