Hands up who’s been watching a LOT of Netflix lately? Go on, don’t be shy. I certainly have. At times during this bloody year, it’s been one of those small parts of my day where I can escape the dreaded news and just immerse myself in something fun. I watch a lot of Netflix but lately, I’ve been loving the female led shows on the platform!
In general, I prefer watching movies and shows with female leads. I always have done. Knowing it has a female lead always draws me in much more and I’m always interested in the way female characters are portrayed and their often complication lives and fascinating story arcs.
So today I wanted to share with you 7 recommendations of female led shows that you should add to your Netflix watch list! Some of these are very female led, whereas others have generally a wider range of female characters in the mix.
But within all of them, you’ll find strong female characters with incredible stories and fascinating lives who are part of a great series! Before we get into the post, if you want some more series and film recommendations, check out these additional posts:
- My Favourite Series I Watched In 2020
- 8 Things To Watch On Disney+
- 10 Horror Movies To Watch on Amazon Prime
Here are 7 female led Netflix shows to add to your watch list today!
Orphan Black
This post wouldn’t be right without first mentioning Orphan Black and Queen Tatiana Maslany. If you’re looking for a female led show, you can’t go wrong with one where the main actress plays the main character as well as more than 5 additional supporting characters too. Sci-Fi, clones, genetic engineering and an absolutely incredible set of characters.
The Queen’s Gambit
The world has gone crazy for The Queen’s Gambit since its release and if you’ve seen it, you’ll understand why. If you haven’t seen it, what on Earth are you waiting for? Anya Taylor-Joy is spectacular in every single way possible in this series and is an extremely strong female led show that you literally won’t be able to stop watching.
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Compared to it’s predecessor, The Haunting of Hill House, which had a fairly even distribution of focus between the male and female characters, Bly Manor is definitely more female led in the characters and storyline, especially with Dani and Jamie being the main lesbian couple of the show too. Although I preferred Hill House for it’s scare factor, Bly Manor is beautifully haunting.
Grace and Frankie
The thing I love about Grace and Frankie, is that it shines a light on older people, with both lead actresses being in their 80’s now. It shows us that people over the age of 70 can still have fun, experiment, change their path and create new romantic relationships in their lives. Plus it’s so freaking funny.
How To Get Away With Murder
Annalise Keating. Need I say more? Despite having an incredible mix of characters in this series, our main point is always Annalise. The series simply wouldn’t be the same without her. Viola Davis is one of my favourite actresses and has the ability to captivate anyone and everyone watching her. As well as her character Annalise, there are also various other strong female characters, such as Michael and Tegan in this show too.
Away
This is one of the most recent ones I’ve watched in this list and I’m gutted it’s not being renewed for a season 2 but still worth a watch, nonetheless. Although Away isn’t solely focused on the main character, Emma Green, it’s still an amazing show whereby a woman has the highest status in a potentially life-threatening mission to Mars. Hilary Swank is incredible and this show demonstrates female leadership incredibly.
Jane the Virgin
Ending with a more light-hearted one. I absolutely loved Jane the Virgin when I watched it a few years ago and it’s stuck with me ever since. As well as the main character being Jane, the show itself focuses heavily on female relationships within family ties, bonds between mothers and daughters as well as going after what you want.
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I loved Bly manor and Hill house. Now I’m currently watching Queen’s gambit. Reading and Netflix helps a lot in these times.
It sure does! Hope you enjoy 🙂
The only one I’ve seen of these is Orphan Black – and yep, now I’m feeling like a rewatch. Thanks for the recommendations for the rest, I need something new to binge!
Hope you enjoy your rewatch!
Ooh! I hadn’t heard of Away. Thanks for this, I needed something new to look forward to! I just finished Anne with an E. I liked it way more than I thought I would. It is an endearing coming of age series, but with timely social issues that prevent it from being too hallmark-y🌺
Sounds like my kinda show!
I think I need to watch haunting of bly manor! I loveeee Jane the Virgin! Great list of shows!
Both such great shows!
I loved the Haunting of Bly Manor! That one was so good! I haven’t watched any of these others yet so I will have to check them out. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hope you check out some of the others!
Oooooh…The Queen’s Gambit. So So good. I’ve watched a lot of these. Thanks for sharing. Just when we feel like we’ve gotten to the end of Netflix…. 😉
Haha you never get to the end of Netflix!
I love a strong female lead, and you have shared some amazing shows that provide dynamic, interesting, struggling, and growing female protagonists! Off this list, Grace and Frankie doubles with two female leads and is a comedy I am eager to watch season 7 of. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Yessss agree! Grace and Frankie is just fantastic x
Lovely recommendations. I will check some of them 🥰 thanks for sharing 😉
https://uncuaderno4cero.wordpress.com/
Thank you 🙂 x
I haven’t seen any of these but The Queen’s Gambit is on my list because I read the book recently and LOVED it. So now I want to see if the series lives up to the book – I’ve heard great things about it so fingers crossed! xx
Oooh I hope you love it! I’d love to read the book too x
Oh I do love a good netflix recommendation! I actually really enjoyed the haunting of bly manor – I’m going to have to add the rest to my watch list!
http://www.itsrebeccaellis.co.uk
I enjoyed it just not as much as Hill House however I loved the female led element of Bly Manor!
I enjoy female leads as well. Thanks for sharing your suggestions! I’ve been wanting to watch The Haunting of Bly Manor. Maybe I will finally get around to it.
Hopefully you do!
When I watched Orphan Black I was pretty amazed by the actress playing so many different characters as well. Another good show for that is iZombie (also on Netflix). The main character Liv eats people’s brains and gains their personality. She’s a different person almost every show.
Oh she’s just extraordinary, isn’t she?
Love the Haunting of Bly Manor. Even the ghost character was a strong female, and just added an element of femme fatale. Also really enjoyed The Queen’s Gambit. Thanks for sharing! Will look up some of the others.
Yesss I actually adored the episode where it went into the background of the ghost (can’t remember her name, sadly!)
Bump for The Queens Gambit. Awesome TV.
Such a great show!
I’ve not watched any of these, I’ll have to have a nosy and add some to my list! X
Oh no! Hope you enjoy! x
Some great Netflix series here Jenny! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you 🙂 x
I loved The Queen’s Gambit & I agree Hill House was better, but it was nice that there were more female lead characters.
Also Orphan Black is on my watch list & Away sounds so interesting.
I’ve been watching The Irregulars & it’s not entirely female led, but Bea is the leader of the group
Let me know your thoughts on Orphan Black! One of my favourite ever shows, it’s just incredible x
Awww I love Jane the Virgin so much. It was such a great show and I cried when it ended. I attempted The Queen’s Gambit, but was sadly unimpressed and kind of… bored? Ahhh don’t hate me! I know I should probably give it another shot haha. I mostly watch older shows, honestly, or just revisit my favorites (aka Gilmore Girls over and over and over). As for new shows that have a great female lead? I freaking LOVE Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. It has made me laugh and literally cry crocodile tears nearly every episode. So good!
I cried SO MUCH when it ended too! That final scene… with the narrator. It still gives me chills! The Queen’s Gambit is a bit of a slow burner but it gets much better as it goes along, so definitely give it another try!
Omg I love Grace and Frankie, been watching this for weeks and it’s so good 😊
It’s sooo good! Glad you love it 🙂
Oooh I needed a couple of new shows to add to my to watch list, thank you for this!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
You’re welcome! x
I absolutely LOVED the Queen’s Gambit, I binged it in a weekend
Rosie
Such an amazing show!
I’ve seen a few of these and my favs are Orphan Black and The Queen’s Gambit! I’ve actually watched the former twice and while I noticed many plot holes on my second watch, it is still one of my favourite shows. The concept and complexity make it so good!
I’ve seen Orphan Black twice too. It’s incredible. I never noticed any plot holes though but even if I did, it’s still incredible!
Love this list! Still have to watch The queens gambit and Orphan Black, but Grace and Frankie has been one of our favourites since it came out, their friendship is really something to aspire to! how to get away with murder has been my obsession couple of years back and really need to catch up with the last season! thanks for sharing x
Oh I know I just adore both of them! The last season is… something else! x
These all sound amazing and I haven’t actually watched any of them! I’ve had Grace and Frankie on my list for ages x
Watch it! It’s sooo good!
Hi Jenny! I don’t watch much TV but my brother loves Glow and speaks highly of The Crown too. I’ll suggest some on your list to him. Thanks for curating.
Love The Crown. I haven’t watched Glow yet though so I’ll have to give that a shot!
I loved Bly manor and the Queens Gambit. Brilliant TV! The others I have yet to check out but I will following your recommendation.
I really enjoyed Firefly lane as well and Dead to me is another good female lead one. I am going to miss my Netflix time after the last few chilled weeks at home!
I loved Firefly Lane! I watched the first series of Dead To Me and loved it but sadly couldn’t get into the next one! I also love Good Girls.
Weirdly I couldn’t either. Such a shame as the first was so good x