Three TV shows featuring strong female leads

Celebrating women in entertainment for Women’s History Month

The end of March is now upon us. This means April showers, finals, and the end of television seasons. It also signifies the end of Women’s History Month. This doesn’t mean you have to stop celebrating everything that women have done in politics, science, and entertainment, though.

We can do this everyday! Whether we decide to watch a television show with strong female leads or we choose to do a complete presentation on women like Florence Nightingale and Rosa Parks, there is always a chance to celebrate the rich history and hopeful future of everything women have, are, and will achieve.
For the final Women’s History Month-related list, here are three shows that are centered around, and driven by, strong women. These women are not comedic relief, nor are they there for viewing pleasure. They are interesting, complex, and driven by a variety of factors that go beyond finding true love and staying thin.

Jessica Jones (Netflix)
If you are a fan of Marvel anything (films, comic books, television series), then you need to be watching Jessica Jones. This private investigator (P.I.) is more than just a snarky woman who enjoys her whiskey. She has lingering regrets over everything she did while under mind control by her arch nemesis, Kilgrave. She struggles to call herself anything more than a P.I., even though there are people who want to call her either a hero or a monster. Jessica should see herself as a hero, but she can’t because of her regrets. It’s this constant internal struggle and overall self-confidence/self-loathing that makes Jessica impossible to turn off.

Broad City (Comedy Central)
The broads of Broad City are nothing less than comedic heroes for women, and for any twenty-something in general. The main characters, Abbi and Illana, struggle to navigate their mid-twenties in New York City, trying to stay young and crazy while also trying to move up in life (like Abbi wanting to become a gym trainer after being a gym cleaner for at least two years). Along with their friends, Abbi and Illana ignore and even make fun of the gender stereotypes that come with being young women in a big city. They do not want to smile to look prettier, they do not want to refrain from swearing, and they sure don’t mind blazing up to get a good idea every now and then. If you’re looking for two women who are empowering and hilarious, Broad City is the right show for you.

The Mindy Project (Hulu)
I am a hug fan of Mindy Kaling. I love that her main focus is to be successful and have fun, rather than trying to make everyone like her and be a Hollywood starlet. The Mindy Project centers around the life of Dr. Mindy Lahiri, a thirty-something living in New York and working at an OB/GYN office with all-male doctors. Mindy is far from perfect, and her one fatal flaw is that she’s selfish. But, why is that such a bad thing? Why is it so bad that she wants to have fun and put herself first in her personal life? This is why I think this show is empowering; the main character is female, a doctor (not a nurse or a physician assistant), and knows it’s okay to be selfish.

There are so many other wonderful shows out there with strong female characters that are the focus of the show. What is interesting is that a lot of these shows are less than five years old. Could this be the beginning of a television, and even real, revolution for women? Only time will tell, but hopefully this is not a fad, but the start of a standard!