The FD roundup: All the baddest GirlBosses on TV
Good Girls S2 dropped earlier this year and it was awesome, and we were stoked to find out NBC renewed it for a third. The drama starring Christina Hendricks (Drive), Retta (Parks and Recreation), and Mae Whitman (The Duff) as suburban moms turned bank robbers is one of the best female-led shows on TV right now and we can’t wait to see where the dynamic plot will turn in a third season.
Meanwhile, Jessica Jones’s third and final season is dropping today! TV is currently full of amazing female-led shows with girlbosses you totally need to start watching if you aren’t already. Need the lowdown on the essentials? Here’s our ranking of the 12 best female led shows currently on TV.
12. UnReal (2015 – )
Offering a sharp commentary on the nature of reality TV while also providing a caustic social commentary concerning gender roles and power, UnReal is the perfect searing satire for an era where fake news dominates. With Shiri Appleby (Charlie Wilson’s War) & Constance Zimmer (Entourage) as leads, the show has a ferocious female force at the head of it.
11. Broad City (2014 – )
As the series is due to end soon, we’ll be watching the final season of Broad City – a series that offers one of the sweetest, funniest, and most real depictions of female friendship ever shown on TV –with a lump in our throat, our emergency “weed box” at our side, and a Bingo Bronson toy in our arms. Ilana Glazer (Rough Night) & Abbi Jacobson (Bojack Horseman), we salute you.
10. The Handmaid’s Tale (2017 – )
Though Hulu’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s revered dystopian classic can border on misery porn, it’s still stacked with essential dialogue regarding the autonomy and agency of women and unbelievable performances from a cast including Elisabeth Moss (Girl, Interrupted), Samira Wiley (Orange is the New Black) and Yvonne Strahovski (Dexter).
9. Jessica Jones (2015 – )
Marvel’s only female led superhero series features a bold and original female superhero in the form of the hot mess Jessica (Krysten Ritter) but it’s also bolstered by strong supporting players like Trish (Rachael Taylor) and Jeri (Carrie-Anne Moss) who still wield unbelievable amounts of power even though they don’t share their friend’s super strength.
8. Jane the Virgin (2014 – )
Featuring three generations of awesome women led by youngest family member Jane (Gina Rodriguez) and a number of awesome supporting female characters like enigmatic best friend Petra (Yael Grobglas), Jane the Virgin is a feminist comedy with a raucous telenovela twist.
7. Insecure (2016 – )
Bawdy, boisterous, and bold, Issa Rae’s HBO series offers some uncompromising insights into what it’s like to be a modern day African American woman with huge amounts of wit.
6. Grace and Frankie (2015-)
Not only do Jane Fonda (Klute) & Lily Tomlin (I Heart Huckabees) give us serious friendship goals as the titular besties of this Netflix Originals comedy but they also expertly challenge industry ageism and make us feel genuinely stoked and confident about getting older.
5. GLOW (2017-)
If seeing a diverse cast including Alison Brie (The Disaster Artist), Sydelle Noel (Black Panther), Sunita Mani (Mr. Robot), and Britney Young (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) doesn’t make you want to throw on some spandex and start your own local women’s league of wrestling, there’s frankly nothing down for you.
4. One Day at a Time (2017 – )
With phenomenal performances from Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Justina Machado (Torque), and Isabella Gomez (Modern Family) as three generations of a Cuban-American family living under the same roof, One Day at a Time offers a touching and hilarious portrait of familial female relationships.
3. The Good Fight (2017 – )
Starring Christine Baranski (Chicago), Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones), and Cush Jumbo (City of Tiny Lights) as three significantly smart and powerful female attorneys, this ridiculously smart spin-off of the equally phenomenal The Good Wife offers timely stories about social justice, legal wrangling, and strong women creating a united front.
2. Vida (2018 – )
Celebrating the queer Latinx community, Starz’s latest show Vida is beyond refreshing and unafraid to push boundaries. It also features a formidable cast including Ser Anzoategui, Melissa Barrera (Perseguidos), and Maria-Elena Laas (The Hot Chick) in lead roles who are all too captivating and enchanting for words.
1. Killing Eve (2018-)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s (Solo: A Star Wars Story) latest show focuses on two ferocious women (Sandra Oh & Jodie Comer) in a savage game of cat & mouse in this shrewd spy drama. It’s sassy, sharp, and unrelenting with its violence and it’s exactly the female led narrative we’ve been waiting for.
