21 Netflix Shows With Female Leads You Can Stream Right This Minute

Based on the bestselling memoirs of Jennifer Worth, Call the Midwife is just as funny as it is moving. The period drama follows new midwife Jenny as she navigates East End London in the 1950s along with the help of her fellow midwives.

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Alexa & Katie is your standard sitcom about two best friends about to start their first year of high school, but with an emotional twist: Alexa is going through cancer treatments. Together, the girls face every up and down that comes with raging hormones, fitting in, and trying times in the hospital.

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Melissa Benoist stars in this TV adaptation of Kara Zor-El's story, which sees her juggling her extraordinary powers with the rest of her life.

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At the heart of Santa Clarita Diet, a pulpy zombie comedy, is a stellar performance from Drew Barrymore. The actress goes for it while playing the literally bloodthirsty Sheila, gleefully chowing down on human flesh and splashing blood all over the place. But it's her tender, realistic relationships with husband Joel (Timothy Olyphant) and daughter Abby (Liv Hewson) that ground the show in reality and make it worth a binge.

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Glow is a quick watch, but it will undoubtedly leave you wanting more. The core storyline might seem like one you've seen 100 times before on any given soap opera — a woman sleeps with her best friend's husband, drama ensues — but the '80s wrestling comedy effortlessly rises above cliché and blesses us with a diverse set of female performances.

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Alias Grace is twisted — let's just get that out of the way right now. The adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel of the same name is an affecting period piece that follows a domestic servant in Canada who is accused and convicted of the murder of her employer. But did she do it? Or did she trick someone else into doing it for her? The questions will eat away at you as you burn through all six episodes.

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Shonda Rhimes's crown jewel gets better every time you watch it. From the iconic friendship between Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) to their ambitious journeys to becoming excellent surgeons, it's filled with badass moments that will make you want to stand up and cheer . . . and then sob, obviously.

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Clare-Hope Ashitey stars as the deeply flawed lawyer at the center of Seven Seconds, which digs into the tragic case of a young black boy killed by a cop. Despite an alcohol addiction and a series of bad decisions, Ashitey manages not to make her character, KJ, come off as a caricature. Not to mention, the scenes she shares with costar (and powerhouse) Regina King are some of the best in the season.

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Five seasons in, Orange Is the New Black still manages to captivate viewers, thanks to its seriously stacked cast. While all of the inmate stories are engrossing, Taystee's (Danielle Brooks) fight for justice for the murdered Poussey (Samira Wiley) throughout season five is one of the drama's most moving performances to date.

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Jane the Virgin is one of the few genuinely heartwarming shows on TV at the moment, but don't think for one second that prevents it from tackling important issues. Abortion, grief, motherhood, and sex are just a small portion of the topics the series regularly explores. On top of that, is there anyone who can make audiences cry with a subtle change of facial expression the way Gina Rodriguez does each week? Damn.

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Viola Davis really sinks her teeth into playing Annalise Keating, a brilliant, charismatic law professor and criminal defense attorney. Watching her deal with How to Get Away With Murder's increasingly outrageous situations is an entertaining roller coaster that's not to be missed.

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At first glance, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a quirky, musical comedy. Give it a deeper look, however, and you'll realize it's a superb meditation on depression and dealing with mental illness.

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What would a list of shows with badass female protagonists be without a mention of The Crown? The real-life stories of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret are as interesting and dynamic as the actresses playing them — Claire Foy and Vanessa Kirby, respectively.

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Two incredible actresses over the age of 70 leading a hilarious, touching comedy? That's a rare gift in Hollywood these days, so thank god for Grace and Frankie. The Netflix original introduces us to Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin), two former rivals who find common ground when their husbands announce they've fallen in love with each other and want to get married. Just watch it and let yourself be charmed, OK?

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Will I ever get tired of watching Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) say, "It's handled"? No. Never. Scandal, another Shonda Rhimes gem, has been one of the leading shows featuring a complex female lead for years, following Olivia's life as the leader of a crisis-management firm (and, OK, her steamy relationship with President Fitzgerald Grant).

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The Good Place — which questions what happens when someone meant for hell ends up in heaven — is a lot deeper than you might expect, and it includes memorable (and hilarious) performances from Kristen Bell and Jameela Jamil.

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The twisted cat-and-mouse game that plays out between a passionate policewoman (Gillian Anderson) and an ice-cold serial killer (Jamie Dornan) in The Fall will have you rooted to your couch until you get through every single episode. Anderson — and her impressive collection of silk blouses — is a revelation.

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If you still haven't fallen in love with Gilmore Girls yet, I'm not sure what to tell you. Rory and Lorelai Gilmore are one of TV's most iconic mother-daughter duos, if not the most iconic, and they will have you laughing, crying, and craving junk food faster than you can say, "Paul Anka."

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Zany comedies more your style? Give Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt a try. Ellie Kemper stars as a sheltered woman rescued from a doomsday cult who decides to start her life over in New York City with some truly eccentric new friends. You'll never hear the phrase "females are strong as hell" the same way again.

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Netflix's adaptation of Spike Lee's 1986 film might not be perfect, but few protagonists are as interesting as Nola Darling (DeWanda Wise). The talented artist delivers an entertaining masterclass on what not to do when you're stuck between three men (and one woman) while also trying to figure out your own life.

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Oh, Jessica. Where would we be without your leather jacket and your snark? The spiky P.I. and superhero vigilante's first season is dark and addicting and offers us a painfully realistic look at abuse, thanks to villain Kilgrave. Season two is just as thrilling, so hop on the Jessica Jones train before it's too late.

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