8 TV Shows With Lovable Female Leads To Binge This Summer
Ah, summer. A time for enjoying the sun, relaxing and let’s be real, binge-watching any TV shows you never got the chance to during exam season. Fear not if you’re unsure of where to start, with these 8 TV shows with lovable female character leads to binge this summer, we’re sure you’ll find the perfect show for you to get started on.
1. Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt aired from 2015-2019 and starring Ellie Kemper as the title character, Tituss Burgess and Carol Kane. Following Kimmy from the day she is rescued from an underground bunker that she and 3 other women had been kidnapped and trapped in for the last 15 years. What makes Kimmy our lovable female lead is that while she has her moments, she stays positive and tries to put a smile on everyone else’s face while dealing with her own problems.
2. Orange Is The New Black
What starts by following new inmate at a women’s prison, Piper Chapman, who has been imprisoned for being a part of a drugs run a decade ago after her ex girlfriend rats her out in court. Not only has Piper’s life been turned upside down but she is also faced with her ex-girlfriend who got her imprisoned is in prison with her. Although Orange Is The New Black starts by following Piper, the show looks into the lives and pasts of all of the main and supporting characters throughout the seasons and goes on to deal with much more relevant and heartbreaking stories.
3. Girlboss
Girlboss tells the exaggerated story of how Sophia Amoruso came to start the now cult online clothing store, Nasty Gal. Cancelled after the first season and subject to a lot of criticism, I still think this is a great show and that Sophia Amoruso is a lovable female lead because she is not perfect, unlike so many boring perfect female characters we see on television all the time. Girlboss’s Sophia is (very) flawed, she’s rude, and ultimately she learns a lot on the road, just like we all do. Viewers can connect to Sophia to some degree because she’s a very real character and that’s what makes us love (or hate) her so much.
4. Russian Doll
Russian Doll is the brain child of Orange Is The New Black and American Pie star Natasha Lyonne. We follow her character, Nadia, on her 36th birthday party that her friend is throwing for her. When she leaves the party to go and find her missing cat she gets run over by a taxi and dies. After this she finds herself stuck in a time loop where she has to relive her birthday party until she can figure out why this is happening and how to end it. Nadia is a complex character and this is what makes viewers love her so much. On the surface she seems cold and mean but as we get to know her better, we understand why she is like this and what she’s like deep down.
5. Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017) was originally adapted from Sara Shepard’s book series of the same name. PLL follows a group of four friends who fell apart after their friend, Alison, disappears. A year later, her body is found and confirmed dead by authorities. The four girls all receive texts from an anonymous person on the lead to Alison’s funeral with secrets that only Alison knew and makes them all wonder, is she really dead? This show is about friendship, secrets, and a whole lot of drama and while all of the girls certainly have their flaws, they’re all real and lovable female characters that we can all relate to in some form.
6. Derry Girls
Derry Girls follows the lives of a group of friends trying to survive their last few years of an all girls (with the exception of Michelle’s English cousin, James) catholic secondary school in 90’s Derry, Ireland. In the midst of The Troubles, these lovable female leads and James manage to find themselves in many predicaments but get through it all with the help of their unbreakable bond and a whole lot of laughs.
7. The Good Place
The Good Place starts with the death of Eleanor Shellstrop as she wakes up in “The Good Place” or more commonly referred to as Heaven. The only problem is that Eleanor soon realizes that she does not belong there and has been mixed up with another Eleanor Shellstrop that died at the exact same time as her. This sitcom subtley teaches its viewers basic philosophy and morality lessons and while at first Eleanor is our antagonist, she soon becomes the lovable female lead that we all root for.
8. Dead To Me
Dead To Me is a gut punching dark comedy drama with some fantastic complex characters. We follow Christina Applegate’s character Jen, who has just lost her husband to a hit and run and is trying to keep life for herself and her two sons as normal as possible. She attends a grief support group where she meets our second leading lady, Linda Cardellini’s character, Judy and soon the two become inseparable.
