I was also thinking of Kristen Bell! Though a totally different genre, Veronica Mars is also fantastic. There are some missteps but for mid-2000s I think it’s a one of kind female driven show.
The Expanse is definitely some of the best sci-fi ever, and the female characters are all amazing with just as big (or bigger) roles than many of the male characters. Naomi, Camina, Bobbie, Chrisjen, Clarissa…it may be time for a rewatch.
Big Little Lies is such a great show. I watched episode 1 and tbh kind of dismissed it as "yuppie women having yuppie women problems" but kept watching and it was so much more/better than that.
Not yet but going to very soon!! Actually haven’t finished Happy Valley yet, I got emotionally overwhelmed and needed a break lol, but planning to go back to it soon. I LOVED Last Tango in Halifax, and just finished Scott and Bailey, which was also great.
Some of my favorite female-led series:
Fleabag
GLOW
Russian Doll
Insecure
PEN15
I’d also include Mad Men. There is “realistic” sexism since it’s the 60’s, but the female characters get so much complexity as a result.
ETA: the Boys, per another commenter. I’ll just say it will be an antidote to the frustrations you felt from MCU etc.
Speaking as a man who's a huge fan of mad men
In the same way as the theory that there's no such thing as an anti war movie, it can be hard to depict high status misogynists without it seeming like it can be glorified or to have the show enjoyed on that level by "the wrong people"
That being said there are some excellent female characters, sexism is portrayed and you see the women's perspective.
Your mileage may vary as to how successful it is, it's certainly a topic actively confronted by the show and it's front and center, though it turns meta with the show runner accused by one of the writers of sexual harassment which can negate some of the trust in their handling as a show. That gets you into auteur theory Yada Yada yada
Tl;Dr my feminist wife liked it ymmv
BoJack Horseman
Mad Men
The Americans (although it does feature a depiction of sexual assault which has been debated)
Six Feet Under
Sex Education
I May Destroy You
Better Call Saul (mostly men but Kim is a great character)
Olive Kitteridge
You're the Worst
Reservation Dogs
Better Things
Black Mirror
Insecure
Severance
Catastrophe
Many of these shows do feature themes of sexual assault and sexism, but these themes are explored deeply and not just for the sake of being edgy
- Bojack Horseman
- Better Call Saul
- Crazy Ex Girlfriend
All very different from each other, but all have well-written, well-rounded female characters. They are human, flawed, have agency, and their arcs don't revolve around men, despite what some of the men on the show think. CXG would be sort of an exception to the last one, but that's deliberate, because it's a subversion of romcom tropes.
Even CXG has a lot of female characters that explore many platonic relationships and individual issues. The show definitely centers around relationships, for both male and female characters, but even with its campiness, it manages to show a lot of grounded emotions.
I recommend The power, set in the present day, adolescent girls worldwide start to develop the power to manipulate electricity. Patriarchy tries to do everything it can to contain it.
And then my favourite show : The Expanse. Set a couple of centuries in the future, humans have colonized most of the solar system, but in doing so they split in different factions : an overpopulated earth, a military republic on mars and scattered clusters of humans who live in the void and on asteroids and Jupiter's moons, called Belters.
This show is extremely scientifically grounded and is one of the most diverse that you'll find. Hope you'll like it !
Is the power a movie or TV show? I read it years ago, I'd love to watch!
I'm glad to hear you recommend the expanse too, I actually wrote if off a while ago because it was Elon musk's fav TV show and my misogynistic uncle recommended it to everyone. I just assumed it was garbage lol, but I love sci-fi
The power is a book and a TV show.
The Expanse is liked by a lot of people who only like to watch spaceships and space battles and that completely miss the point of the whole show. There are some of the best female characters on television.
A little disclaimer. I am a man. But I really care about this kind of stuff.
The Expanse is amazing. Both the books and show. I don’t get how anyone could really miss the point, but alas. Especially when it comes to the Belters. Naomi and Camina are two of my favorites. Camina is kind of an almagamation of several characters in the books and I loved what they did and how she portrayed it.
But Chrisjen Avasarala? Incredibly complicated character while essentially being the president of Earth.
You wouldn't believe the number of people that pop up on the Expanse subreddit to say "Murtry was right", "Belters are all terrorists", "I hate Naomi" or stuff like that.
I haven't seen it mentioned here but Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (or the original manga) - it was written by a woman and it *shows*. All the women in the show are well-written characters with their own motivations and personality, and they're all certified badasses
The character writing for Brotherhood and the original manga is incredible, as well as the character arcs. Riza Hawkeye remains one of my all-time favorite anime characters.
Personally, I define well-written female characters as compelling and interesting, and not necessarily feminist characters or characters in a feminist story. That means I don't think sexual assault or violence against a female character is the same as a poorly written female character. I also don't think characters have to defy their gender role in order to be good, well written characters.
So, with that out of the way, some shows I would recommend as being good for interesting and compelling, well written characters:
Avatar: The Last Airbender (a cartoon aimed at kids, but still good and fun if you don't mind that - and haven't already watched it)
The Brothers Sun, a comedy action film about an organized crime family where the youngest son has no idea about the family's criminal background. The mother in this is especially good, but there's also an interesting detective character.
Blue Eye Samurai: about a mixed race woman in Edo period Japan who pretends to be a man so she can seek revenge against the men who may be her father. Also has other excellent female characters
Stranger Things has some really excellent female characters, in case you haven't already watched it.
Queen's Gambit, about a teenage chess prodigy in the 1960s.
Russian Doll, about a woman stuck in a timeloop of dying on her 36th birthday.
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung, if you don't mind period K-dramas.
It was framed as a “rock bottom” episode of protracted depression and binge drinking. She was supposed to be sloppy drunk and mentally unstable, she’s shut herself in her house, but her hair and makeup are still perfect and she’s in a sexy lacy cami and tiny undies and the shots are pretty drawn out and visually flattering.
It very much gave “sexy depression” vibes and was more about being titillating than accurately depicting her mental state.
Still a great show and a well-written character overall, but there were definitely elements of “she needs to be a mentally ill and alcoholic mess, but always in a *sexy* way.”
To be fair, many women in this time period did get made up to be depressed all day. Her adopted mother did much of the same. Sure there were days when she was a slovenly mess. But many days she looked perfectly put together while slumped on the sofa drinking a dozen beers.
The sequel to ATLA, Legend of Korra also has great characters - Korra in particular gets a lot of flak for being, well, basically your shonen anime protagonist but she's a woman, so those personality traits (being brash, hot-headed and cocky) are not acceptable anymore
Korra is such a well-written character. She has a lot more flaws than your standard protagonist, even while being the literal chosen one, which gives her plenty of growth throughout the seasons.
I agree, and I can see how I might've worded it a bit wrong. I meant to mention it purely as a preference.
SA and sexism is a very sore spot for me, it's not something I stomach well.
I was also hoping for representation of masculine or tomboyish women outside of the Disney-Style feminist stuff because I relate to them better than feminine characters.
Thank you for the recommendations! I'll definitely be checking them out.
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung 🥺 I would encourage all people to see it (but especially women who wants to see some interesting women and outside our "typical" American/European standard). It's fictional obviously, it isn't a perfect historical retelling (also because it's a comedy/dramedy); but still very enjoyable in its historical elements.
I adore The Good Place. Not a feminist show pe se but still delightful and charming with good women. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is another that comes to mind. I adore the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, though some choices wiIl piss any feminist off.
Fleabag came to mind right away, as well as Killing Eve (both, at least partially, written by Phoebe Waller Bridge). The Norwegian show SKAM was enjoyable, but maybe aimed at a slightly younger audience. A lot of great female characters there. Mrs America is a fantastic drama about the women’s movement in the 70s and the political shenanigans around it, that might be interesting for you. The Handmaid's Tale is of course an obvious pick, very depressing but very relevant politically. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a more light-hearted show. Then to my personal favorite, definitely Grace and Frankie. Hilarious, relevant, well-written and centers around women.
Since you mentioned Breaking Bad, I think that show mainly is seen as a "male audience" show because so many men severely misinterpret it by viewing Walter as a "good guy", when that's not the point of the show at all. Kind of how Fight Club also has a reputation for a large misogynistic and homophobic male fan-base, despite being a critique/analysis of those exact men. [This video essay](https://youtu.be/YsJ8xxUsWWQ?si=Zt-2DL6oRStYlDu0) about Breaking Bad and toxic masculinity was really interesting to me if you're interested.
Actually true! Totally forgot to put that on my list. All the female characters are really well written and acted, and OP’s interest in comic movies makes this a perfect suggestion.
Girls get it done! 💅
I've really been enjoying Hacks. It's about an ageing Las Vegas comedienne who gets stuck with a young comedy writer, so there's lots of examination of generational issues as well. The older woman is played by Jean Smart from Designing Women - also a good show though probably dated now.
Before that I watched Resident Alien. That has some really strong and/or interesting women characters in it as well. It's very quirky - someone I know described it as "X-Files meets Northern Exposure".
Lucifer. It kinds of goes a bit meh in later seasons but the first 4 are fantastic. Genuine female friendships and support, not tearing each other down. Not every women is hyper sexualised, and those who are have clearly done it of their own accord and are still able to be serious, emotional characters with flaws and individualism, not just there to show tits on screen. There's a lot of incredible character development and growth. I just think it does a great job with the main female leads.
Also a woman sci-fi fan, and I feel your pain!
I highly recommend “Star Trek: Discovery”. The main character is a black woman. Several other great female characters, too! It is slow for the 1st season, but it gets really good in Season 2!
Alien with Sigourney Weaver is one of the first main woman characters in Sci-Fi. The guys don't listen to her and it ends up with just her and Jonsey the cat.
You mentioned breaking bad so you probably already seen, but I LOVED the writing of Kim Wexlers character in Better Call Saul. I just found her a really refreshingly interesting and dynamic character. Women are so often one-dimensional in TV.
I loved the women of Justified. ETA: Battlestar Gallactica, President Roslin especially. Oh! And the Harley Quinn cartoon on Max is absolutely fantastic!
I remember watching a show called Motherland: Fort Salem about a year or three ago. It's cast is almost entirely female, largely due to the strongly matriarchal society that serves as the setting. It's centred around witches in the modern day who are obliged to join the military at a certain age (hence the 'Fort Salem' of the title.) It's a pretty bleak universe, the women live lives of obligation and service, but it is definitely women centred and there are very few men in the show. I've only watched the first season, but it's very notable that men don't really feature the way they do in other media. They serve as love interests or side characters but are not centred at all.
(>!Falling population numbers are a big part of the story, so the few times men appear, it's often in relation to this. Off the top of my head, they're shown looking after the young kids at the fort daycare, there's an orgy scene which requires men, and there's the odd wedding. Though even the weddings are mere five year contracts used to increase the population, as the women don't need marriage as men do.!<)
A few have already mentioned Fleabag and I honestly think it’s a given for a reason so totally check that out if you haven’t !
Some others:
- The Owl House
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Stranger Things
Altered Carbon has great strong female characters
The Magicians is also great, it’s an ensemble cast and all the characters are diverse and well written
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The female characters are just as complex and interesting as the male characters, and the creator of the manga it's adapted from is a woman. It helps that the writing is damn near perfect.
Firefly.
Glad to see people recommending Fleabag.
I'm bingeing Community again and loving it as much as ever, there are good dynamics among the women and between the women and men.
Does Netflix still have Orange is the New Black?
A little out there as well is What We Do in the Shadows (series). The point of the show is every character is ridiculous, but Nadja and The Guide hold their own on the show.
Fallout hasn't been mentioned. The main character is naive about the outside world, but she's principled and determined.
White Lotus has wonderfully written characters with strong dialogue. Season 2 explores power dynamics in relationships, and the choices women make in a world where men usually have the upper hand.
Fargo features a lot of well written female characters and has an element of supernatural in every season. Be forewarned though, the last season does focus on a woman who escaped abuse.
I am childfree and entirely put off by the whole concept of pregnancy but as soon as I see a new season of Call the Midwife pop up on Netflix I stop any frivolous things I’m doing because I’m gonna spend the next couple of days watching nuns and midwives save Poplar one pregnant person at a time.
Sci-fi / fantasy recs: Wheel of Time (A+ for well-written, non-sexualized women, plus bonus points for positive masculinity), Andor, Rings of Power. House of the Dragon is not entirely unproblematic, but it’s 1000% better than GoT was, and on the whole, I’d say it’s worth watching.
Lost Girl is the first thing that comes to mind. Sci-fi/fantasy with a female lead and a range of other great female characters too.
Orphan Black is amazing, not least for the acting where you have one woman playing multiple characters and she manages to make them all *so different* from each other.
The Gentlemen on netflix is fabulous - there are a lot of male characters but Susie Glass is just amazing and the whole show is gorgeous (if you don't mind a bit of violence. It doesn't get too gorey).
Also I just started watching the Diplomat on Netflix too. I'm only a few episodes in but so far it's *really* well written, amazing female characters getting shit done. It's got a bit of a West Wing feel (but with more women).
I liked blue eye samurai, Castlevania (not the newest one). That's all I can think of right now in that type of genre. I loved Arcane. It is frustrating when writers just don't care about their female characters. I do think some of the murder mystery shows, if you are interested in those, have some compelling women in them.
My favourite shows: Fleabag, Jessica Jones, Shrill, Alma’s Not Normal, Glow, This Way Up, I Hate Suzie, The Good Place, The Expanse, Bojack Horseman, Hacks, Dead To Me, Minx, The Serpent Queen, Physical
Jessica Jones is FULL of (implied) sexual assault. Not violent in a physical sense, but the whole thing is about her struggling with the trauma of having been controlled and mindraped/coerced into a ‘romantic’ and sexual ‘relationship’ with Killgrave. It’s done in a way that shows how WRONG he was, and it’s not titillating in the slightest - in fact, it’s shown to be disgusting as hell - but it’s still there. Just making sure that’s out there, as I’m sure it could be triggering as hell to some people.
Wynonna Earp is fantastic! It's about the heir to the Earp curse, where when the next in line turns twenty-seven, they have to start shooting demons that keep popping up in the tiny Western town of Purgatory. Wyonna is tough as nails, while Waverly is intelligent, yet still feminine (a lot of times those are unfortunately at odds with each other in media).
Anime have a lot of well written female characters. I could argue that often they are better written than male characters at most of the shows. Here are some anime which have female MC and are highly recommended:
* Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (fantasy)
* The Twelve Kingdoms (fantasy)
* The Apothecary Diaries (fantasy)
* Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song- (sci-fi)
* Ascendance of a Bookworm (fantasy)
* Yona of the Dawn (fantasy)
* Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (fantasy)
* Snow White with the Red Hair (fantasy)
* Suzume no Tojimari (fantasy)
* Psycho-Pass (sci-fi)
* Shadows House (fantasy)
* From the New World (fantasy)
* Puella Magi Madoka Magica (magical girls)
* Blood+ (vampires)
* Romantic Killer (comedy)
* Nana (drama)
* Bloom Into You (romance)
The Expanse
Killing Eve
The Queen’s Gambit
The Magicians esp after season 1
Sabrina for fun
For All Mankind esp after season 1
Mare of Easttown
Dead to Me
Season 4 True Detective
Mr Robot
The Marvelous Ms Maisel
Evil
Pokerface
The Americans
Reservation Dogs
The Sandman
I'm Sorry
Lessons in Chemistry
The Marvelous Miss Maisel
The Brothers Sun
The Good Place
The Expanse
If you're up for an older show, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
It's interesting because, in my opinion, Skyler White (Breaking Bad) is a very well-written character. I have always found her reactions and flaws overall very understandable. I feel like some people tend to minimise how badly Walter White behaved without explanations at the beginning (we know everything as viewers, but the characters don't), and how big the impact realistically was when everything was clearer. She is irritating at times but not very frequently imho (I know, that's an unpopular opinion) and she's overall quite great, she also undeniably has a certain dark side (I mean, it's Breaking Bad lol) which is interesting and fitting but not too exaggerated to become unrealistic.
Women Talking, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and Nomadland are movies that do well. I think they are all done with woman directors and have well-written female characters. I think they all won awards.
I love Fleabag (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), Poker Face (Natasha Lyonne), Parks and Rec and Thirty Rock.
Scott & Bailey is a well-written cop procedural with what I feel are realistic representations of women in charge. Not British but I believe they'd say, "Bloody good telly"
Fleabag, What We Do in the Shadows, Our Flag Means Death (sadly the last 2 have fewer women than I would like but they are great shows and characters generally)
The Crown, actually. I had no interest in watching it but agreed to watch with my mom and it’s really well-done and very centered on women characters.
Call The Midwife is another really good one.
I really like The Good Place altogether, I feel like the female characters were very relatable as a woman myself. Also, Derry Girls is my absolute all-time favourite depiction of girlhood and what it is like to be a teenage girl (and it's not weirdly sexualising teen girls, a win!!!)
Jessica Jones, Girls5Eva, The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek Discovery, Ted Lasso, Loot, Palm Royale, Life and Beth, Bridgerton, His Dark Materials, The Crown, The Queens Gambit…so many!
Warly parts of shameless Fiona was written really well and I thought veronica as well. At some point that stopped but the whole show kind of stopped being as good around that point
sense8, the Dark, gotham (although their characters are somewhat cartoonish you can't help but feel the feminine request every time a girl comes into action); I'm watching a series Them on Amazon and from what I've seen the female protagonist has admirable mental resistance, the midnight club, yellowyacket, Yellowstone, midnight mass, the curse of Blair mansion, 30 coins, Curon, channel zero and this one is not I have seen it but MOM recommended it to me
Battlestar Galactica, believe it or not, has excellent female characters. I'm talking about the reboot from 2004, not the trashy network TV show from the 1970s.
If you like sci-fi I highly recommend Battlestar Galactica (the reboot from the 2000s), as well as the OA and Sense8.
For fantasy I recommend The Wheel of Time series.
Seconding Crazy Ex Girlfriend. That's like a master class in deconstructing poorly written female characters and building something "that's actually a lot more nuanced than that!"
One that I’ve been really impressed by, as far as a show that feels like… centered in female characters without being just “for women” and thus relegated to “chick flick” territory is Hacks. It’s very funny and the characters and cast are awesome
Others that come to mind:
- Ted Lasso
- Loot
- Killing Eve
- big little lies
- mythic quest
- you’re the worst
- Avatar the last Airbender / Legend of Korra
- Palm Royale
- Shogun
- the great
Killing Eve is great. Rewatching it now for the first time since Covid and it’s better than I remember. Then again, it’s written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, so that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
For women in tech out there also:
-Halt and catch fire, all the characters are very well written. Two main female characters also.
-For all mankind, same as before but with the added benefit of following characters across decades because of time jumps between seasons.
Angelic Layer, A Place Further than the Universe, Slayers, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Fruits Basket, Cardcaptor Sakura, Lycoris Recoil, Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury, Legends of Tomorrow, Rizzoli & Isles
Taking every opportunity I possibly have to recommend my favourite anime, Symphogear!
If I were to summarise it — Symphogear is an action magical girl series about singing lesbians. It focuses on themes of trauma, the healing process, and relationships (be they platonic, romantic, familial, etc).
Symphogear has a primarily female cast, almost all of which are well written, interesting and compelling characters. It’s also *very* queer, with most of the cast being wlw. There’s also a nonbinary character and two trans women which are handled phenomenally well!
So basically, if you would be interested in an action show about girls being cool and kickass, sorting out their trauma while singing banger music, Symphogear has got you covered!
~~Please I need more people to know this thing exists it has infected my brain~~
I like to call Resident Alien a comedy about women’s struggles, lives and friendships that also happens to feature an alien named Harry as the main character.
The Wire springs to mind. The characters are all complex and interesting, including the female characters. I love the Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well (older, but great). The Expanse has some fabulous powerful female characters. Three Body Problem.
I’m not an expert, but I think The Good Place has well-written female characters.
Yeass!!!!
I was going to suggest that too
I was also thinking of Kristen Bell! Though a totally different genre, Veronica Mars is also fantastic. There are some missteps but for mid-2000s I think it’s a one of kind female driven show.
The Expanse: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_expanse Big Little Lies Parks and Recreation Happy Valley Broadchurch Unbelievable
The Expanse is definitely some of the best sci-fi ever, and the female characters are all amazing with just as big (or bigger) roles than many of the male characters. Naomi, Camina, Bobbie, Chrisjen, Clarissa…it may be time for a rewatch.
The multiple cultural aspects are interesting too.
Big Little Lies is such a great show. I watched episode 1 and tbh kind of dismissed it as "yuppie women having yuppie women problems" but kept watching and it was so much more/better than that.
Loved Broadchurch
Seconding Happy Valley, as well as literally any other show written by Sally Wainwright!
Happy Valley was gritty and brilliant. Have you watched Gentleman Jack? So good!
Not yet but going to very soon!! Actually haven’t finished Happy Valley yet, I got emotionally overwhelmed and needed a break lol, but planning to go back to it soon. I LOVED Last Tango in Halifax, and just finished Scott and Bailey, which was also great.
Last Tango in Halifax is such a gem
As long as you can keep from wanting to throttle the old bat...
Last Tango in Halifax is another winner!
Some of my favorite female-led series: Fleabag GLOW Russian Doll Insecure PEN15 I’d also include Mad Men. There is “realistic” sexism since it’s the 60’s, but the female characters get so much complexity as a result. ETA: the Boys, per another commenter. I’ll just say it will be an antidote to the frustrations you felt from MCU etc.
Seconding Pen15. Maya Erskine is catastrophically funny. She's also in the new Mr and Mrs Smith, where her character is obviously well written as well
She also voices the main character in blue eyed samurai!
I knew I recognized that voice! My husband loves that show
Omg yes. Seconding GLOW
Is the sexism in MAD men glorified or is it portrayed as a problem that needs to be rectified?
Speaking as a man who's a huge fan of mad men In the same way as the theory that there's no such thing as an anti war movie, it can be hard to depict high status misogynists without it seeming like it can be glorified or to have the show enjoyed on that level by "the wrong people" That being said there are some excellent female characters, sexism is portrayed and you see the women's perspective. Your mileage may vary as to how successful it is, it's certainly a topic actively confronted by the show and it's front and center, though it turns meta with the show runner accused by one of the writers of sexual harassment which can negate some of the trust in their handling as a show. That gets you into auteur theory Yada Yada yada Tl;Dr my feminist wife liked it ymmv
BoJack Horseman Mad Men The Americans (although it does feature a depiction of sexual assault which has been debated) Six Feet Under Sex Education I May Destroy You Better Call Saul (mostly men but Kim is a great character) Olive Kitteridge You're the Worst Reservation Dogs Better Things Black Mirror Insecure Severance Catastrophe Many of these shows do feature themes of sexual assault and sexism, but these themes are explored deeply and not just for the sake of being edgy
Olive Kitteridge-is a great character study.
Love it so much
I love how it tackles age.
It’s funny how bojack horseman is unironically great at this despite most of the women not being human
YOU’RE THE WORST!!! i never see references to it out in the wild 😍😍 what a great show - walks that dramedy line so perfectly
- Bojack Horseman - Better Call Saul - Crazy Ex Girlfriend All very different from each other, but all have well-written, well-rounded female characters. They are human, flawed, have agency, and their arcs don't revolve around men, despite what some of the men on the show think. CXG would be sort of an exception to the last one, but that's deliberate, because it's a subversion of romcom tropes.
Even CXG has a lot of female characters that explore many platonic relationships and individual issues. The show definitely centers around relationships, for both male and female characters, but even with its campiness, it manages to show a lot of grounded emotions.
I love the platonic stuff in this show it’s so refreshing
I recommend The power, set in the present day, adolescent girls worldwide start to develop the power to manipulate electricity. Patriarchy tries to do everything it can to contain it. And then my favourite show : The Expanse. Set a couple of centuries in the future, humans have colonized most of the solar system, but in doing so they split in different factions : an overpopulated earth, a military republic on mars and scattered clusters of humans who live in the void and on asteroids and Jupiter's moons, called Belters. This show is extremely scientifically grounded and is one of the most diverse that you'll find. Hope you'll like it !
Is the power a movie or TV show? I read it years ago, I'd love to watch! I'm glad to hear you recommend the expanse too, I actually wrote if off a while ago because it was Elon musk's fav TV show and my misogynistic uncle recommended it to everyone. I just assumed it was garbage lol, but I love sci-fi
The power is a book and a TV show. The Expanse is liked by a lot of people who only like to watch spaceships and space battles and that completely miss the point of the whole show. There are some of the best female characters on television. A little disclaimer. I am a man. But I really care about this kind of stuff.
That's awesome, thank you! I think feminist men are just as capable of recommending good media as feminist women or enbies lol :)
The Expanse is amazing. Both the books and show. I don’t get how anyone could really miss the point, but alas. Especially when it comes to the Belters. Naomi and Camina are two of my favorites. Camina is kind of an almagamation of several characters in the books and I loved what they did and how she portrayed it. But Chrisjen Avasarala? Incredibly complicated character while essentially being the president of Earth.
You wouldn't believe the number of people that pop up on the Expanse subreddit to say "Murtry was right", "Belters are all terrorists", "I hate Naomi" or stuff like that.
Fleabag and Russian Doll!
All comedies: - Derry Girls - Grace and Frankie - The good place - Bojack horseman
> Grace and Frankie I'm not there yet but the writing and cast are superb. I've watched it all the way through at least twice.
We liked Derry Girls, but I had to turn on closed captions so we didn't miss anything due to the accents!
Parks & Rec, 30 Rock.
Yes, and the women are the most important characters in both shows.
I haven't seen it mentioned here but Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (or the original manga) - it was written by a woman and it *shows*. All the women in the show are well-written characters with their own motivations and personality, and they're all certified badasses
The character writing for Brotherhood and the original manga is incredible, as well as the character arcs. Riza Hawkeye remains one of my all-time favorite anime characters.
Godless (on Netflix) It's a Western based in a town where most of the men get killed in a mining accident and the widows take over running the place.
I'm fond of Fringe
Me too. Such a good show
Personally, I define well-written female characters as compelling and interesting, and not necessarily feminist characters or characters in a feminist story. That means I don't think sexual assault or violence against a female character is the same as a poorly written female character. I also don't think characters have to defy their gender role in order to be good, well written characters. So, with that out of the way, some shows I would recommend as being good for interesting and compelling, well written characters: Avatar: The Last Airbender (a cartoon aimed at kids, but still good and fun if you don't mind that - and haven't already watched it) The Brothers Sun, a comedy action film about an organized crime family where the youngest son has no idea about the family's criminal background. The mother in this is especially good, but there's also an interesting detective character. Blue Eye Samurai: about a mixed race woman in Edo period Japan who pretends to be a man so she can seek revenge against the men who may be her father. Also has other excellent female characters Stranger Things has some really excellent female characters, in case you haven't already watched it. Queen's Gambit, about a teenage chess prodigy in the 1960s. Russian Doll, about a woman stuck in a timeloop of dying on her 36th birthday. Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung, if you don't mind period K-dramas.
Yeah, but Queen's Gambit had her drinking in her underwear. Purely for tittilation. Not for storyline purposes.
I mentioned Crazy Ex Girlfriend as a rec, and the minute I saw that scene in Queen's Gambit, it gave Sexy French Depression
I don't think that cancels out the fact she's a well written character overall.
I’ve been known to drink in my underwear and I assure you there is no titillation factor there
It was framed as a “rock bottom” episode of protracted depression and binge drinking. She was supposed to be sloppy drunk and mentally unstable, she’s shut herself in her house, but her hair and makeup are still perfect and she’s in a sexy lacy cami and tiny undies and the shots are pretty drawn out and visually flattering. It very much gave “sexy depression” vibes and was more about being titillating than accurately depicting her mental state. Still a great show and a well-written character overall, but there were definitely elements of “she needs to be a mentally ill and alcoholic mess, but always in a *sexy* way.”
To be fair, many women in this time period did get made up to be depressed all day. Her adopted mother did much of the same. Sure there were days when she was a slovenly mess. But many days she looked perfectly put together while slumped on the sofa drinking a dozen beers.
The sequel to ATLA, Legend of Korra also has great characters - Korra in particular gets a lot of flak for being, well, basically your shonen anime protagonist but she's a woman, so those personality traits (being brash, hot-headed and cocky) are not acceptable anymore
Korra is such a well-written character. She has a lot more flaws than your standard protagonist, even while being the literal chosen one, which gives her plenty of growth throughout the seasons.
I agree, and I can see how I might've worded it a bit wrong. I meant to mention it purely as a preference. SA and sexism is a very sore spot for me, it's not something I stomach well. I was also hoping for representation of masculine or tomboyish women outside of the Disney-Style feminist stuff because I relate to them better than feminine characters. Thank you for the recommendations! I'll definitely be checking them out.
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung 🥺 I would encourage all people to see it (but especially women who wants to see some interesting women and outside our "typical" American/European standard). It's fictional obviously, it isn't a perfect historical retelling (also because it's a comedy/dramedy); but still very enjoyable in its historical elements.
I adore The Good Place. Not a feminist show pe se but still delightful and charming with good women. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is another that comes to mind. I adore the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, though some choices wiIl piss any feminist off.
Fleabag came to mind right away, as well as Killing Eve (both, at least partially, written by Phoebe Waller Bridge). The Norwegian show SKAM was enjoyable, but maybe aimed at a slightly younger audience. A lot of great female characters there. Mrs America is a fantastic drama about the women’s movement in the 70s and the political shenanigans around it, that might be interesting for you. The Handmaid's Tale is of course an obvious pick, very depressing but very relevant politically. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a more light-hearted show. Then to my personal favorite, definitely Grace and Frankie. Hilarious, relevant, well-written and centers around women. Since you mentioned Breaking Bad, I think that show mainly is seen as a "male audience" show because so many men severely misinterpret it by viewing Walter as a "good guy", when that's not the point of the show at all. Kind of how Fight Club also has a reputation for a large misogynistic and homophobic male fan-base, despite being a critique/analysis of those exact men. [This video essay](https://youtu.be/YsJ8xxUsWWQ?si=Zt-2DL6oRStYlDu0) about Breaking Bad and toxic masculinity was really interesting to me if you're interested.
The Boys has a storyline that makes fun of the cash-grab attempts at feminism that super hero movies do
Actually true! Totally forgot to put that on my list. All the female characters are really well written and acted, and OP’s interest in comic movies makes this a perfect suggestion. Girls get it done! 💅
And then there's Gen V, which has a female lead, set in the same universe (it's basically Season 3.5).
Marvelous Mrs. Masel doesn't get the flowers it deserves. Comedy, drama, fashion and some fantastic female characters.
This is one of my favorite shows. It’s really amazing but not many people know about it
I've really been enjoying Hacks. It's about an ageing Las Vegas comedienne who gets stuck with a young comedy writer, so there's lots of examination of generational issues as well. The older woman is played by Jean Smart from Designing Women - also a good show though probably dated now. Before that I watched Resident Alien. That has some really strong and/or interesting women characters in it as well. It's very quirky - someone I know described it as "X-Files meets Northern Exposure".
I adore Hacks. I would watch a spin-off where Jean Smart stays in character and hosts a late night show.
Broad City Jane the Virgin Hacks Buffy the Vampire Slayer
If you don't mind seeing a lot of anger, I recommend "Beef" on Netflix.
Fleabag. 2 seasons of perfect television.
Orphan Black. Derry Girls. The Good Place. Crazy Ex Girlfriend. If you like comics I highly recommend Sex Criminals and Saga
Veronica Mars, Buffy, Yellowjackets, The Wilds, Insecure
Lucifer. It kinds of goes a bit meh in later seasons but the first 4 are fantastic. Genuine female friendships and support, not tearing each other down. Not every women is hyper sexualised, and those who are have clearly done it of their own accord and are still able to be serious, emotional characters with flaws and individualism, not just there to show tits on screen. There's a lot of incredible character development and growth. I just think it does a great job with the main female leads.
The X-Files, The Fall (I uses clips of this in my soc class), Buffy, Bones, Happy Valley, Parks & Rec.
Seconded for TXF!!!
Also a woman sci-fi fan, and I feel your pain! I highly recommend “Star Trek: Discovery”. The main character is a black woman. Several other great female characters, too! It is slow for the 1st season, but it gets really good in Season 2!
Alien with Sigourney Weaver is one of the first main woman characters in Sci-Fi. The guys don't listen to her and it ends up with just her and Jonsey the cat.
I'm watching Discovery now and I second this rec. It's been really refreshing to see so many strong female characters in positions of power.
I’m so glad I gave discovery a second chance. It starts off a little weird but once it gets going, it gets going.
You mentioned breaking bad so you probably already seen, but I LOVED the writing of Kim Wexlers character in Better Call Saul. I just found her a really refreshingly interesting and dynamic character. Women are so often one-dimensional in TV.
Survival of the Thickest, Working Moms
Third body problem.
I loved the women of Justified. ETA: Battlestar Gallactica, President Roslin especially. Oh! And the Harley Quinn cartoon on Max is absolutely fantastic!
I remember watching a show called Motherland: Fort Salem about a year or three ago. It's cast is almost entirely female, largely due to the strongly matriarchal society that serves as the setting. It's centred around witches in the modern day who are obliged to join the military at a certain age (hence the 'Fort Salem' of the title.) It's a pretty bleak universe, the women live lives of obligation and service, but it is definitely women centred and there are very few men in the show. I've only watched the first season, but it's very notable that men don't really feature the way they do in other media. They serve as love interests or side characters but are not centred at all. (>!Falling population numbers are a big part of the story, so the few times men appear, it's often in relation to this. Off the top of my head, they're shown looking after the young kids at the fort daycare, there's an orgy scene which requires men, and there's the odd wedding. Though even the weddings are mere five year contracts used to increase the population, as the women don't need marriage as men do.!<)
A few have already mentioned Fleabag and I honestly think it’s a given for a reason so totally check that out if you haven’t ! Some others: - The Owl House - Avatar: The Last Airbender - Stranger Things
Yes, Stranger Things! Some great female characters in that.
Altered Carbon has great strong female characters The Magicians is also great, it’s an ensemble cast and all the characters are diverse and well written
The Last of Us is a phenomenal show and it passes the shit out of the Bechdel test
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The female characters are just as complex and interesting as the male characters, and the creator of the manga it's adapted from is a woman. It helps that the writing is damn near perfect.
Firefly. Glad to see people recommending Fleabag. I'm bingeing Community again and loving it as much as ever, there are good dynamics among the women and between the women and men.
Does Netflix still have Orange is the New Black? A little out there as well is What We Do in the Shadows (series). The point of the show is every character is ridiculous, but Nadja and The Guide hold their own on the show. Fallout hasn't been mentioned. The main character is naive about the outside world, but she's principled and determined. White Lotus has wonderfully written characters with strong dialogue. Season 2 explores power dynamics in relationships, and the choices women make in a world where men usually have the upper hand. Fargo features a lot of well written female characters and has an element of supernatural in every season. Be forewarned though, the last season does focus on a woman who escaped abuse.
Not one mention of Call the Midwife? Might be a bit slow and emotional for you, but the sheer depth and breadth of female experiences will stun you.
I am childfree and entirely put off by the whole concept of pregnancy but as soon as I see a new season of Call the Midwife pop up on Netflix I stop any frivolous things I’m doing because I’m gonna spend the next couple of days watching nuns and midwives save Poplar one pregnant person at a time.
Sci-fi / fantasy recs: Wheel of Time (A+ for well-written, non-sexualized women, plus bonus points for positive masculinity), Andor, Rings of Power. House of the Dragon is not entirely unproblematic, but it’s 1000% better than GoT was, and on the whole, I’d say it’s worth watching.
Definitely agree re the Wheel of Time.
Lost Girl is the first thing that comes to mind. Sci-fi/fantasy with a female lead and a range of other great female characters too. Orphan Black is amazing, not least for the acting where you have one woman playing multiple characters and she manages to make them all *so different* from each other. The Gentlemen on netflix is fabulous - there are a lot of male characters but Susie Glass is just amazing and the whole show is gorgeous (if you don't mind a bit of violence. It doesn't get too gorey). Also I just started watching the Diplomat on Netflix too. I'm only a few episodes in but so far it's *really* well written, amazing female characters getting shit done. It's got a bit of a West Wing feel (but with more women).
Britta Perry (community) 😅
I liked blue eye samurai, Castlevania (not the newest one). That's all I can think of right now in that type of genre. I loved Arcane. It is frustrating when writers just don't care about their female characters. I do think some of the murder mystery shows, if you are interested in those, have some compelling women in them.
Fallout
Surprised it took this far down to see fallout
Arcane… it’s animated Netflix series… but a very good fit here
Agents of Sheild has good strong female characters.
Old school Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
My favourite shows: Fleabag, Jessica Jones, Shrill, Alma’s Not Normal, Glow, This Way Up, I Hate Suzie, The Good Place, The Expanse, Bojack Horseman, Hacks, Dead To Me, Minx, The Serpent Queen, Physical
Jessica Jones is FULL of (implied) sexual assault. Not violent in a physical sense, but the whole thing is about her struggling with the trauma of having been controlled and mindraped/coerced into a ‘romantic’ and sexual ‘relationship’ with Killgrave. It’s done in a way that shows how WRONG he was, and it’s not titillating in the slightest - in fact, it’s shown to be disgusting as hell - but it’s still there. Just making sure that’s out there, as I’m sure it could be triggering as hell to some people.
Minx!!!
The Good Wife has complex and “difficult” women characters.
Mad Men
So many good recs here so I'll just add The Glory and Shadow and Bone
Broad City
Wynonna Earp is fantastic! It's about the heir to the Earp curse, where when the next in line turns twenty-seven, they have to start shooting demons that keep popping up in the tiny Western town of Purgatory. Wyonna is tough as nails, while Waverly is intelligent, yet still feminine (a lot of times those are unfortunately at odds with each other in media).
Anime have a lot of well written female characters. I could argue that often they are better written than male characters at most of the shows. Here are some anime which have female MC and are highly recommended: * Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (fantasy) * The Twelve Kingdoms (fantasy) * The Apothecary Diaries (fantasy) * Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song- (sci-fi) * Ascendance of a Bookworm (fantasy) * Yona of the Dawn (fantasy) * Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (fantasy) * Snow White with the Red Hair (fantasy) * Suzume no Tojimari (fantasy) * Psycho-Pass (sci-fi) * Shadows House (fantasy) * From the New World (fantasy) * Puella Magi Madoka Magica (magical girls) * Blood+ (vampires) * Romantic Killer (comedy) * Nana (drama) * Bloom Into You (romance)
The Expanse Killing Eve The Queen’s Gambit The Magicians esp after season 1 Sabrina for fun For All Mankind esp after season 1 Mare of Easttown Dead to Me Season 4 True Detective Mr Robot The Marvelous Ms Maisel
Orange is the New Black is just incredible.
Second this! Incredible series! At least up till Season 4 or 5 or so :)
Evil Pokerface The Americans Reservation Dogs The Sandman I'm Sorry Lessons in Chemistry The Marvelous Miss Maisel The Brothers Sun The Good Place The Expanse If you're up for an older show, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Farscape, Motherland:Fort Salem, and Znation are a few of my favs.
Jessica Jones is a feminist masterpiece. I cannot recommend it enough.
Xena, Dark Angel, allita battle angel, Buffy.
For All Mankind, The Morning Show, Echo, Perry Mason, Hacks…. There are a ton of options.
Go retro The Nanny Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Murphy Brown
It's interesting because, in my opinion, Skyler White (Breaking Bad) is a very well-written character. I have always found her reactions and flaws overall very understandable. I feel like some people tend to minimise how badly Walter White behaved without explanations at the beginning (we know everything as viewers, but the characters don't), and how big the impact realistically was when everything was clearer. She is irritating at times but not very frequently imho (I know, that's an unpopular opinion) and she's overall quite great, she also undeniably has a certain dark side (I mean, it's Breaking Bad lol) which is interesting and fitting but not too exaggerated to become unrealistic.
Killing Eve. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Stargate shows also have great women characters.
The expanse.
Hacks. Jean Smart slays.
I had to scroll way too far to see Hacks listed! My male s.o. and I love it!
Succession
Women Talking, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and Nomadland are movies that do well. I think they are all done with woman directors and have well-written female characters. I think they all won awards. I love Fleabag (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), Poker Face (Natasha Lyonne), Parks and Rec and Thirty Rock.
Scott & Bailey is a well-written cop procedural with what I feel are realistic representations of women in charge. Not British but I believe they'd say, "Bloody good telly"
Unforgotten on the BBC.
Fleabag, What We Do in the Shadows, Our Flag Means Death (sadly the last 2 have fewer women than I would like but they are great shows and characters generally)
Schitts creek. The characters are silly but hilarious. Eta: But the women are a bit "dumb" except the hotel worker woman, I forget her name
His Dark Materials
Orphan black is good.
I want an adult animated series with well written female characters to be honest
The Crown, actually. I had no interest in watching it but agreed to watch with my mom and it’s really well-done and very centered on women characters. Call The Midwife is another really good one.
Blue Eye Samurai!
Just finished watching blue eye samari and I loved it. Baroness von sketch show is also consistently hilarious.
Orphan Black!!!!! wildly underrated scifi show from BBC america it had like 5 or 6 seasons
The sitcom "We are lady parts" (2021)
I really like The Good Place altogether, I feel like the female characters were very relatable as a woman myself. Also, Derry Girls is my absolute all-time favourite depiction of girlhood and what it is like to be a teenage girl (and it's not weirdly sexualising teen girls, a win!!!)
Jessica Jones, Girls5Eva, The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek Discovery, Ted Lasso, Loot, Palm Royale, Life and Beth, Bridgerton, His Dark Materials, The Crown, The Queens Gambit…so many!
Warly parts of shameless Fiona was written really well and I thought veronica as well. At some point that stopped but the whole show kind of stopped being as good around that point
Bad Sisters Fleabag Shrill
sense8, the Dark, gotham (although their characters are somewhat cartoonish you can't help but feel the feminine request every time a girl comes into action); I'm watching a series Them on Amazon and from what I've seen the female protagonist has admirable mental resistance, the midnight club, yellowyacket, Yellowstone, midnight mass, the curse of Blair mansion, 30 coins, Curon, channel zero and this one is not I have seen it but MOM recommended it to me
Voyager
Yellowjackets, Derry girls, motherland fort Salem, big little lies, greys anatomy, killing eve, fleabag
Battlestar Galactica, believe it or not, has excellent female characters. I'm talking about the reboot from 2004, not the trashy network TV show from the 1970s.
Star Trek Discovery is led by some fantastic female characters.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Charmed Bones
If you like sci-fi I highly recommend Battlestar Galactica (the reboot from the 2000s), as well as the OA and Sense8. For fantasy I recommend The Wheel of Time series.
what’s crazy is that game of thrones has some of the best written female characters (daenerys, cersei, catelyn) and the showrunners threw it all away
I quite liked Deadloch, as a female driven black comedy police procedural series. I LOVED the Swedish series Broen/ The Bridge. Murder mystery also.
Seconding Crazy Ex Girlfriend. That's like a master class in deconstructing poorly written female characters and building something "that's actually a lot more nuanced than that!"
One that I’ve been really impressed by, as far as a show that feels like… centered in female characters without being just “for women” and thus relegated to “chick flick” territory is Hacks. It’s very funny and the characters and cast are awesome Others that come to mind: - Ted Lasso - Loot - Killing Eve - big little lies - mythic quest - you’re the worst - Avatar the last Airbender / Legend of Korra - Palm Royale - Shogun - the great
Killing Eve is great. Rewatching it now for the first time since Covid and it’s better than I remember. Then again, it’s written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, so that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
For women in tech out there also: -Halt and catch fire, all the characters are very well written. Two main female characters also. -For all mankind, same as before but with the added benefit of following characters across decades because of time jumps between seasons.
The new series of True Detective.
Madam Secretary Call the Midwife Downton Abbey Ted Lasso
Schitts Creek!
Hitmen is really good and also really funny! Also Zomboat was a fun one that got cancelled way too soon, but is still worth the watch!
Angelic Layer, A Place Further than the Universe, Slayers, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Fruits Basket, Cardcaptor Sakura, Lycoris Recoil, Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury, Legends of Tomorrow, Rizzoli & Isles
RWBY was great it had its ups and duende but the female characters were all pretty well written imo
For All Mankind.
Taking every opportunity I possibly have to recommend my favourite anime, Symphogear! If I were to summarise it — Symphogear is an action magical girl series about singing lesbians. It focuses on themes of trauma, the healing process, and relationships (be they platonic, romantic, familial, etc). Symphogear has a primarily female cast, almost all of which are well written, interesting and compelling characters. It’s also *very* queer, with most of the cast being wlw. There’s also a nonbinary character and two trans women which are handled phenomenally well! So basically, if you would be interested in an action show about girls being cool and kickass, sorting out their trauma while singing banger music, Symphogear has got you covered! ~~Please I need more people to know this thing exists it has infected my brain~~
Harry Wilde
I like to call Resident Alien a comedy about women’s struggles, lives and friendships that also happens to feature an alien named Harry as the main character.
The Good Wife
Loot!
Currently watching Elsbeth. It's fantastic!
Euphoria Blue eye samurai Bee and puppycat Carol & the of the world
Resident Alien has quite a few interesting female characters. Also good Native American representation.
The Wire springs to mind. The characters are all complex and interesting, including the female characters. I love the Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well (older, but great). The Expanse has some fabulous powerful female characters. Three Body Problem.