Recently, more and more interesting projects have been released about bright female characters. Some of them build a successful career, others find their love and calling, and some discover some unexpected talent. But all of them teach millions of female viewers to be brave, confident, and never agree to be a supporting role in someone’s life. The idea of strength has nothing to do with sheer physicality or the ability to wield a sword. These shows demonstrate strong female characters who are present in all walks of life and all roles. If you are someone who thrives on women-centric shows that encourage you to show up in the world as your best self, then check out the list below for ten of our favourite women-empowering original series.
The Bold type – 20 June 2017 to 30 June 2021
There’s no better time for a show about fierce working women than the present. Free form’s The Bold Type is all about the powerful trio of Jane (Katie Stevens), Sutton (Meghann Fahy), and Kat (Aisha Dee) as they embark on the journey of independence and womanhood. For the mighty group of friends, any challenge is an easy defeat. From dealing with the BRCA gene to accepting sexuality, The Bold Type takes it all on.
With an incredible powerhouse cast, including Melora Hardin as Jacqueline Carlyle, the editor-in-chief of Scarlet Magazine, the show’s fierce women lead a prime example of what feminism looks like. Inspired by Cosmopolitan, the women at Scarlet Magazine are exactly what the title says — bold.
Younger – 31 March 2015 to 10 June 2021
Younger is mainly set in New York City and chronicles the personal and professional life of Liza Miller, a divorced 40-year-old woman with a teenage daughter and a failed marriage that collapsed due to her former husband’s gambling addiction.
Younger revolves around Liza and Kelsey who work as editors in a book publishing company. Kelsey Peters is Liza’s co-worker and a good friend and co-runner of Millenial. She meets her in season 1 after her meeting with Diana. At the time, she was a junior editor at Empirical. Then, she started Millennial Print, an imprint of Empirical Print.
Orange is the new black – 11 July 2013 to 26 July 2019
Orange is the New Black revolves around Piper Chapman. Ten years after transporting drug money to Alex, Piper is imprisoned for the crime. The toughness of prison changes her drastically as an individual, compelling her to do the unthinkable.
The show is empowering; it embodies all types of women and showcases their real-life struggles that every woman can relate to. It’s honest, funny, and dramatic.
There are so many strong female leads – women of colour, trans women, and women of all sizes and orientations. The backstories are nuanced, addressing issues like poverty, the privatisation of the prison system, parenting, being parented, and getting caught in an inescapable situation. It illustrates that nobody is evil and there are reasons why people are the way they are.
Emily in Paris – 2 October 2020 and ongoing
Emily, is an ambitious twenty-something marketing executive from Chicago, who unexpectedly lands her dream job in Paris when her company acquires a French luxury marketing company. She is tasked with revamping their social media strategy.
Emily’s new life in Paris is filled with intoxicating adventures and surprising challenges as she juggles winning over her work colleagues, making friends, and navigating new romances.
The character of talented Emily is played by Lily Collins. She embarks on a new journey in Paris without knowing French. She is relocated to the French capital to offer an American perspective at a Parisian marketing firm. Think every Paris cliché – croissants, berets, macarons, Champagne heiresses, handsome chefs, midnight walks under the Eiffel Tower – all packaged into 10 picture-perfect episodes starring Lily Collins.
Handmaid’s Tale – 26 April 2017 and ongoing
Based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood, this series is set in Gilead, a totalitarian society in what used to be part of the United States. Gilead is ruled by a fundamentalist regime that treats women as property of the state, and is faced with environmental disasters and a plummeting birth rate. In a desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world, the few remaining fertile women are forced into sexual servitude. One of these women, Offred, is determined to survive the terrifying world she lives in, and find the daughter that was taken from her.
Elisabeth Moss plays June, a woman stripped of her freedom and identity as she is forced into being the concubine of the leader of a new dictatorship that takes over the USA. As June, now named, offered attempts to escape her new reality the show sheds some serious light on the gender inequalities in our actual real life world too.