Help me find TV/movies featuring smart, capable, complicated women

March 29, 2020 9:08 AM

Hello! I just watched Unbelievable and was unexpectedly blown away and deeply, deeply satisfied by the relationship between the two lead detectives, played by Toni Collette and Merritt Wever. I had not known I was hungry for portrayals of women being awesomely competent, but apparently I am. So I am seeking more of that. Looking for TV shows and movies that I can binge-watch during the pandemic, that feature one or more smart, capable, ideally morally-complicated female characters in their thirties or older. Doesn't need to be workplace-centred, could be home/family, or something else.

I am extra-interested in stuff that's:

- bleak, gritty, dark
- morally complex
- featuring characters with flaws/interesting backstories
- English-language and especially British
- Available on Netflix, HBO, and/or Amazon

I'd prefer to avoid:

- historical drama / costume drama
- thrillers / sci-fi / fantasy (although realistic post-apocalypse dystopia is fine)
- coming-of-age type stories

I'm not super-into crime or mystery or police procedurals. For example I did not like Marcella. I'm watching The Stranger right now but not enjoying it much.

For reference, here's some stuff I've really liked: The Americans, Nurse Jackie, Better Things, Jessica Jones, On Becoming a God in Central Florida, and One Mississippi. I also liked Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Russian Doll, Horse Girl, Homeland, Fleabag, and The Good Wife. I initially liked The Handmaid's Tale, but stopped watching it when it got too trauma-porn-y. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was fun but too peppy.

Thank you for any recommendations!

posted by Susan PG to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (55 answers total)

Glow was unexpectedly good.
posted by chuke at 9:11 AM on March 29, 2020 [5 favorites]

Killing Eve
posted by alygator at 9:12 AM on March 29, 2020 [11 favorites]

Damages
posted by JackBurden at 9:13 AM on March 29, 2020 [4 favorites]

The Fall (first two seasons). The third went off the rails.
posted by duvatney at 9:13 AM on March 29, 2020 [5 favorites]

Madame Secretary suffers the common TV trope of having the main character be too competent and talented and good, but that just just may be a bonus when it comes to your criteria.
posted by sardonyx at 9:14 AM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Good Behavior
Mrs. Fletcher
posted by Ornate Rocksnail at 9:15 AM on March 29, 2020

Scott and Bailey! It's like an urban cop show in the UK except with women where all the men should be (and a few token men). It's complex, the characters have ups and downs and there's five seasons though I'm not sure how/where to watch it. I know you said no cops/mysteries but I'd try it since it hit all your other points.
posted by jessamyn at 9:16 AM on March 29, 2020 [10 favorites]

Pearson has only had one season but it might be worth some of your time.
posted by sardonyx at 9:16 AM on March 29, 2020

The Fall is a bleak, British police procedural with absolutely no humor, as well as some trauma-porn tendencies. Also Gillian Anderson is amazing in it. Last I knew it was available on Netflix.

Better Call Saul is morally complex, English language, available on Netflix, crime-centric, and possibly more male than you're looking for, but Kim (Rhea Seahorn) is a fantastic actress, and her character is both exceptionally competent and personally flawed. It's a prequel series to Breaking Bad but stands on its own; you don't need to have seen BB to get BCS.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 9:18 AM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Happy Valley!
posted by matildaben at 9:24 AM on March 29, 2020 [12 favorites]

I think you will really like Broadchurch. It is a mystery show, but it transcends the genre, and is overall beautiful and brilliant and often painful to watch. And Ellie Miller is one of the truly great female characters, and Olivia Colman breathes incredible life into her.
posted by kalimac at 9:27 AM on March 29, 2020 [9 favorites]

If you wish you could see June from the Handmaid's Tale in a position of more [overt] power, Elisabeth Moss is brilliant in Top of The Lake.
posted by unstrungharp at 9:28 AM on March 29, 2020 [9 favorites]

Arrival. I think it’s still on Amazon.
posted by peep at 9:39 AM on March 29, 2020 [8 favorites]

Vera is great for this imo. And there are 10 seasons. I watch it on Acorn via Amazon Prime.
posted by rdnnyc at 9:44 AM on March 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

Seconding Happy Valley, and adding Last Tango in Halifax.
posted by MexicanYenta at 9:45 AM on March 29, 2020 [6 favorites]

Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder both really scratch this itch for me.
posted by somedaycatlady at 9:47 AM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Longshot recommendations:

Alias Grace (Netflix, smart, morally complex, darkish, flawed central character, English-language, historical, sorta police procedural but the woman is the criminal, not the investigator)

Anne With an E (Netflix, focal character in teens but has several significant characters who are smart/competent/30+, home/family, rarely but occasionally dark, English-language, historical, coming-of-ageish)

Jane the Virgin (Netflix, smart/capable central women, central characters in their twenties but with significant 30+ characters who get their own plots, mostly English-language but it's helpful to know Spanish or have the closed-captioning on, the opposite of bleak overall but individual plot twists sometimes appear to be headed that way, takeoff on / homage to telenovelas, some coming-of-age elements, mix of home/family/work)

Rita (Netflix, morally complex, personally flawed, smart/competent, 30+, Danish with subtitles, mix of home/work)

Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix, smart, 30+, English-language, mostly avoids backstories, sci-fi-ish, home-centric, pretends to be morally complex occasionally but is not, funny, occasionally gory, not dark/grim at all)

Sense8 (Netflix, several female leads but they're all 28 years old, smartness and competence variable but generally at least one of them is being smart at any given moment, some backstory, mostly English-language, sci-fi, some dark/grim)

She's Gotta Have It (Netflix, English-language, smart/competent/personally-flawed lead in her 20s, not especially bleak, possibly more focused on romance than you're looking for)

Z Nation (Netflix, English-language, needs a few episodes to settle into itself, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, mood ranges from grim to very silly and back again -- often within the same episode or scene -- ensemble but has multiple female characters who are extremely smart and competent, not particularly morally complex)
posted by Spathe Cadet at 9:47 AM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Seconding Vera.
posted by Peach at 10:03 AM on March 29, 2020

Nthing The Fall, Broadchurch, Happy Valley, Killing Eve. I’d also recommend The Killing.
posted by lomes at 10:03 AM on March 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

Watchmen (esp. if Jessica Jones wasn't too fantasy-y for you)
posted by unknowncommand at 10:04 AM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

The original Gloria.
posted by madstop1 at 10:05 AM on March 29, 2020

The first season (and only the first season) of UnREAL -- which is a show I learned about through FanFare if you want to go digging through the archives -- would really tick your morally complex box. (The remaining seasons are just painfully bad.)
posted by sardonyx at 10:08 AM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

YES absolutely Happy Valley. Don't be misled by the title, it's definitely bleak, gritty and dark. Catherine Cawood is brilliant but definitely morally complex and there's a gnarly back-story. Only thing is, she's a cop so I guess it's a crime drama. But it's also about her family and relationships, and I'd urge you to give it a go, it's brilliant.
posted by penguin pie at 10:16 AM on March 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

Harlots on Hulu. I didn't think it would be so complex and thoroughly feminist.
posted by RedEmma at 10:19 AM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but Alan Rudolph's "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" might hit some of your bullet points. We did a re-watch this morning. An Amazon rental.
posted by baseballpajamas at 10:28 AM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Homeland with the incredible Claire Danes. If you liked The Americans I think you will love this show.
posted by muddgirl at 10:46 AM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: OMG THANK YOU! These are fantastic recommendations & I've added them all to my watchlist. Please keep adding more if you have any :)
posted by Susan PG at 11:33 AM on March 29, 2020

Tuca and Bertie, created by Lisa Hanawalt (production designer and a producer of the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman), is pretty cool. It's an animation, so i'm not sure if that's your cup of tea.
posted by bitteroldman at 11:34 AM on March 29, 2020 [5 favorites]

Came to suggest Happy Valley. Nthing it, I guess. The first season is extraordinary.

And for my money, the best female characters ever on a TV show are in Deadwood. Trixie, Joanie, Alma, Jane... phenomenal.
posted by dobbs at 11:40 AM on March 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

Line of Duty, though it's cops.
posted by dobbs at 11:41 AM on March 29, 2020

If you're going to watch The Killing, which I do recommend, try finding the original European version. The American version pales.
posted by dobbs at 11:43 AM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

All Rise (on CBS All Access if you can get it) Features an African American woman who just became a judge is LA. There are a number of strong female characters on the show.
posted by kathrynm at 12:54 PM on March 29, 2020

The Black Mirror Episode 'Hated in the Nation' ticks all your boxes: bleak, gritty, dark, morally complex, English language, Netflix, and the two protagonists are highly competent women in their 30s/40s.
posted by googly at 1:13 PM on March 29, 2020

Oh! Also, Godless (Netflix). Featuring Merritt Wever in a completely different, yet still totally badass, role. Vaguely historical, in that it's a Western, but it's super-good.
posted by unknowncommand at 1:19 PM on March 29, 2020

- bleak, gritty, dark
- morally complex
- featuring characters with flaws/interesting backstories
- English-language and especially British
- Available on Netflix, HBO, and/or Amazon

Marion Bridge (Amazon 2.99 to rent, might be Prime?) Canadian film, not British.
posted by loveandhappiness at 1:36 PM on March 29, 2020

Homeland. The Good Fight.
posted by The Deej at 1:40 PM on March 29, 2020

Maybe Enlightened. Laura Dern stars as a work-hard/play-hard office worker who had a nervous breakdown after being victimized by her boss. She goes to rehab in Hawaii and reinvents herself as a caring, empathetic person. But it’s difficult to put those principles in action at her old job.

It’s not bleak. You might be able to call it optimistic, but I wouldn’t, because the heroine encounters resistance every step of the way. But she doesn’t let that disrupt her values, including kindness and turning the other cheek.

It aired on HBO a decade ago so I’m pretty sure it’s on Amazon Prime.
posted by Monochrome at 1:43 PM on March 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

Vida is a great show that doesn't get enough attention - it's about two Latina women who come home after their mother dies and discover she was married to a woman and that the family business was on the verge of collapse. They have to deal with each other, their mother's widow, and other people in the community. Almost the entire cast is made up of smart, morally complicated women who sometimes work together, and sometimes are at odds with each other.
posted by lunasol at 1:43 PM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Agent Carter!
posted by desuetude at 2:07 PM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Orphan Black! It’s an excellent show.
posted by hazel79 at 2:26 PM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Orange is the New Black.

The cast is almost all female and the characters very diverse in terms of race, age, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status. There’s humour, especially at the beginning, but still, it is set in a women’s prison. It also gets progressively darker with each season. The last season was grim and heart wrenching but excellent.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:11 PM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Orphan Black might push your thriller / sci-fi / fantasy limit just a little bit, but it's entertaining and the central performance(s) by Tatiana Maslany is remarkable.
posted by doift at 3:26 PM on March 29, 2020 [4 favorites]

Dead to Me (trailer).
posted by dobbs at 3:49 PM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

I watched the entire run of Cagney & Lacey not long ago and enjoyed the hell out of it. I can't remember where I watched it, and I'm not sure if it's still streaming anywhere. Costar John Karlen just passed away a few weeks ago, IIRC.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:21 PM on March 29, 2020

You might really enjoy Queen Sugar. It has several complex female characters who are strong and competent in all kinds of ways. It definitely has some bleak/gritty moments.
posted by corey flood at 4:48 PM on March 29, 2020

HALT AND CATCH FIRE!!!!!!!!!!
posted by colorblock sock at 5:13 PM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Law & Order: SVU! Not sure where it's available but Detective Benson (Mariska Hargity) is a fantastic character. She and her partners investigate sex crimes and they're all (especially Stabler) compassionate, helpful, just and people with major backstories. There are a few episodes where Benson is in danger that can get distressing but overall it might be up your alley.
posted by bendy at 8:23 PM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

"Stumptown". Female lead, competent but definitely with flaws and an interesting backstory. Basically a PI Procedural but it rises above that quite often.
posted by mmoncur at 3:42 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

+1 for Top of the Lake. Elizabeth Moss, yes, but also a great supporting role for Holly Hunter as this feminist guru leading a band of middle-aged women as they set up camp on a disputed parcel of land...at the top of the lake.

Also +1 for Halt and Catch Fire. Two great female characters, excelling in male-dominated tech roles. There's a bit of fall-off in quality in one of the early seasons, but it finished very strong, one of the most emotionally satisfying endings of anything I've seen recently. Loved this show.

20th Century Women is maybe too much of a coming-of-age story, but it could be a good palate cleanser between the dark 'n gritties.
posted by Bron at 7:26 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

I don't know where it might be available, but Prime Suspect is a detective show starring Helen Mirren which is single season stories that all follow a single overarching social theme and the characters are really well drawn and Mirren herself is brilliant in the role.
posted by hippybear at 9:36 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]

Borgen is a Danish series (with English subtitles) that follows an idealistic politician as she becomes Prime Minister, and how her ideals are ground down by reality, and then she's out of power and what that's like. Also the journalists who follow her, at first bedazzled and then more down to earth. Great acting, funny, examines the impact of politics on the individual, their families, as well as the state. Thirty hour-long episodes!
posted by Jesse the K at 9:39 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]

Oh, Prime Suspect is apparently, all seven seasons, on Prime Video.
posted by hippybear at 10:12 AM on March 30, 2020

Black Sails. Yes, I know it's historical, but listen.

It is incredibly morally complex, and quite dark, and features at least half a dozen strong, capable women, with their own hopes and dreams and fuck-ups, all being awesome in their own ways.
posted by snakeling at 3:46 PM on March 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

Seconding Z Nation and Santa Clarita Diet, especially if you like some (or a lot) of humor mixed in.

I'm about halfway through Queen Sono on Netflix, and I think that's a possibility.

Pushing your criteria a little, maybe:

Bordertown (Netflix) is a Finnish sort of "cop noir" TV series set in a small city on the Finland/Russia border. While the main character is definitely the (non-neurotypical) male detective, his woman partner is a former Russian cop (with a lot of shady connections because of her complicated past), and his wife is important in the local government, which complicates both investigations and their personal life.

Black Spot is a Belgian/French show on Netflix where the female police chief of a very isolated forest town has an odd new town prosecutor show up who pushes her into investigating why her town has such a high crime rate and so many reports of weird phenomena. (Recommended based on Jessica Jones & Russian Doll)

Not sure if the last two have English dub versions, but Netflix definitely does subtitles.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:20 PM on March 30, 2020

We have just finished watching the second season of an Australian TV show called Wanted, and it is exactly the kind of thing that meets your criteria. (Available on Canadian Netflix, so probably on American Netflix as well.) It was created and produced by Rebecca Gibney who plays one of the leads. Plot: Two women are thrown together by circumstance and end up on the run together. One is in her 40s and one is in her late 20s; both are complex with interesting backstories.

I love seeing how their relationship develops and is the primary relationship in the series, NOT a romantic relationship with a man. I also find it refreshing that (as the linked article mentions), sexual violence against women--which is so often used to propel the plot in TV or movies--does not come into play here.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:41 AM on April 14, 2020