15 Standout TV Shows Created by Women

The growth of streaming and options outside of the traditional (usually male-led) network television studios has given many women a chance to create some of the best TV over the past decade. From sitcoms to sci-fi and everything in between — there is so much good TV out there created by women!

It was not an easy feat narrowing down this list to just 15 shows, but everything here should give you a wide range of genres and stories to dive into.

From mid-century comedians to doctors, and working moms to reclamation agents, there are so many characters to entrance you and pull you in. Women’s stories deserve to be told, and we are here to listen.

You never know, maybe you’ll find your new favorite creator in the list below!

To celebrate March as Women’s History Month, here are 15 women-created shows, in no particular order:

1. Dollface

Created by Jordan Weiss, Dollface is a hilariously absurd comedy about female friendships and navigating life in your late 20s / early 30s. Now you might say, “that sounds like it’s been done before,” but Dollface brings in a level of ridiculous surrealism with Jules’s alternate realities that often include actual cat ladies.

It’s a light show, and while it often can lean into millennial humor, it is a nice show to escape into when the world is just a bit too dark to engage with. If you can handle a bit of cliched moments, it’s worth the quick ride, especially for the short episodes and quick pacing.

This show can also feel like reconnecting with old friends (a major plot of season one) if you’ve watched shows like Pretty Little Liars or The Suite Life of Zack & Cody growing up.

Shay Mitchell and Brenda Song shine as their full adult selves and are easy to imagine as the characters we knew them as back in the day. Without trying to be, it’s a nice touch of nostalgia, and Dollface lets you watch the actors grow along with you.

Dollface is streaming on Hulu.

2. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is another gem created by the genius Amy Sherman-Palladino, who also created the classic Gilmore Girls. The show follows a 1950s NYC housewife turned stand-up comedian in a gloriously funny and totally immersive period piece that makes you wish Midge was a real comedy legend.

One aspect of this show I have always loved is just how girly Midge stays throughout her transition from housewife to comedian. She breaks boundaries, is intelligent, funny, and still loves a good outfit.

Come for the jokes, stay for beautiful 1950s-60s New York City and fashion.

Watching Midge and her manager Susie’s pure determination to make it is inspiring, especially in such a male-dominated industry. Their friendship is one of the highlights of the show, along with the ever-present balancing of being a good mother and going after your dreams is something that is still so poignantly relatable today.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is streaming on Prime Video.

3. Fleabag

Emmy nominated and brilliantly funny, Fleabag is created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. If you haven’t watched it yet, it’s time for you to check it out. Make this a TV priority. It is transgressive, provocative, and downright crass in the best way.

Even 3 years later I still find myself coming back to scenes, specifically from the second season and the finale. From Andrew Scott (the Hot Priest) and Waller-Bridge’s (Fleabag) chemistry to the heartbreak of an ending that looks a lot more like real life than many shows give us — the whole show is a piece of art.

It is honestly heartbreaking that this show only has 12 episodes, but you have to respect Waller-Bridge for deciding that the end of Season 2 was a natural place to stop instead of putting out less inspired work to capitalize on the success.

There is nothing sadder than a great show that ruins itself by going on too long and losing the original heart of the series.

Fleabag is streaming on Prime Video.

4. Unorthodox

Unorthodox is created by Anna Winger and Alexa Karolinski and is inspired by the autobiography of Deborah Feldman.

It tells the story of a Hasidic Jewish woman’s escape from an arranged marriage and restrictive life in her community in Brooklyn to Germany to find freedom and figure out what life could be outside of the confines of her Hasidic community.

This German-American mini-series is primarily in Yiddish, which adds to the cultural experience of the show.

The story is captivating and heartbreaking. It is an eye-opening look at a culture that I knew little about and shows the struggles a woman from that community may face. Getting to see perspectives and stories that you might not come in contact with in your daily life is a gift of great TV — Unorthodox lives up to that.

Another plus of Unorthodox is how refreshingly non-violent it is.

It does show women’s oppression and subjection in other ways, but the violence often used to push a narrative along in other shows is not present. If you like suspense and are interested in learning about women’s stories from other cultures, you will enjoy this show.

You can watch the mini-series on Netflix.

5. New Girl

In 2022, New Girl feels like classic TV. Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, this sitcom highlights the life of millennials coming to age during the Great Recession and the phenomenon of extended adolescence.

The characters and their quirks make them endlessly entertaining, and just like sitcoms of the past, it is easy to care for them once you see them grow and live for so long together. They start to feel like your own friends after you’ve gotten through a few seasons.

New Girl is a great show to binge, pick up at a random point, or go have a rewatch when you need some comfort TV. Its forever quotable and sure to put a smile on your face when you are needing it.

Watch all 7 seasons of New Girl on Netflix.

6. Grey’s Anatomy

The pinnacle of Shondaland, created by the queen Shonda Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy is the longest-running American primetime medical drama.

Seventeen years of this show means that even if you have not seen a single episode, you have probably seen its impact on pop culture.

While much of the original cast is not still on the show, the familiar formula and soap opera-esque drama between doctors keeps this show interesting but still a comfort to return to. The show’s secret sauce is the balance between the medical stories and the personal stories of the patients and doctors.

Grey’s Anatomy does a great job at using actual medical stories to inspire their show.

Unlike many shows that have mentioned lockdown and the pandemic as a thing of the past, Grey’s Anatomy has woven COVID into the plot. It has been a way to share information to the general public in a format they know, and they have taken up the responsibility of providing that education. 

Grey’s Anatomy is available on Netflix with new episodes airing on ABC.

7. Jane the Virgin

Jennie Urman developed Jane the Virgin, which is a loose adaptation of a Venezuelan telenovela, Juana la virgen, which was created by Perla Farías.

Jane the Virgin gives a satirical play on telenovelas while celebrating Hispanic culture. You can always expect the crazy twists with this show.

This show balances emotional moments of family, love, and acceptance with absurdist moments, which makes it so much fun to experience. While it seems the episodes always end with a cliff-hanger, now that you can binge-watch the whole thing, that is no longer a problem!

If you love a good love triangle, Jane the Virgin provides one of the better ones in recent TV history. You can take the ride right along with Jane and revel in the “will they, won’t they moment” and amazing chemistry between Gina Rodriguez and both her leading men. 

You can watch Jane the Virgin on Netflix.

8. The Daily Show

Even though it has never been hosted by a woman, The Daily Show was created by Madeleine Smithberg & Lizz Winstead back in the 1990s. While there are multiple satirical news shows out now, The Daily Show still manages to feel fresh.

The show makes it easier to digest hard news by providing it through a comedian’s lens. While we shouldn’t just rely on shows like this to stay informed, it’s a good way format to keep in the mix to follow a range of news: from international to pop culture.

Trevor Noah, who has been the host since replacing Jon Stewart in 2015, has held his own in the transition and brings a charming presence to the show. While it’s sad to discuss Trevor Noah potentially leaving the show, it would be fantastic to see a female host take over after his departure.

The Daily Show is streaming on Paramount+.

9. Broad City

Created and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, Broad City is an absurd comedy that perfectly encapsulates being a young twenty-something in New York City. Even though they can be a bit co-dependent, the friendship of Ilana and Abbi is something that’s easy to relate to or be a bit jealous of.

This show is unabashed and clever. Getting to watch them bumble their way through adulthood like every new adult does reminds you that you are not alone and to let your freak flag fly!

The characters in this show are so wildly themselves that it is liberating to see that kind of acceptance on a TV show. Hilarious and empowering, we can only hope to accept ourselves the way Ilana and Abbi do.

Broad City is streaming on Hulu.

10. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Created by Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a musical romantic comedy series that leans into the cringe and fully embraces the “crazy.” It has some of the most clever comedic musical numbers ever seen woven into a dramedy that subverts the traditional rom-com tropes.

Having an expert grip on satire, this show is able to balance out authentic storytelling of hard subjects with absurd songs and situations that will make you laugh. Mental health is also a large part of this show. It’s done respectfully and is very relatable, which is rare to see on TV.

There is something so special about this show that is hard to put into words. At the heart of it all, it is completely unique and would be hard to recreate. There’s only one Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Watch all of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Netflix.

11. Workin’ Moms

Workin’ Moms is a Canadian sitcom created by Catherine Reitman that follows the lives of a group of friends who deal with the challenges of being working mothers.

Even if you can’t relate to being a working mother, this show is hilarious. It captures a wide range of personalities and being mothers gives the characters plenty of situations to deal with.

Canada has a way with comedy (think Schitt’s Creek), and Workin’ Moms lives up to the standard. It starts off with a strong first season and continues to keep hitting the bar. With great character growth and realistic motivations, this show does a great job at giving us fully fleshed-out characters while keeping the comedic edge.  

Another highlight of the show is the thread of harder stories that it weaves through the comedy. There are many struggles that these characters deal with that ground the comedy into reality. 

You can check out Workin’ Moms on CBC in Canada or on Netflix globally.

12. Dickinson

A period piece that is both comedic and modern, Dickinson shows the life of famous American poet, Emily Dickinson. Created by Alena Smith, this show is one of the most unique pieces of TV in the past few years.

This show definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously and it’s all the better for it. Adding modern phrases to 19th-century life, or rap music to the party Emily and her siblings throw keeps you on your toes. It is completely anachronistic and completely fun.

Have little to no background or interest in poetry? No need to worry! Dickinson is guaranteed to give you a new appreciation for poetry, especially Dickinson’s own, as the show sets the poems against the life and background that they were written in.

Dickinson is streaming on Apple TV+.

13. The Bold Type

Created by Sarah Watson, The Bold Type provides a mix of comedy and drama along with a healthy dose of great female friendships and fashion. It caters well to the Zillenial woman and explores being in your mid-twenties, which is surprisingly rarely focused on in TV.

Why watch The Bold Type? If you’ve ever envisioned working at Cosmo, or you love shows like Sex and the City, this show is right up your alley. The characters are extremely relatable, and you will spend hours talking with friends about the ups and downs of the show.

Touching on tough subjects — from parental trauma to questioning sexuality to health issues — we see two main enduring factors, the girls’ love for each other and their passion for life. It is heartwarming to see characters who don’t have it all figured out but lean into their found family to get through whatever comes their way.

You can watch The Bold Type on Hulu.

14. Killjoys

Created by Michelle Lovretta, Killjoys is a sci-fi series set in space — primarily the quad, to be more precise — that follows the adventures of a trio of reclamation agents. You’ll be hooked from the very first episode.

Space-themed shows are so often male-led and male-based, and so Killjoys is a breath of fresh air. Full of fun and witty characters, this show is worth a watch if sci-fi is your thing.

You can expect a lot of sarcasm, an amazing found family, and a good bit of ass-kicking in this series. The show also does a superb job with an overarching mystery that is introduced in Season 1 and is explored throughout the entire series. You’ll get a satisfying conclusion and some insane twists out of this series-spanning mystery.

It is also great to go into this show knowing at the end of it, you will get to give your sarcastic little space family a proper send-off. While no one likes saying goodbye to their favorite characters, knowing the growth and story is not thrown away at the end (looking at you Game of Thrones) makes it worth the ride.

You can watch Killjoys on syfy.com or on the Syfy app.

15. Wynonna Earp

Wynonna Earp is a supernatural western series created by Emily Andras, and yes it is just as fun as it sounds. It is funny, moving, and full of some of the most creative storytelling seen on TV in a while. We get three female protagonists, and all are allowed to be complex full characters. 

Another positive of this show is how respectful it is to their LGBTQ+ characters. While many shows still use the trauma of the LGBTQ+ community as story narratives or kill off couples before they can get a happy ending, Wynonna Earp celebrates its LGBTQ+ characters and gives them a love story they deserve. 

If you are into badass ladies, found families, amazing acting, and LGBTQ+ representation, you need to check out this show. It does well in balancing the supernatural and scary, with its touching moments leaving you with a chance to experience a whole spectrum of emotion in each episode.

Wynonna Earp is streaming on Netflix. 

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What are your favorite female-created shows? Any upcoming shows created by women that you are looking forward to? Leave a comment and let us know!

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