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Shows with Strong Female Leads

International Women's Day is a great opportunity to celebrate the wonderful female characters television has given us. This diverse collection of series feature women who are funny, brave, badass, and unapologetic.

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  • TheTVDB.com List ID 7224
  • Created By Equinox
  • List Type Custom
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  • Created December 9, 2020 by
    Equinox admin
  • Modified March 15, 2021 by
    Equinox admin

Charmed

1998

Three sisters (Prue, Piper and Phoebe) reunite and unlock their powers to become the Charmed Ones, the most powerful witches to exist. Now they must vanquish evil and save innocents while living their lives as normal women in the real world. Life isn't so easy when you're Charmed.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1999

Delves into the dark side of the NYC underworld as the detectives investigate and prosecute various sexually oriented crimes, including rape, pedophilia, domestic violence, and the abuses of children, the disabled, and elderly victims of non-sexual crimes who require specialist handling, all while trying to balance the effects of the investigation on their own lives as they try not to let the dark side of these crimes affect them.

Veronica Mars

2004

In the fictional town of Neptune, California, student Veronica Mars progresses from high school to college while moonlighting as a private investigator under the tutelage of her detective father.

The Closer

2005

Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson is a police detective who transfers from Atlanta to Los Angeles to head up a special unit of the LAPD that handles sensitive, high-profile murder cases. Despite a tendency to step on people's toes, Johnson manages to convert even her strongest adversaries with her unique ability to get to the truth.

Damages

2007

Set in New York's world of high stakes litigation, Damages follows the lives of Patty Hewes, the nation's most revered and most reviled litigator, and her bright, ambitious protege Ellen Parsons as they become embroiled in a class action lawsuit targeting Arthur Frobisher, one of the country's wealthiest CEOs. As Patty battles Frobisher and his attorney, Ellen learns what it takes to win at all costs -- and that lives, not just fortunes, are at stake.

Drop Dead Diva

2009

Puts a uniquely compelling twist on the age-old battle between brains and beauty. The show tells the story of a shallow model-in-training who dies in a sudden accident only to find her soul resurfacing in the body of a brilliant, thoughtful and plus-size attorney.

The Good Wife

2009

The Good Wife is a drama starring Emmy Award winner Julianna Margulies as a wife and mother who must assume full responsibility for her family and re-enter the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail.

Nikita

2010

When she was a deeply troubled teenager, Nikita was rescued from death row and given a second chance by a secret U.S. agency known only as Division. What they didn't tell her was that she was being trained as a spy and assassin. Having escaped Division, Nikita is seeking retribution and will stop at nothing to expose and destroy their covert operation.

Homeland

2011

A bipolar CIA operative becomes convinced a prisoner of war has been turned by al-Qaeda and is planning to carry out a terrorist attack on American soil.

Scandal (2012)

2012

A former media relations consultant to the President, Olivia Pope dedicates her life to protecting and defending the public images of our nation's elite. After leaving the White House, the power consultant opened her own firm, hoping to start a new chapter -- both professionally and personally -- but she can't seem to completely cut ties with her past. Slowly it becomes apparent that her staff, who specialize in fixing the lives of other people, can't quite fix the ones closest at hand -- their own.

Orphan Black

2013

A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her.

How to Get Away with Murder

2014

Brilliant criminal defense attorney and law professor Annalise Keating, plus five of her students, become involved in a twisted murder case.

Jane the Virgin

2014

Jane Villanueva, a religious young Latina woman, has her vow to save her virginity until her marriage shattered when a doctor mistakenly artificially inseminates her during a checkup. The biological donor is a married man, a former playboy, and cancer survivor who is not only the new owner of the hotel where Jane works, but was also her former teenage crush.

UnREAL

2015

Sexy, sassy and shocking; UnREAL peels back the shimmering veneer of the reality dating show to reveal how unreal they really are. Every character is manipulative. Every character is self-centred. Every character will stop at nothing to get what they want. Every character is unmissable. Unreal is unreal television and essential viewing. Set behind-the-scenes of faux dating show “Everlasting” proves that beauty is indeed only skin deep as a bevy of eligible beauties vie to win the heart of the requisite hunk, or via versa in Season 3 and find everlasting love. The girls think they all have a chance, but in reality, the producers know exactly who they want to be picked and will stop at nothing to ensure they get their final proposal.

Shades of Blue

2016

In a steamy new drama, Jennifer Lopez stars as sexy New York detective and single mother Harlee Santos, who fell in with a tight-knit group of dirty cops, taking bribes and protection money that she uses to provide the best life for her honest, talented daughter. But when she's trapped by the FBI and forced to inform on her own "brothers", she'll have to walk the fine line between love, loyalty, honor and betrayal, and try to keep it together for her daughter's future.

The Good Fight

2017

Picking up one year after the events of the final broadcast episode of The Good Wife, an enormous financial scam has destroyed the reputation of a young lawyer, Maia Rindell, while simultaneously wiping out her mentor and godmother Diane Lockhart’s savings. Forced out of Lockhart & Lee, they join Lucca Quinn at one of Chicago’s preeminent law firms.

The Bold Type

2017

A glimpse into the outrageous lives and loves of those responsible for a global women's magazine.

Sorry For Your Loss

2018

The sudden death of her husband upends and transforms every relationship in Leigh Shaw's life. It also forces her to realize there was a lot about her husband that she didn't know.