4 Best Female-Led TV Shows You Should be Watching

Despite it being 2016, it can still be difficult to find television shows that feature positive and diverse representation of female characters. It can be even more difficult to find shows that do this whilst simultaneously featuring a woman as the protagonist. Thankfully, recent years have produced many new TV shows, of various genres, that are led by female protagonists. Here are four of my favourites that are currently still airing:

 

4. Orphan Black

Orphan Black is probably one of my favourite shows of all time. It follows the story of Sarah Manning, who, upon  a girl who looks exactly like her jump in front of a train, assumes her identity and is thrust into a world of mystery and intrigue.

Not only is it a brilliant sci-fi show that has you at the edge of your seat during every episode, it’s also some of the best acting you might find on TV right now, with Tatiana Maslany assuming the role of probably half the characters (if not more), each with their own unique personalities. This diversity in Maslany’s role is not just a great showcasing of her acting (though it is certainly that) but it fiercely battles the stereotypical female character. It gives women the diversity that is often lacking in casts, ranging from scientific “geek-monkey” Cosima to “punk-ho” Sarah, and even “soccer mom” Alison. Each of these characters are fully fleshed out, and ultimately relatable. As the show progresses into its fifth and final season, we can only hope for these characters to gain more depth and become even more interesting.

3. Jane The Virgin

Jane the Virgin is many wonderful things. It boasts a cast of Latina characters and takes on insane plotlines in every forty minute episode. And it manages to be utterly hilarious and engaging at the same time.

The show follows the story of Jane Villanueva, who, due to her strong Catholic upbringing has promised her grandmother that she will not have sex until marriage. Things get a little complicated, however, when she is accidentally artificially inseminated, with sperm that belongs to her boss. The show only gets crazier from there following the structure of telenovelas.

What sets the show apart isn’t simply the cast of Latinas, and the unique adaptation of the telenovela structure, but also the way the show explores various important themes that affect women. Despite being filled with slightly absurd plotlines, these themes are extremely personable. For example, the show explores the complexity of motherhood, and the real difficulties that come along with it. It doesn’t pigeonhole motherhood into one category of “good mother,” instead exploring how all women can struggle with it, despite having the best of intentions.

The show’s strength also lies in its female friendships and the way that these are constantly developed instead of being thrown under the bus for the love triangle plotline. Though the love triangle does exist, it goes hand in hand with Jane’s burgeoning relationship with her best friend, mother, and grandmother. As the show progresses, Jane also strikes a somewhat tricky relationship with Petra, the show’s sometimes antagonist. At the end of the show’s second season, this relationship was still developing in complexity, and we can only hope for more as the show returns for its third season.

 

2. How to Get Away With Murder

Viola Davis recently won an Emmy due to her role as Annalise Keating in How to Get Away With Murder. The Emmy was certainly well-deserved, but there’s a lot more than Viola Davis’ wonderful acting that sets this show apart from the rest.

How to Get Away With Murder follows the story of a law professor, Annalise Keating, as she takes on five students as her aids in the courtroom. Simultaneously, there is another story unravelling, one where these five students are attempting to cover up a murder in the future. From the first episode, you’re left on the edge of your seat, brimming with question after question. Don’t worry, the show answers them in the best way possible.

Like other shows on this list, How to Get Away with Murder boasts a cast of diverse characters. Its female characters are complex and developed, with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.The show also allows its female characters to be bad people. This doesn’t make them antagonistic or unsympathetic, rather their struggles with morality are a result of their complicated pasts. Nobody embodies his more than Annaliese Keating, who is the bad ass lawyer that all the students at the law university fear. However, underneath it all, Keating has very real struggles. She has a problematic marriage, a fledgling affair, and struggles with her own mental health.

 

1. Jessica Jones

In recent years, superhero movies and TV shows have dominated media, but there has been a distinctive lack in female superheroes being given proper representation. Thankfully, new shows are finally acknowledging that only are female superheroes appealing, but that they also unapologetically kick-ass.

Jessica Jones is perhaps the best example of this. The show follows the story of its namesake, who got superpowers in an accident as a child. However, Jessica is the absolute anti-hero. She refuses to be a superhero, and instead works as a private detective. She’s less interested in morality and justice, and more interested in just getting through the day with a bottle of vodka in her hands.

Jones’ character is unique in TV. Rarely are women on TV allowed to be as blasé as Jessica. While female superheroes in the media often pander to the male gaze, with skimpy, impractical costumes and ridiculous (and often also impractical) fighting stances, Jones embodies none of these things.

Jessica Jones is also unique in how it tackles Jessica’s dealings with PTSD after facing traumatic sexual and mental abuse at the hands of the show’s antagonist, Kilgrave. It is refreshing to see a show that tackles an issue that many women face in the world today, but to do with such careful nuance and complexity.