How about entertainment we *can*stomach?!

Ahh I see my suggestion of ST Voyager has already been mentioned!

In an era when female characters on TV were only leads because they had special powers/magic/etc Janeway was an ordinary woman who was Captain of a starship. And she was so well written (and played) she needs a special place in tv history!

I loved Gentleman Jack and was excited about the series as I know the area a little and had found out about her history through O'Hooley & Tidow, the folk duo whose song was used as the theme tune.

I've still got the tune as an earworm at the moment - it's an excellent one to have on a brisk walk. I first heard about her on here because of the blue plaque furore.

Ooh! Where to start?!

I don't think any of my choices are 'perfect' feminism. Except maybe Mrs America but that comes with the territory and it's perfect exactly because it exposes some of the key issues. The others all pass the Bechdel Test and are female focused - they show women's lives as being about something other than getting a man, although getting a man may be a part of their lives.

Most of Orange is the New Black, bar some of the trans storyline.
Gilmore Girls.
Fleabag
Mrs America
Russian Doll
The Marvellous Mrs Maisel

Ride Like a Girl on Netflix. About the first female jockey Melbourne Cup winner.

I quite enjoyed Julie and The Phantoms even though it's targeted at the teen market.

Marvellous Mrs Maisel on Amazon Prime.

Oh Yy unbelievable is utterly fantastic

Can I put a questionable vote in for the witcher? Whilst the nudity levels are still incredibly sexist, 2 of the main storylines are about woman where their primary interest is their own ambitions.

Fort Salem - was on BBC iPlayer, not sure if it still is though.

Maybe aimed more at YAs but was entertaining enough

Jessica Jones is another good choice, especially because of the dynamic between her and Trish as the storyline progresses.

On a superhero note I also enjoyed Supergirl, though I'm way behind on it (still on S3 I think?)

overdone the "strong female character" and make her into someone who can do no wrong - (without spoilers) is that not the case?

Maybe a little. Youre certainly convinced Enola isnt going to come to serious harm and will prevail in the end (which is surprisingly warm and fuzzy in a post game of thrones world).

However Its all so tongue in cheek and done with a wink to the camera (sometimes literally) I'm not sure that matters.

Enola Holmes is a fun film to watch with the DC or alone. Because of her childhood, Enola has a lot of book and martial arts knowledge but she doesn't know much about society and how to fit in. Her mum is a suffragette!

Loved Gentleman Jack. Also Keeping Faith, Jane Austen book adaptations, Phoebe Waller Bridge productions - Fleabag, Killing Eve.
Yes to rewatching French and Saunders. Also Vicar of Dibley and Abfab.
I haven't got Netflix only Amazon Prime. Anyone recommend any good female lead films on that?

I enjoyed Jessica Jones (Netflix, I think). She's a badass

I really want to see Enola Holmes, but don't have Netflix and don't much want to get it now, is there any other way to watch it?

Gibbons I was just coming on to say Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries as well! I got the DVDs after people on here recommended it and have been absolutely loving it, I finish pretty much every episode with a smile on my face, which is a big deal at the moment. Just got 2 or 3 episodes left, so no spoilers please!

I've just thought of another one we watched recently - perhaps surprisingly as the main storyline is arranged marriage - A Suitable Boy. Great female characters and some interesting themes.

I've only seen season 1 of Good Girls. The girl is just a tomboy and has not gone any further than that. TBH, the daughter's mum is a complete car crash, and I thought it was kind of a subliminal message about bad parenting that she would have a daughter wishing to escape the madness through pretending to be someone else.

Just found SENSITIVE SKIN but where is season 1 ?

Yes to Cagney and Lacey, Tenko (regular teen viewing with my mum - dad used to go and hid in the kitchen ), Victoria Wood. Also French and Saunders - been re-watching some of their stuff recently, and some of the film spoofs were fabulous. The scene where they tackle Fellini is hysterical. Also, since someone mentioned Lily Tomlin upthread, can I put a big vote in for 9-5 with Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton? The sort of very funny ensemble piece about sexism in the workplace that I just can't imagine anyone making these days.

I've been watching Harlots on BBC. I thought it might be a bit too happy hooker myth but a fully shows the desperation and how rough it was for women.

Yes, I watched it recently, and I'd agree with that summing up. The other thing that really struck me (it has female writers and show-runners) was how the sex scenes were handled, given that it's a series about sex. You very rarely see women's naked bodies - quite a lot of naked male arses. And when there are rapes, they are mostly handled off camera. There's just enough detail in the lead up and aftermath that you can see the horror of it, but I suspect someone (or group of women) took a policy decision along the lines of "we are not going to portray any of the rapes in a way that some sick bastard could use for wank fodder."

I think there could be a whole separate thread about whether it is a good or bad thing to make a drama out of this subject matter, or indeed to play it as entertainment rather than unrelenting horror, but (as the start makes clear) given that something like 1 woman in 4 in Georgian London was involved in prostitution, it's an important part of women's social history, so I think it shouldn't be "off limits" to a writer or TV maker.

I love Gentleman Jack, the fact that it's based on a real woman's diary and the energy of Suranne Jones as Lister. Here have montage of her " Being Dapper and Storming Off "

For comedy, Broad City written by and staring Ilana Glazer and Abbie Jacobson and produced by Amy Poehler. Super funny and inventive - a bit like a female, 420-friendly Flight of the Conchords

I enjoyed 'Golden Girls' - it was on early morning tv recently but I missed it.
Also 'No Offence' with Joanna Scanlon which was quite outrageous at times but great female leads.