Can we have a "brilliant tv programmes that centre women and manage to be brilliant without using violence and rape"?☺

[CatNamedEaster]

I've never had a stomach for violence on tv but even less so now, so I thought I'd start a thread for people who want shit-hot drama/comedy/whatever that has women at its heart but isn't fluffy Sunday night filler (nothing wrong with that, I'm not a snob).
My recent highlights have been:

Impeachment. About the Monica Lewinsky affair. I find the actresses playing Monica and Linda mesmerising and they manage to convey so much with a look.

Cutting It. Watched the whole lot in lockdown. Really funny and poignant and unafraid to show women who are strong and vulnerable and sexual.

The Pact.

In The Club. Followed a group of pregnant women, with Hermione Norris and Jill Halfpenny. Haven't seen it since it was first on so not sure if it's aged well!

The Solit is what you need! With Nicola Walker, who is just brilliant. Revolves around female characters. The first two series are on iplayer and the third (& final) has just finished being filmed.

I agree with This Way Up as well.

Love this thread - think I'll go for Last Tango in Halifax or the Good Wife for my next watch

Definitely Grace and Frankie! Not just female led but about older women, which is so unusual. Older women who are allowed to be sexual.

Was thinking about this last night and pp touched on. WHY is there so much violence and rape on tv? Bearing in mind the stats, a significant % of potential viewers of a drama will be women who have experienced violence and/or rape. Is it a case of couldn't care less because it generates headlines/controversy? Or is it more sinister and it means that women watching are constantly reminded of the sheer scale of male violence out there?

Anyway. Do agree about Dr Foster 're pp's point. Her reaction was extreme but I think it was very powerful and affecting because of the impact on their son. It came at a time where things at home weren't brilliant and immediately brought home the futility of being right and winning when the price of that can be so damaging.

I can't wait to try some of these. DH is very patient when I'm constantly getting to a point in a drama and saying "that's it, I don't want to watch anymore." So it will be nice for him to see something to the end.

Motherland

@CatNamedEaster I May Destroy You is completely brilliant but it really doesn't fit the brief of what you asked for on this thread. Sexual violence against women is at the heart of the story, and although it is about more than just that, and it is powerful and important - and funny and clever - you might want to exercise caution and try some of these other suggestions before going in!

Green wing is great with some fantastic female cast members. It's an ensemble comedy

Sorry posted too early, it's set in a hospital and features Mark Heap, Tamsin Grieg, Julian Rhind tutt. It's extremely funny if you like your comedy a bit off the wall

I've been watching On Becoming a God in Florida, at the recommendation of someone on here. Kirsten dunst stars as a woman whose husband has been sucked into an American MLM. He is killed and she discovers the depth of their debts. It's most excellent and so far there's been no rape or anything in it. Indeed she is most definitely the dominant one in her relationship with her DH's "up line"

It's on Netflix

And of course, the seminal woman centred kick ass show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
There are many layers of themes, particularly in the later series. I've watched it over and over since it was originally on tv and it always feels fresh.

I agree, OP. Why is violence against women and sexual assault such a common theme for entertainment? Or women being neurotic harridans?
Ridiculous.
I would second North and South, Cranford, Anne of Green Gables, Middlemarch etc.

Better Things
Was on iPlayer, not sure if it still is

I really enjoyed The Split on BBC - 3 sisters are the main characters, 2 are lawyers. Focuses on their lives but also legal cases that they are covering.
Also another vote for The Good Wife & The Good Fight, Ted Lasso, Glow, Firefly Lane, Ginny & Georgia (Netflix).

Yes to Better Things!

The Marvellous Mrs Maisel - I think a new series might be coming in the next few weeks as well so it's a good time to start.

I've seen The Good Wife multiple times and would always be up for watching it again but is it actually available on any streaming platforms at the moment?

I recently watched Good Girls Revolt on Prime which I thought was good but unfortunately it was discontinued after 1 season.

Love Life on BBC IPlayer (10 ep series featuring Anna Kendrick) is also massively underrated I think. It really resonated with me.

Seconding GLOW! It sounds crazy but it's hilarious and full of wonderful women.

For movies, I've really enjoyed:
The Incredible Jessica James
The Farewell
The 40 year old version.
All great, funny, character movies with powerful female leads.

@Cofifeefee

Firefly Lane

I loved this and I so hope its coming back for its 2nd series

@rifling

I wish more tv producers would realise that a lot of us don't want to be "entertained " by sexual violence. We have lived through it and it was not entertaining. Even if it is necessary for a plot, it doesn't have to be shown . It can be implied or glimpsed.

Yes, exactly! And in that spirit, I'm just mentioning Shetland, where, a couple of seasons ago, one of the female characters, a policewoman, was raped by bad guys, but it was treated in an exemplary way. Not shown at all, and her eventual responses not played for drama, and her polite rejection of well-meant hugs from well-meaning male characters.

@MilkTooth - I was about to mention the rape of Tosh in Shetland, and how well that was done. Not voyeuristic, no scenes of her ordeal, just a very sensitive treatment of the aftermath.

Game of thrones, most of the time did not shy away from nudity or violence but the scene where Sansa is raped was done really well. If rape can ever be 'done well'.

If you have not seen it; Sansa has been forced to marry Ramsey Bolton, Ramsey makes Sansa's cousin and childhood friend, Theon watch their first night.

The camera just shows Theon's face.

Admittedly I only got about three episodes into GoT before deciding it wasn't for me, but isn't this the whole problem with GoT -- that even when sexual violence isn't shown explicitly, it's still all about men?

Some great suggestions here. I'm another one who regularly rants at the TV about the constant use of VAWG as entertainment. It's really ruined many series / films for me - I love a good crime drama for example but so totally fed up with almost all of them using murdered, raped or otherwise abused women as the centrepoint.

Once you notice it, you can't unsee it.

The Good Place - loved that.

I'm wondering if this is why I've started liking South Korean dramas - I've recently enjoyed Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung and Master's Sun but not sure if they come under fluffy Sunday night filler category - I have looked up more about South Korean history thanks to the histroical dramas.

I like GoT because the female characters were complex people with their own drivers not just wall paper there to look pretty- but it was very violent and definitely a very male oriented universe.

Well I tried to download Scott & Bailey today and the bastard ITV hub only has series 2 from episode 2. Gggrrrrrrrrr.

So I will be looking up some of the suggestions above next week. Love all the responses and I'm so thankful that I'm not the only one who feels like this.

@usernotfound0000

I really enjoyed The Split on BBC - 3 sisters are the main characters, 2 are lawyers. Focuses on their lives but also legal cases that they are covering. Also another vote for The Good Wife & The Good Fight, Ted Lasso, Glow, Firefly Lane, Ginny & Georgia (Netflix).

I loed it too, I hope that there is another series.

Mrs Wilson on iPlayer