Since it’s International Women’s Day we take a moment to commemorate strong female leads on the small screen. Netflix in particular boast a strong roster of strong women on their shows. Here are our top picks…
House of Cards
We can’t ignore the buzz about this political thriller that has been going on for quite some time. While Claire’s character is scheming, ruthless, power-seeking and anything but a role model, she has become the show’s center of attention when (Spoiler Alert!) she sits in the Oval Office as President of the United States by the end of season 5. Viewers’ suspense has already hit the roof over how the plot will carry on from there in the upcoming season.
Marvel’s Jessica Jones
Who doesn’t love watching a female superhero in action? Jessica Jones’ story is not the typical superhero journey, where she is born with supernatural powers and learns how to hone them to serve justice. She is depicted as a real person with raw feelings and even struggles with PTSD, after having resigned from her superhero lifestyle. The strength embodied in this character is not merely physical, but more emotional and characteristic.
Fair warning: You might come across some scenes that are a little too bloody.
GLOW
Having hit Netflix just last summer, this one-of-a-kind show never ceases to surprise its viewers with the audaciousness of almost every female character. If you don’t already know this, the idea of the show is based on Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling, a professional wrestling circuit founded in 1986, where women with different job backgrounds decided to perform in it in order to enter show business. One of the real GLOW ladies, Carmen Campbell-Villalobos, actually watches this show and gives it a 7/10 rating!
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tagged by critics as “the first great sitcom of the streaming era”, this series is one worth watching. It was even nominated for sixteen Primetime Emmy Awards, including three nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. The show follows naive and sanguine Kimmy, who after living underground for fifteen years, has to learn to catch up with the hustle and bustle of modern New York. Heads-up: The show is said to be way funnier than what you see in the trailer so don’t let it put you off if you think it’s lame.
Godless
This show is set in a town in New Mexico run by mostly women, who lost all their husbands in a mining accident. The lead role that stands out to us most is Alice Fletcher played by Michelle Dockery because she breaks the stereotype of what we’ve seen most female Western movie characters look like before. Instead of having proper, shy manners and wearing ladylike attire, Alice’s character is rough around the edges and doesn’t shy away from holding a gun or joining a fight in the “godless” Wild West. If the show was picked as one of 2017’s top ten by both The Washington Post and Vanity Fair, then it’s probably worth watching!
By Sarah Guirguis
