26 Iconic TV Shows Created by Kickass Women

Murphy Brown (played by Candice Bergen) was the queen of 1980s Pantsuit Nation. Creator Diane English won three Emmys for the show about the title character who was a fiercely single 40-something shattering the glass ceiling in media. The show, which ran from 1988 to 1998, defined the term groundbreaking when it portrayed Murphy's decision to become a single mother — and then-VP Dan Quayle derided her choice as a hit to American family values. Thankfully, because we could always use a reminder of this fierce feminine power, the series was rebooted with Bergen and creator English on board in 2018.

Several female foursomes have graced the small screen, but the ladies of the '80s-era sitcom Golden Girls were the first — and they were the brainchild of a woman: Susan Harris. Before Sex and the City, Girls, and more besties would navigate their lives in half-hour segments, Dorothy, Rose, Sophia, and Blanche did it, all with senior discounts.

In 1993, Yvette Lee Bowser had a big first: she became the first African-American woman to develop her own primetime series: Living Single starring Queen Latifah as one of a group of female friends making their way in New York. The series, which was basically Sex and the City before Sex and the City, was just one of many other important black sitcoms that Bowser worked on; before creating her own show, she had been a producer on A Different World and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.

Where would we be without Amy Sherman-Palladino's much-loved mother-daughter drama? So beloved it was resurrected in 2016 on Netflix, the series showed us how Rory and Lorelai could fast-talk their way through anything, pretty much blowing up the Bechdel test.

In addition to Gilmore Girls, Sherman-Palladino has delivered us the best feminist follow-up: the award-winning Amazon comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which follows a young Manhattan housewife's decision to become a stand-up comedian in the '50s.

Not only do we have another group of four friends on TV from a female showrunner (Linda Bloodworth-Thomason), but Designing Women also broke barriers by portraying them as running a successful business together. Set in Atlanta in the late '80s, each woman is a Southern belle, but with balls of steel.

Our first glimpse of Tina Fey was as the bespectacled, brilliant head writer and coanchor on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, but it would take her leaving SNL to give us what may be her legacy: 30 Rock. It's all goofy fun, but Liz Lemon and Tina Fey both ran the show, so it's also another important portrayal of a female leader.

OK, 30 Rock may end up being Fey's most important contribution, but her sophomore effort, Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, can't be overlooked. Again, it's goofy fun like its predecessor, but it tackles many serious themes, like mental health and PTSD.

After stints writing episodes of Mad About You, Gilmore Girls, and Will & Grace, Jenji Kohan created a series that remains one of Showtime's biggest hits to this day: Weeds. The comedy gave Mary-Louise Parker a chance to shine as Nancy Botwin, a single mother who begins selling marijuana in order to provide for her children. Nancy was a pioneer for women in primetime, a sexually unapologetic antihero who refuses to kowtow to the parade of dangerous men in her life. The role earned Parker a Golden Globe, and the show ran for eight seasons.

A year after Weeds ended, Jenji Kohan was back with another, even more groundbreaking series. Orange Is the New Black (along with House of Cards) put Netflix on the map, elevating it from a simple streaming service to an original content provider to be reckoned with. The story is based on a real woman's experience in an all-female prison, and the series focuses on the lives of the prisoners, shining a light on women with incredibly diverse backgrounds. Uzo Aduba (one of many women of color on the show) has taken home two Emmys for her role as Crazy Eyes, and the show — which is wrapping up with season seven — has been nominated year after year for various Golden Globes and SAG Awards.

Jenji Kohan also had a hand in getting another recent empowering TV series off the ground — she executive produces the '80s-set look at a ragtag team of the gorgeous ladies of wrestling. Co-created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, the diverse show isn't just about being a physically strong woman — it's about finding your tribe and the inherent strength in that. We can't wait for season three!

Mara Brock Akil has been working in TV for the last two decades, and after serving as a writer on shows like Moesha for four years, she created the seminal TV series Girlfriends for UPN, starring Tracee Ellis Ross. Akil has gone on to even bigger things, creating being Mary Jane and most recently, teaming up with her husband to create The CW's new superhero series Black Lightning.

The Marvel superhero series not only broke barriers for having a Marvel property with a female lead, but it's also run by Melissa Rosenberg. That's not all the show is doing for women: every season two episode was directed by a female director. Season three might be its last, but both Rosenberg's and Jessica's legacies will live on.

After writing movies like Crossroads and The Princess Diaries, Shonda Rhimes revolutionized TV with a little show called Grey's Anatomy. The series is one of primetime's hugest shows — even after 13 seasons — and has racked up Emmys for Katherine Heigl and Loretta Devine, not to mention its best TV drama Golden Globe. Yes, it's soapy and romantic, but so much of the show is about women pursuing their careers as physicians. The show also spawned another female-led spinoff, Private Practice.

Years after Grey's Anatomy became a certified hit, Rhimes launched Scandal. The Washington DC-set series stars Kerry Washington as a political fixer (inspired by a real badass woman!) who also happens to be carrying on an affair with the president. Olivia Pope refuses to play by anyone's rules but her own, and she's not the only feminist hero on the show: President Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) came a long way by the end of the series. Rhimes is also a producer on How to Get Away With Murder, another TGIT series led by a strong black woman: Emmy-winning Viola Davis.

While you're probably familiar with Jenji Kohan and Shonda Rhimes, you may not have heard the name Callie Khouri. It's a shame, because she's the writer behind 1991's Thelma & Louise and the creator of Nashville. The twisty drama featured an ensemble cast, with Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere at the center as two divas who represent country music's old school and new class. While it would be typical for writers to pit these two against each other for a good old-fashioned catfight (cringe), their relationship quickly turns from one of animosity to one of admiration.

Go ahead and write off The Mindy Project as a fluffy romantic comedy, but you'd be missing out. Mindy Kaling is a brilliant, hilarious, and hard-working showrunner who also happens to be one of the only Indian-American TV showrunners, and she's also an actress who starred in the show she created. The show has since ended, but she has tons of other incredible projects in the works.

Elizabeth Meriwether is the real-life Jessica Day, although probably considerably less awkward. After getting her foot into Hollywood by writing the screenplay for No Strings Attached, the talented Meriwether created New Girl. Zooey Deschanel signed on, and a new funny, driven female lead was born!

The CW was thriving on dark teen dramas (The Vampire Diaries, anyone?) when it took a chance and put Jane the Virgin on the air in 2014. No one was betting on a show based on a telenovela about a young Latina woman who is accidentally artificially inseminated during a routine check up at the doctor, but this show had showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman. She had been a producer on Gilmore Girls and 90210 and has led Jane to massive, Golden Globe-winning success. The show is about to embark on its last season, which is bittersweet since we can't imagine our lives without the three Villanueva women.

If it weren't for Jane the Virgin ushering in comedies at The CW, who knows if we would have Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Created by Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna, the show breaks down gender stereotypes one by one while addressing real issues like mental illness and adultery. Plus, there are songs like "Sex With a Stranger," "You Stupid B*tch," "Heavy Boobs," "I Gave You a UTI," and the classic tune "Period Sex." Feminist AF.

Lena Dunham's zeitgeisty drama is a result of both its time (millennial culture on high) and the TV shows before it. Dunham was only 26 when the show debuted on HBO in 2012, and she acted, wrote, directed, and produced it until the very end.

Based on a series of books by a woman (Sara Shepard) and adapted for TV by a woman (I. Marlene King), this show followed four young women (Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, and Shay Mitchell) as they sought to uncover the truth about their murdered friend. Ladies, ladies, and more ladies!

Jill Soloway bounced from Six Feet Under to Grey's Anatomy to United States of Tara (created by Diablo Cody!) as a writer before landing a show of her very own. Transparent has earned Amazon several Emmys and Golden Globes, thanks to its smart writing and fearless willingness to tell the story of a transgender woman and her unconventional family.

Issa Rae had some help co-creating her HBO show from Larry Wilmore, but the inspiration, her Awkward Black Girl blog, is all Rae. The show has had three seasons so far, and it's already a classic, touching on traditional themes of love and friendship, along with more modern ones of racial and social issues.

You may know about the hosts the show has had through the years, but did you know that the show was actually created and run by two women? Lizz Winstead and Madeleine Smithberg pitched the show to Comedy Central after getting a development deal with the network. After debuting in 1996 and redefining what news coverage can be, The Daily Show has become a cultural touchstone.

The Golden Globe-nominated series mirrors the life of its creator — Frankie Shaw was a single mother and working actress, and she created the series (an adaptation of her short film of the same name) to take charge of her own career and create her own work. Shaw writes, produces, directs, acts in, and is the showrunner for the series, which is on its second season.