TV Shows on Netflix With Strong Female Leads

26 TV Shows You Can Watch on Netflix With Badass Women Front and Center

Few things in life are quite as satisfying as settling down for a nice, long TV binge. Streaming has made having a TV marathon easier than ever before, and if you're going to have a marathon, then why not choose a show with a strong female lead at its centre? Thankfully, Netflix has plenty of shows that tell the stories of complicated, diverse women who are strong in a myriad of ways. Are you looking for some traditional butt kicking? Jessica Jones has you covered. Want to watch an optimistic female politician get stuff done? Then it's time to stop putting off watching Parks and Recreation. Are you enthralled by tough-as-nails female antiheroes? Why hello there, Nurse Jackie.

As a genre, it took TV a little while to fully understand that shows about strong women can mean many different things, but the medium is getting so much better at producing series that allow women to be just as multifaceted as their male counterparts (in fact, they're more so in some cases). With so many series to choose from, you've surely missed out on a few of TV's best female-led shows. Thanks to the wonders of Netflix, it is never too late (or too early) to jump into a show with a strong female lead, so pour yourself a glass of wine and start popping the popcorn, because these fictional women are ready to wow you.

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Jessica Jones

Yes, Jessica Jones is a Marvel superhero show, but Jessica isn't your typical hero. She's a hard-drinking, sarcastic survivor who takes cases to make enough money to buy more alcohol. Krysten Ritter is mesmerizing as Jessica, who is a mess of a human being with a past that's pitch black. However, deep down, Jessica still believes in justice, and her fight to save women from the mind-controlling Kilgrave is intense, thrilling, and important TV. Catch up on season one before season two premieres on March 8.

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Grace and Frankie

When two women of a certain age discover that their husbands have been having an affair with each other for years, they do the only thing that makes sense — they move in together and start their second acts. There's just one catch: Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin) aren't exactly best friends. In fact, they've only tolerated each other all of these years for their husbands' sakes. Still, the unlikely pair end up forming a bond that allows them to explore dating, entrepreneurship, and the power of female friendship in the most stunning beach house you've ever seen.

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One Day at a Time

One Day at a Time is an old-school sitcom in the best way possible. It centers on an Army veteran named Penelope (Justina Machado) and her day-to-day family life, but the show does an exquisite job of weaving in social issues like coming out, dealing with PTSD, and the threat of deportation. Add in a star turn from the legendary Rita Moreno as a proud, sexually active 70-something, and you have a comedy with heart and a whole lot to say.

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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Despite its dark premise — Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) begins the show as an ex-mole woman who has been held captive in an underground bunker since she was a teen — Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is an uplifting show about the power of optimism and never giving up. Kimmy's journey of self-discovery can switch from hilarious to heartbreaking in the matter of a scene, but what makes this show so great is just how irrepressible Kimmy's belief in humanity is even after she's witnessed the very worst of it.

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Nurse Jackie

As Jackie, Edie Falco relishes exploring the darkest corners of her character's psyche. Jackie is a person with a whole lot of demons, including addiction. She makes mistakes every single day, but she also does a lot of good as a nurse. Her sharp edges make Jackie a true antihero, and one you'll find yourself rooting for no matter how many times she falls off the wagon.

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Parks and Recreation

Where would this world be without Leslie Knope? The Pawnee legend is what every politician should be: tough but innately good with a drive to make the world a better place that's unstoppable. The comedy is also absolutely hilarious, but now more than ever before, Leslie's boundless ambition — portrayed brilliantly by Amy Poehler — is a total inspiration.

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Scandal

Shonda Rhimes is the queen of female-led television. She routinely creates complex, fierce women, and Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) is no different. Olivia is a political fixer who doesn't mind getting her hands dirty for work. She's also not opposed to having an affair with the president of the United States, but that's just the beginning of the stories told on this juicy drama.

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The Killing

When The Killing first aired, there was an uproar over the show taking two seasons to solve the murder of Rosie. However, that just gave the show more time to delve into the enigma that is Sarah. Mireille Enos flawlessly portrays Sarah, a cop who can be violent one moment and mentally fragile the next. Add in the show's cases, which bring even more fascinating women into the story, and you have a crime show that can't be missed.

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Orange Is the New Black

The women of Orange Is the New Black are a diverse bunch, and the show is committed to telling all of their stories no matter how heartbreaking or startling they may be. Set inside of a women's prison, each episode focuses on a different character's backstory, while simultaneously weaving in the reality of living in a minimum-security prison. It's funny, socially aware, and the true definition of must-see TV.

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Happy Valley

Happy Valley is a British series that follows the life of Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), a police sergeant who is charged with protecting the streets of West Yorkshire. Catherine is darkly funny, but she's also a person you don't want to cross. Not only does she have to deal with criminals on a daily basis, but she also has a home life that is messy, to say the least.

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Jane the Virgin

Jane the Virgin follows three generations of Hispanic women all living under the same roof, but at its heart, the series is a coming-of-age tale centered on Jane (Gina Rodriguez). After going in for a routine checkup, Jane is accidentally artificially inseminated, which changes her life forever. Watching Jane grow with the support of the amazing women in her life is an absolute joy that just gets better with every season.

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GLOW

Who knew a show about the world of women's wrestling could be so entertaining? GLOW's eclectic group of characters includes Alison Brie as "the heel," a star-making turn from Betty Gilpin as the quintessential all-American hero, and Sydelle Noel as the only character who knows what she's doing in the ring. Together this rag-tag group defies expectations at every turn.

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Seven Seconds

From the creator of The Killing, Veena Sud, comes a new cop drama with an even more emotionally charged center. Seven Seconds stars the magnificent Regina King and Clare-Hope Ashitey. King plays a mother grieving over the death of her son, a young black man who was killed by a white officer in a hit-and-run incident. Ashitey stars as the prosecutor trying to find some justice in a system that feels stacked against her and for the young man who lost his life so senselessly.

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Pretty Little Liars

This iconic teen show asks the question who is A? But that's just the beginning of a twisty mystery that bonds the four main characters together forever, for better and much, much worse as the seasons progress.

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Gilmore Girls

The Gilmore women talk fast, indulge in junk food, and always have each other's backs. In the world of family-centric TV shows, Gilmore Girls is tops when it comes to depicting the intricate bonds that exist between mothers and their daughters.

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Wynonna Earp

Fantasy and sci-fi shows still sometimes struggle when it comes to female representation, but that's not the case with Wynonna Earp. This fast-paced, fun show includes LGBTQ+ characters, a hero with a unique backstory, and a whole lot of demon hunting. Her show may be flying under the radar, but trust us, you need Wynonna in your life.

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Supergirl

Supergirl is the rare superhero series that focuses on hope. As Supergirl, Melissa Benoist imbues Kara with a sense of wonder and optimism that is uplifting without being cloying. If you're looking for a hero who still believes in the goodness of people, then Kara Danvers is here for you.

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The Good Place

This forkin' good comedy has a high concept — what happens when you're accidentally sent to the good place after you die — and one beautifully flawed center in the form of Kristen Bell's Eleanor. Eleanor is a selfish, shrimp-gobbling woman who lived every day of her life for herself and no one else. By all accounts, she shouldn't be in The Good Place, but that's where the show gets really interesting as Eleanor slowly begins to challenge the notion that people can be placed in such restrictive categories at all.

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Call the Midwife

Bringing new life into the world is bloody, hard work, and Call the Midwife follows both the women who are there to assist new mothers every step of the way and the mothers themselves. Go ahead and call this show heartwarming — because it is — but don't overlook the fact that it explores women's health issues like nothing else on television.

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Chewing Gum

Tracey (Michaela Coel) has lived a sheltered life, there's no doubt about that. Her mother is overprotective and deeply religious, the man she's supposed to marry seems vaguely repulsed by her, and she's definitely never had sex. However, as heroines go, Tracey is outrageously funny and determined to start living her life on her own terms even if that means making out with a poet who hangs out in dumpsters.

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Godless

Set in a Wild West town run by women, Godless challenges every trope Hollywood has ever established for the Western genre. Here, the women aren't waiting to be rescued, they're running the show. And while their town is no utopia, it's a place where they are all free to be exactly who they are without fear of judgment.

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Charmed

There's a reboot on the way, but it's going to be hard to beat the original Charmed. The Halliwell sisters are the perfect example of just how powerful the bonds between sisters can be, but they're also witches who take down demons on the daily. That dynamic makes Charmed a unique and fun female-driven supernatural series that never gets old.

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The Fall

The Fall might just be the ultimate game of cat and mouse. Gillian Anderson's Stella Gibson is committed to taking Jamie Dornan's Paul, a dangerous predator, off the streets at any cost. Her journey goes to some seriously bleak places, but you'll be cheering Stella on every step of the way.

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She's Gotta Have It

Nola Darling (DeWanda Wise) is a sexually free artist who moves through life taking what she wants. She's by turns a feminist, an activist, and a woman who has no time for the people who don't understand the way she's chosen to live her life.

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Nikita

Nikita is a CW show that never got enough love. It takes you deep inside the spy world, and it does so through Nikita (Maggie Q) and her protégé, Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca). These two women are fierce and dedicated to their work, but they're also deeply human despite their deadly profession. This is one series that's well worth checking out even though it's been over since 2013.

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How to Get Away With Murder

Viola Davis owns every moment of this addictive Shonda Rhimes series. Even though trouble (and murder) follows Annalise Keating everywhere she goes, you'll still want to sign up for her unconventional law class after watching just one episode of this mystery series.

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