I'm surprised End of the F***ing World is on here. It's mostly about a boy wanting to murder a girl and then he slowly realizes he doesn't want to murder her. The show is also very graphic, I think a warning is needed.
Yeah, unfortunately that series never sat well with me after I finished it. The boy in this is so miserable and leaching off the female main character emotionally in every way. I understand there's a deeper dynamic to it all, but it really frustrated me to see that consciously happen, even at the end. The fact that he wanted to kill her initially never helped, lol.
I am growing SO WEARY of redeeming the sociopathic men in media, like please can we just vilify them from society.
Thanks for the heads-up. The list is based on prior suggests in the archived thread. I haven't seen all of these shows myself.
Edit: I had a little read about the plot etc and have removed it now. I agree and don't think it is appropriate for the list, given the aims. Thanks again for your feedback.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Feel Good
Awkward
Once Upon a Time
The L Word
Sex and the City, comedy/drama, HBO
Golden Girls
Designing Women
Younger
What I like about you
Reba
Rain Shadow, mini series, Amazon Prime
I have a list of excellent mysteries that center women:
Vera
Scott & Bailey
No Offense
Dr Foster
Marcella
Deep Water
women detectives starring alongside men:
Unforgotten (UK)
Dead Wind (Finland)
Fallet (Sweden)
Trapped (Iceland)
Blake Mysteries: Ghost Stories (AUS) (Not Dr Blake)
Miss Fisher (AUS)
Miss Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries (AUS)
Brokenwood (NZ)
Also, she's not a detective, but she's equal in importance to the male detective:
River (UK)
Basically, I'll watch anything with either Suranne Jones or Nicola Walker.
I adore Scott and Bailey, it was so good. Completely agree about watching anything with Nicola Walker - from her role as Ruth in Spooks onward she brings a fascinating element to every character she plays. Everyone raves about Line of Duty, which is good, don’t get me wrong, but Unforgotten has been superb.
I also adore Sarah Lancashire, from her early role as Raquel in Coronation Street, when she invested what was supposed to be a stereotypical “tart with a heart” role with real emotional depth and poignancy. So it will be no surprise that Last Tango in Halifax is some of my favourite television ever.
There’s a common denominator in much of this, and that’s Sally Wainwright (also behind Happy Valley, which has a fantastic female lead police woman, played by Sarah Lancashire, and Gentleman Jack, with Suranne Jones!) Wainwright makes female-centred, smart dramas and to my mind should be get as much acclaim as Russell T Davies.
Ed to add: and thank you for mentioning No Offence! It’s an absolutely amazing show, centred on female friendship (well, aside from being a police procedural and all the murders). Joanna Scanlon’s lead character is a total badass, and I’d add her to my list of “watch anything she’s in”.
Yes, Sally Wainwright does amazing work.
Scott and Bailey is the first show I'd ever seen to highlight how important women's bathrooms are to women's friendships. It was so validating to see that, having lived my entire life involved in that unspoken subculture. No Offense takes it even further, when the boss showers and dries off while talking work with her superior. My god, Scanlon has huevos.
OF COURSE men want to take all that away from us.
Oh yes, the scenes in the women’s loos are so good. Make it clear they are a place of refuge from dealing with all the crap they face in the outside world and where they refortify themselves to face it again. And I should’ve mentioned Amelia Bullmore, who plays S&B’s boss - another total badass. I’ve tried to channel her more than a few times in tricky work situations.
I just started binge watching Vera. I like it very much, especially Brenda Blethyn in the lead role. The one thing that raises my eyebrows is the number of female killers in it. Way too implausible! Though it does make a change from the repellent male killers in most crime shows.
I May Destroy You and Chewing Gum are two shows that focus on female characters. (I haven't seen Chewing Gum but I really enjoyed I May Destroy You). Both created by Michaela Coel I think edit: Good Behavior stars Michelle Dockery as a woman who has just gotten out of prison and wants to be more involved in her son's life - she's a thief and becomes involved romantically with a hit man.
I recently watched I Hate Suzie (HBO) and loved it.
Also recommend Flack on Amazon. Not an ethical main character but an interesting one. And I just like Anna Paquin.
Both are definitely "If you liked Fleabag you might like..." shows.
Edit: changed feminist main character to ethical because I can kind of see her developing later...maybe.
I loved Flack too! Loads of really shocking moments, and severely flawed characters. My main takeaway from it was that cocaine turns you into an utterly awful person lol
Some British comedies:
Edit: How could I forget... ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! (Award-winning comedy set in the world of fashion and PR with Jennifer Saunders as the immature fun-loving mother and Julia Sawalha as her sensible daughter) On iPlayer.
Also the Vicar of Dibley, 90s comedy about a female vicar, on iPlayer.
I love Ab Fab and the vicar of Dibley so much. I was watching French and Saunders on iPlayer but they've removed it :(
Jennifer Saunders said this could never be aired today because it’s so politically incorrect. When asked by an interviewer if she agreed Joanna Lumley said, yes. The snowflakes would have protested the very first episode and this series would have been pulled.
The Carol Burnet Show (Comedy, Variety)
My So Called Life (Drama)
Vida (Drama)
Veronica Mars (Drama, Mystery)
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (Parody)
Felicity (Drama)
Maude (Comedy)
Bewitched (Comedy)
Edit: Shrill (Drama)
I love Anne with an E, but the 1985 Anne of Green Gables miniseries is also excellent.
Cranford (2007): A charming mini-series drama that you can watch with your whole family. It is also one of those rare shows that has excellent older female characters. Platform: Amazon Prime; Hoopla Digital; Britbox; Apple TV
Living Single, Hulu, Sitcom. One of my favorite shows growing up
Yes! Synclaire and Overton were my first OTP <3
Yesss! I should watch it again soon. I decided to pick Sister Sister instead and am currently overcome with nostalgia!
One of my favorite more recent TV shows was "Luna Nera" - Fantasy, Drama - Netflix.
It's an Italian (and I highly recommend watching in original Italian, if you don't mind subtitles!) show that is notable for being the first all-woman production team (creators, writers, directors) for an Italian show. It's semi-historical but also magical fantasy and about witches and women in the 1600s. Not sure if there will be another season, it was likely affected by the pandemic, but I've got my fingers crossed!
The Escape at Dannemora (2018) Showtime mini series was a really interesting look into the life of a middle-aged women, IMO, and the complexities they bring as a main character. I'm staunchly childfree, but seeing a mother who is alone after her children have left the nest, with a husband who has fallen into routine, hurt me very much. I was watching this at the time of Sharp Objects, too.
I understand the circumstances surrounding the actual real-life prison escape story that took place in the Upstate New York Clinton Correctional Facility in 2015 are very hard to interpret (due to the matter of the case and everything), but somehow, the writers (Men LOL) who worked on this captured the aspect I mentioned previously really well. It's definitely an escape-fantasy gone wrong, and Patricia Arquette is AMAZING in this show. I need to rep her for this.
I'm curious if this works out well for the list, considering the aspect of how selfish the men really get in this show could be not as women-centered (but illustrate how lonely women get taken advantage of in that way), but it was really unique to me in that way.
I’ve been rediscovering my love for old shows.
Laverne and Shirley Facts of Life Little House on the Prairie Punky Brewster (the reboot has a GNC boy and they made a big show of asking him his gender in one episode, but it has a good, prominent lesbian couple)
Just started Mare of Easttown on HBO. It does fall into the Lady Detective solves horrible crimes against girls genre a little, but I’m enjoying how it approaches topics like class, heroin in small towns, familu dynamics, shitty men, etc. Plus Kate Winslet plays a relatively gender nonconforming character and I always love her.
The Baroness von Sketch Show : Canadian. comedy sketches with 4 women, and only women, about women and sometimes men (the women play men hilariously). Very funny! Must see!
Happy Valley: British cop show about a female cop. Realistic (not in a blood and guts way, but in a working woman, single parent way)
Scott & Bailey : British: about 2 female cops, and the not-always-easy relationship between them. Also, their boss is female, and her boss is female, and it may even go one level higher! It’s like a reverse world: the men are all background figures.
Rita : Swedish? Or Danish? About a feisty, untameable female school teacher.
Borgen : [How do you not have this??] Danish series about a first female Prime Minister. Utterly fantastic.
The Split : British series about a woman lawyer leaving her mother’s legal firm to go out on her own. Very good!
Doctor Foster : about a female doctor who suspects her husband of having an affair. Better than it sounds, but 1st season only. 2nd season is repetitive.
Nurse Jackie : starring Edie Falco about a no-bullshit-except-when-it-comes-to-her-drug-addiction nurse in New York. Edie falco kicks everyone’s ass in this fantastic show!
The Legacy : admittedly hard to find, a Danish series about what happens in a family when a female artists wills her entire estate to a young woman—the daughter she gave up for adoption at a young age and whom everyone has previously forgotten about. GREAT.
Dicte : Danish series about a female reporter.
I May Destroy You : fantastic British Show about a young woman dealing with her life after being raped. Not as heavy as it sounds; great actress.
The Good Wife : I’m very surprised this long running American series about a female lawyer is not already on your list!
Top of the Lake : starring Elizabeth Moss as a detective.
The Americans : OK, a husband and wife team, but in equal roles, playing Russian Spies in the US. The wife is a VERY strong character. Fantastic show.
Santa Clarita Diet : another husband and wife, but about a woman (Drew Barrymore <3 <3) who mysteriously turns undead with a thirst for human flesh. Very much the same sense of humour as Buffy. I LOVED this show; everyone else hates it.
Silk : about a British female lawyer (Barrister)
The Fall : short lived but starring the wonderful Gillian Anderson as a detective.
The Killing : you have this, but be sure to watch the wonderful, original Danish version Forbrydelsen, about a female detective.
Homeland : How is this not on this list? Starring Claire Danes as a CIA officer. I recommend the first season only as a fantastic show of cat and mouse. Bail after the first season, before the protagonist goes crazy.
My Brilliant Friend : Hello?! About 2 girls-then-women in Italy, as per the series of books by Elena Ferrante!
Call My Agent : French. About a French talent agency with strong female leads.
Shows with a mixed cast but strong female roles:
The Bureau : French. About French spies. The all time best show I’ve ever seen ... and I watch a lot of (good) TV (via streaming).
A French Village : also French (doh!); about (guess what?) during the 2nd world war. Great characters.
The Crown : ahem, you’ve heard of Queen Elizabeth, right?
Halt and Catch Fire : excellent show with good female protagonist about the early days in silicon valley.
Mozart in the Jungle : comedy about the New York Symphony (!). The lead is male, but co-star is female with other good female roles (including Bernadette Peters!) sweet, funny.
As mentioned, I watch a lot of TV, and all of the above are good-to-fantastic. I have developed an extreme intolerance for male casts and male-centric shows (with some exceptions, like Succession, which is extremely male, but too good to pass; and “Atlanta,” which despite being practically 100% male, is genius.)
I suspect being in Canada gives me more access to foreign material. If you’re having trouble, try using a VPN to log in as Canadian or British. I find these shows on Netflix, Prime, SundanceNow, HBO and CBCGem.
I am so glad you plugged both The Americans and Santa Clarita Diet. The Americans is clearly feminist, esp in the story of the daughter. I also think it represents how important it is for women to feel that they have a higher purpose in life, a strong political belief system. I adore Santa Clarita Diet. I'd love it to be rebooted. It is such an amazingly feminist allegory of empowerment, much better than iZombie. It is clearly a critique of how dangerous it is for women to be 'nice'. Her zombie-fication empowers her and her daughter, too. I wish Drew would just peak already, esp as she has daughters. Will she still be genuflecting to Dylan when her daughter's teeth are knocked out at a field hockey game or something? Anyway, the series is terrific, showing how important it is for women not to deny their desires and how everyone benefits when they 'feed' themselves, or pursue their own desires and stop putting everyone else's needs first. Oh, what about The Good Fight?
I started watch the shows Hacks and Girls5Eva. Both are 100% female stories and great.
I haven’t watched any of these except “the Queen’s Gambit” lol.
I loved it so much, it brought back my childhood love for chess 🤓
And the aesthetic of the movie was brilliant! Very much dark academia. Loved every minute of it!
Did you spot the TIM?
TiM? Where? In Queen’s Gambit?
Yes, they are a teacher in the girls school.
OMG! I didn't realize that either...
I was far more interested in Beth's character and her story (as well as feeling super creeped out by Benny).
Halt and Catch Fire might fit on here. In the first season, more of the focus is on the male characters but it becomes a story about a complicated female friendship after that. The main female characters are smart and creative and the show deals with what it means to be ambitious women in computer science during the 1980s.
My So-Called Life is now on Hulu. Main character is a teen played by Claire Danes. Tackles many topics that other shows don't. I was obsessed with this show when I was ~17. Technically I was older than the protags but the show showed things that most shows never do, like abusive parents and the first portrayal of gay teens on tv.
bad girls on netflix is a drama/comedy about 3 regular moms who get involved in a complicated robbery. they're all married, but the stories are definitely about the women. mild spoiler tho: one of the moms has a daughter who i thought was a great lesbian character, but of course they transed her in season 3. because netflix would always rather have a trans character than a gay one 😶
This is actually Good Girls lol, it’s on the list and we have nbc to blame for this one 😔.
I really enjoy the show, but the TIF storyline is hard to take, it’s not addressed that much though.
OH lmfao brain fart moment, sorry!!! 😭 and same, i didn't see it coming which is probably my fault .. still irritating though
I don't think shows that eradicate GNC girls and promote child transition should be recommended on Ovarit.
Bad Girls was also a long-running British TV series about a women's prison long before OITNB. Not seen it but it deserves a spot on this list due to the sheer number of female characters. (Available on Prime.)
The aim of the list is to introduce shows where the main protagonist(s) is a woman with her own story. We have not seen all of these shows ourselves and do not have the time to watch them all, so we are taking your word for it. These are not our personal suggestions as mods.
Thanks for all your latest suggestions. We will update the list again in a few weeks. Going forward, please give us a heads-up if your suggestion involves sensitive content (e.g. scenes of violence against women).