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Amazing Women On Our TV Screens!

Television has come a long way. While I'm still not satisfied with the severe lack of diversity on our televisions (on mostly mainstream shows... that air all over the world) I have to say, I have been quite pleased with a lot of the female characters we've been seeing lately. Both the characters they play, and the women themselves.

Women that don't necessarily fit a stereotype, who can fall in love, be vulnerable and still be kick ass. Who won't take your shit. Or who give people they love more chances than they deserve. Those that don't fall in love, aren't sexual, and still have a character arc you are invested in. Those that perpetually live in the grey area between good and evil, some that might even lean a bit into the latter. Manipulative women you root for, powerful women you'd stand behind, women with causes, women who have fun, all sorts of women.

So this Fangirl Friday, I'm going to share a list of just a few of my favorite women on our television screens right now (reruns count). And lets hope this list just continues to grow in years to come. 

There will be spoilers! And some pretty hardcore fangirling! Be warned!

Nikkie Beharie as Lt. Abbie Mills :

Where do I even start with Abbie Mills? Sleepy Hollow would not be what it is without her amazing character. (Wench Barb and I fangirl about her a LOT!)

Say that to her face.

Abbie is amazing. With her quiet strength. Her brave heart. She's strong, she's smart, she's brave, and selfless. She is dedicated, both to her cause and to the people around her. Not to mention she has a sense of humor in the face of some PRETTY bleak things! Gotta love a gal like that!

She has this no nonsense attitude I ADORE. She exists in this crazy world, and she takes it all in a stride. She's the kind of female lead we've all been waiting eons for on our tv screens. And we would watch a show with her just being her awesome self and no one else in it in a heartbeat. Nikkie Beharie is amazing. Team Abbie Mills FTW! (Or just Team Mills! Jenny is amazing too! and both of them together as a team? Yes, please!)

The Mills sisters are amazing!

Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett :

I've often wanted to write a fangirl post on Beckett from Castle. To me, she's one of the best written women on television EVER. And I have SUCH a crush on her (and Stana). Beautiful Beckett, smart Beckett, with the ability to geek out JUST as hard as Castle. 

She is amazing at her job, has strong friendships and family ties, is insanely sexy and knows it, is fun, is funny, and knows EXACTLY how great she is. And her character growth.. WOW.

She's a female character that refuses to settle for a box. Just because she's in the "I can kill you with my bare hands" box, doesn't mean she's not going to get extremely comfortable in the "I am sexy enough to seduce a nun and I know it" box. She wants love, she wants life, she wants it all. And she had better fucking getting it. 

Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter :

 Ah, Peggy! I cannot be the only one who squealed with joy when they announced Marvel's Agent Carter! Peggy deserved her very own show! 

So wise.

With her perfect hair, her KILLER lipstick, her absolutely amazing ass kicking skills (more street than the usual "trained martial arts" cliche we usually see in female ass kickers), her wit, her supreme tolerance for the absolute neanderthals around her, how can you NOT adore her?

I have a love/hate relationship with Marvel. Mostly because I can count the number of women of color in lead roles in their movies and series in the past two decades on one hand. It isn't pretty. And something they don't seem willing to do anything about. But this, this needed to be done. Women in lead roles sell, people! Peggy Carter is amazing! Renew this series for the love of Stan Lee! WE NEED MORE PEGGY!

Danai Gurira  as Michonne :

We all sat up with interest when Michonne popped up on our screens in the third season of The Walking Dead. From her interesting way of getting around (through) walkers, to her MAD skills with that katana (fun fact, Danai was good with swords pre-TWD!) to how she was clearly dealing with a lot from her past. 

Michonne took her time becoming part of the Rick family. She was understandably cautious. But willing. She was a hard character in the beginning, tough on the outside and in so it seemed. But her friendship with Andrea was just a hint of her loyalty and depth. 

I LOVE her relationship with Carl. 

I know we all have "If Daryl Dies We Riot" tees, but we need "If Michonne dies We Riot" ones too. Because we all need more Michonne in our lives.

Melissa McBride as Carol :

Carol Peletier has had one helluva journey from when we first met her in season 1. With her abusive husband around, she was a meek, barely there character that one hardly noticed. Once he was taken care of, she seemed to just become a part of the group with her daughter Sophia, but then Sophia was taken from her. And somewhere along the line, Carol adapted.

If you had told me back then that Carol would SINGLE handedly save the group from a town of cannibals, I would have laughed. If you had told me she would do things for the group that no one else would even think out loud, I would have laughed even harder. But Carol has done things that can wreak havoc with one's soul, and come out better for it.

This season, it has been AMAZING watching her put on the Stepford act for the town people of Alexandria. She's a survivor. And she SHOULD be one of the last ones standing. Also, her relationship (calm down, non Caryl shippers, I'm just talking about their friendship) with Daryl is my favorite thing ever. 

Bonus gifs because this scene was the best thing ever. EVER. 

Caryl Forever ;)

Yeah, I loved this too. 

Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz : 

Right?!

I'll admit I didn't love Brooklyn Nine Nine from the get go. I did keep watching because it was one of the shows with more diversity on TV. And I'll give that a chance any day. But you know what I did love from the get go? Rosa. 

TRUTH, Rosa.

Yes, I loved her hair, and her style. But I also loved how SHE was the tough, no nonsense, bad ass cop in the precinct. And man, I am a sucker for women like that. 

I love it when things make Rosa smile.

She's brave in the face of so much, and yet has been vulnerable when it comes to feelings, like the rest of us. She owns her attractiveness and bad-assery, she's loyal to her friends, she hasn't tried killing Jake even though he tries her patience pretty often, and she has just as much fun as everyone else being immature and silly. What's not to love? (Gina is my second favorite character. LOVE Chelsea Peretti! Amy Santiago deserves a shout out too.)

Pretty solid post break up advice.

Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth :

Brienne from Game Of Thrones. What can I say about Brienne that hasn't already been said (better) by others? Loyal, strong, brave Brienne. 

Not easily intimidated, an excellent swordsman, smart, and tough enough to go through life hearing absolutely nasty comments about her looks. And to not let them get to her as much as possible. I don't think anyone else would have nudged Jaime along the path of character development like she did. 

She refuses to take anyone's shit. Including Jaime's. Plus, watching Gwendoline Christie play her is a treat! 

Viola Davis as Annalise Keating :

How To Get Away With Murder is easily one of the most diverse shows on TV right now. And also one of the best. Viola Davis as Annalise is a BIG reason why.

Annalise is insanely smart, extremely successful, ambitious, driven, sexual, and also deeply troubled, torn, manipulative, cold and ruthless. She is a heady combination of all those things, and so much more. Her moral compass is completely subjective. Right and wrong isn't always as simple as it seems. And you see yourself nodding along to her even when she's getting a killer reduced jail time.

When all is said and done, as the lies get more complicated, and as the dead bodies keep piling up, you still find yourself rooting for Annalise. (PS- Lately Laurel is getting pretty interesting as a character too. But I doubt she'll ever achieve the layers to her character that Annalise has. Although giiirrrrlll, keeping MacKayla's ring. NICE.)

Lucy Liu as Joan Watson :

I've already talked about how much I LOVE Lucy Liu here. The very testosterone ruled world of Sherlock remakes needed a Joan Watson. And they couldn't have picked anyone better than Liu. She's an amazingly well rounded character, in a way that most Watson's aren't. She's independent, compassionate, loyal, a quick learner, a healer, a partner, and so much more. 

You tell him!

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy :

Did you really think I was going to leave out BUFFY?! Kick ass, sassy, fucking amazing Buffy.

Buffy who is everything every girl wanted to be when the show first aired. And was full of little truths and wisdoms and took no shit from anyone. 

She fell in love (boy, did she), she had friends, she had a life. Sometimes the cards life dealt her sucked major ass, and she complained, but did she ever balk in the face of any of it? Nope. What else is there to say, really? Buffy is the gift that keeps on giving. 

Gillian Anderson as Superintendant Stella Gibson :

Gillian Anderson as ANYTHING, EVER is what I actually mean. But Stella Gibson from The Fall is a pretty great character even if Gillian hadn't played her.

She's well aware of what the men she works with think of her. How uncomfortable they are with her openness about her sexuality. Her confidence. Her refusal to feel any sort of shame or remorse for any of it.

And she has absolutely no issues calling them all out on their bullshit. It's honestly just a joy to watch them squirm.

Gillian Anderson as Agent Dana Scully :

NO list of mine would be complete without Dana fucking Scully. Come on. I was eleven when I first fell completely in love with her, and trust me, it's only gotten worse since then. 

Sigh. The way she puts up with Mulder's puppy like enthusiasm about all things unexplained, what a great partner she is in the face of everything. The things she's been through. It's hard not to admire the woman she is. 

Scully doesn't have time for your shit.

I still want to be her when I grow up. I always will. She is a goddess! 

AMEN!

The Ladies of Doctor Who :

I'm a Whovian. Well, at least was till very recently. Does it still count if I watched it literally all my life but haven't been able to in the past couple of seasons? Anyway, I adore a lot of the women in the series. 

Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith :

Kicked all sorts of space ass in the 70s, all the way through to her untimely and tragic death in 2011. 

You got that right, Sarah Jane.

Billie Piper as Rose Tyler :

I know a lot of people are divided on this. Most complaints I've heard are about her age, her "working girl" status, or her accent. All superficial things that actually don't matter. What matters is a girl who barely got through her A-Levels becoming Defender of the Earth, and so much more. My absolute favorite companion from NuWho.

Freema Agyeman  as Doctor Martha Jones :

Martha. I can't stand any of the Martha hate. People judge her for having a thing for the Doctor, initially. But really, there's so much more to her than that. SHE left him on her own terms, she became a Doctor, and then so much more. She realized her worth pretty early on. And continued to kick ass long after her last trip on the tardis. 

Catherine Tate as Donna Noble :

The character with the most tragic ending (no she doesn't die) but her journey was amazing. Not everyone is cut out to be the Doctor's bestie, but she was. Donna never took anyone's shot (except her mother's..) and she wanted to explore the galaxy. She was loyal, compassionate (like Rose and Martha) but also very much the Doctor's equal on a level none of the others really were. Oh Donna, you were always so much more than "just a temp."

Gina Torres as ANYTHING :

Gina Torres is the ultimate Wonderwoman fancasting. Of course, DC will keep giving us endless Batman and Superman movies, but they'll never cast her as Wonderwoman and give her own movie. I'm not complaining...

She stole everyone's hearts in Firefly as Zoe :

And is still being absolutely amazing in Suits, Hannibal, and hopefully more!

Honorable Mentions!

I need to mention these ladies because they are a JOY to watch on screen and I love that they are gracing our TV screens. They're just as kick ass as the rest. But my list got too long...

Mindy Kaling as Doctor Mindy Lahiri :

The Mindy Project is one of the best things on TV right now. It hits all the right spots! It's hilarious, heartwarming, smart, witty. And Mindy is the center of that crazy world. I mean, I even find her Celeb gossip obsession charming.. and I hate that shit! But she's so much more than her superficiality and lightheartedness. 

Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset :

I cannot leave this amazing lady out of this post. It would be a travesty. Laverne Cox as the awesome hair stylist in Orange Is The New Black had me from the get go. It's such an eye opening and compelling story line, which had me going WTF when the Doctor wouldn't let her go to another doctor to renew her hormone treatment prescription. Wow. People are dicks. But my fave, Sophia teaching her fellow inmates about their bodies. You go girl!

Let this be the beginning of more diverse women on our screens. May they have full lives, may they not be trapped in eternal love triangles, or pine away for babies and a white picket fence all the time, may they all want different things in life! SHOW us all the kinds of women in the world, TV writers! We've been waiting a long time for this! 

Bonus gif :

(I loved Claire Holt as Rebekah in The Originals. Even though Julie Plec seems incapable of writing women in anything but love triangles, or in unrequited love, Rebekah was amazing.)

Seriously, dude. Don't touch strangers
without permission. Pretty basic.

So, Readers! Who would you add to this list? I'm sure there are more kick ass women out there who deserve to be mentioned!