Good stuff to watch on telly

[HairyLittlePoet]

There's lots of threads on great feminist academic books to read but I thought it would be good to drop lowbrow stuff onto this thread of movies/documentaries/ shows that don't make you want to throw stuff at the telly. You know, when you've watched and enjoyed something and it's striking because unlike 99% of stuff it's about women and you want to share it.
I'm happy to set a lowish bar. It doesn't need to be a perfect radfem 10/10. Just good, woman-focused stuff. Don't get caught up on whether it can be critiqued for not being perfect. If you enjoyed it and want to share it, do.

I have just discovered this comedian called Iliza on Netflix. She is cracking, and she is funny and feminist and I'd never even heard of her.

Also Gilmore Girls. Phenomenal script, funny, very very feelgood, the women deliver their lines brilliantly and the men are supporting characters to the fantastic women that the show is about.

[KanyesVest]

We are watching the box set of In The Line of Fire at the moment. Far from perfect but it's a police procedural where not every episode is about a raped/stalked/abused woman, and the lead character is a woman US Marshall who unapologetically doesn't pander. And she's played by the brilliant Mary McCormack.

[KanyesVest]

Oh yes, Killjoys is great!

[KanyesVest]

Erm, yes, it is called In Plain Sight here too too much wine, too little sleep

Have seen The Closer pop up on imdb, must add it to the list.

[FreshwaterSelkie]

Watching with interest.

(I have a low bar too. so low that I watch GoT and what's worse, I defend it by saying there are a lot of strong female characters. Which there are! Don't kick me out of feminism )

[FaithAscending]

I loved Lost girl Dixie.

To be fair Freshwater, Game of thrones passes the Bechdel test with flying colours!

[EllieQ]

Orphan Black!

[FreshwaterSelkie]

It does!

Also, the most powerful and kick-ass characters are women (Dany, Arya, Brienne, Cersei, Ygritte, Yara Greyjoy, Olenna Tyrell, Meera Reed, the Sand Snakes etc etc). I honestly do think you can watch it and stay a feminist.

[TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross]

Elementary - the American Sherlock with Lucy Liu as Watson and Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock - is very good from this perspective. The relationship between Sherlock and Watson is beautifully developed as a partnership, and although one of the later characters has as a crucial part of her story arc the fact that she was raped in her past, it is handled really well.

[TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross]

I am also a huge fan of the wonderful Melinda May in Agents of SHIELD: she does not take any shit from anyone. At times, the male characters have a way to go in terms of their tendency to revert to the alpha male "we must protect our women" but the women are pretty good at calling them on it!

[VagueButExcitlng]

In our (all female) house we love Pitch Perfect, once upon a time, Gilmore girls, my crazy ex-girlfriend.

[albertcampionscat]

Fleabag? Written by a woman, passes Bechdel test. Very funny, clever, bleak.

[geekaMaxima]

YY to Orphan Black! Can't remember the last time I saw such an openly and ordinarily feminist tv show.

In fact, it might even fail the inverse-Bechdel test in many episodes... no guarantee of two male characters having a conversation about a topic other than a female character

[PuertoVallarta]

I haven't watched past season three yet, but I am loving The Good Wife. Great writing and well-developed characters. I really love Alicia, Kalinda, and Diane. I love their clothes, their hair (see? I'm lowbrow), and the complexity of them as individuals.

It's still mainstream US tv, but it doesn't shy away from the shit women have to put up with from men.

[ChocChocPorridge]

I've been watching an Aussie comedy/drama called Offspring on Netflix - I like it - plenty of women, men, living lives, having babies - very easy to watch.

[HairyLittlePoet]

These are great suggestions! Im going to keep this thread for those times i just cant bear another manmanmanmanmannakeddeadwomenmanmanman offerings which dominate tv.

Other suggestions: An Honourable Woman with Maggie Gyllenhal. Women taking all the lead roles, proper, serious grownup stuff. I watched it thinking "Oh my gosh. This must be what it's like for dudes all the time, watching a serious drama where the most important, most intelligent and interesting characters are the same sex as you."
It felt shocking. Like the universe had hiccupped and accidentally let women take the lead for once.

On a similar but easier to watch vein, Madam Secretary is a great series, Tėa Leoni is believable and confident.

[thatstoast]

Agree with Orphan Black. I'd also suggest Jessica Jones, Mad Men (you wouldn't think it but the female characters are all brilliant), Garfunkel and Oates, My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It's actually quite a good time for female driven TV thanks to netflix and other 'on-demand' services. As adverts become less important so does the all important male 18-24 demographic.

[Sendraboots]

old tv series like edge of darkness and foreign films

[MsUnderstanding]

Loads of good stuff on Netflix as already mentioned. "drama with a strong female lead" (or something like that) is category you can search by. I more or less only watch Netflix nowadays but occasionally watch stuff on regular TVs. The Fall for example, strong female lead? check, but still seems to follow the manmanmannakeddeadwomanmanman themes, all that panting over a misogynistic serial killer, just makes me want to throw stuff at the TV.

[MsUnderstanding]

Top of the Lake and How to Get Away with Murder are worth a watch too.

[KanyesVest]

I just thought of An Honorable Woman today. I'm really enjoying it. I like Madam Secretary in theory but I just can't be doing with the family sanctimony. And the martyr mother thing is a bit laboured IMO.

I feel like a bad TV watcher but I just cannot get my head around anything Shonda Rhymes has made, and How to Get Away with Murder made me want to throw things at the telly.

Have added Jessica Jones to my list, I've been hearing good things about it.

[user1475253854]

Happy Valley has the kidnapped and raped woman trope, but she does survive and become a proper character later in the series and the next one too. Sarah Lancashire is brilliant in it too.

As pp's have said, the fall is good for Stella turning stereotypes on their head and telling the men their problems with women etc, but otherwise manmannakeddeadwomanmanman.

I recently watched Witless on iplayer. Mixed but 2 female leads.

[NotCitrus]

Ripper Street has a surprisingly good range of female roles, given its a police procedural in Victorian Whitechapel. Series 2 onwards includes a lot of Jane Cobden the politician and activist, and episodes generally pass the Bechdel test.

[JedRambosteen]

Thank you to whoever recommended Offspring on Netflix, although I have disappeared down a 6 season rabbit hole. I think DH is looking forwards to a resumption of normal telly.