Women’s Month: 8 shows made by women that offer fresh perspective

It’s not about being strong, it’s not about being mom – it’s about perspective, the things you see differently because the world treats you as The Other.  

If you’re feeling a bit been-there-seen-that, set aside that show or movie about “one angry man” for a moment, and see reality through a new set of eyes. How? Easy! Watch something that women made. The people who make TV and movies impact the stories we tell, how we talk about them, what we say, and what people look like on screen. And when you’re The Other to this world, you see reality differently. Start with these eight shows that bring a fresh perspective to entertainment.  

1. A Black Lady Sketch Show 

We are living in a blessed and highly favoured era thanks to this sketch comedy series, written and performed by a who’s-who of Black women who we need to see more of in comedy. Watch it, and you’ll see why that would be a win for everybody. See a mother’s Oscar-worthy meltdown after her daughter gets rid of her family legacy – enough plastic grocery bags to choke 50 whales. Attend a basketball-style church baptism baby dunkathon. See Colman Domingo, aka Euphoria’s Ali, going head-to-head with activist Hadassah Olayinka Ali-Youngman, Pre-PhD (Robin Thede) – the Noperah of talk show hosts.

And settle on the couch for the talk show in which office workers sound off about everything from diversity training that taps you in as the (unpaid) in-office expert on critical race theory, to Typhoid Terence, the office plague rat. Even when the issue being poked has never once happened in your life, you’ll get into it. But relatable or debatable, it gives reality a spin – like a baby doll on a deacon’s finger.  

Watch A Black Lady Sketch Show S1-4 now » 

2. Insecure 

Series creator and star Issa Rae translates her own experiences as a young Black woman carving out a place for herself in LA’s cutthroat entertainment industry into this lighthearted dramedy series focused on best friends Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji). While it’s about the relatable chaos of growing your career and looking for love in your late 20s, it’s also an insider look at making your choices from a place that the world frames as “otherness”. If you’re constantly expected to prove yourself while watching others float by you on a cloud of “potential”, you know the struggle.

Now, get ready to laugh about it, because there’s nothing more healing than having a ride-or-die friend to compare notes with for a sanity and reality check. Let Issa and Molly’s pointed, witty observations reframe your experience with irreverent humour, as they figure out how to choose themselves and guard their mental health without being selfish.  

Watch Insecure S1-5 now » 

Also watch: Insecure: The End. Filmed during the fifth and final season, this documentary is both a making of, and a celebration of Insecure’s cultural impact. 

3. Run the World 

You’re not the sassy sidekick, you’re the whole show! Writer-producer Leigh Davenport spent more than 10 years lovingly shaping this uplifting girl-gang comedy series centred on four Black female friends in their 30s who’re joyfully embracing life and love in Harlem, in New York City. This series is a love letter to female friendship and how it heals, uplifts and encourages, while allowing you to make mistakes and share vulnerability. Finding it is like making a friend who’s not afraid to get real and relatable, then diving into a girls’ night that you never want to end. If you’re a Black woman, you’ll recognise moment after moment that you’ve never seen before on TV, upfront and unapologetic. And if you’re an outsider in this world, welcome to your Culture Baptism – in the warmest possible way. 

PS: Sex and the City’s wardrobe head Patricia Field has the cast dressed to the nines, so it’s a style spotter’s delight. 

Watch Run the World S1 now » 

4. Ziwe 

Comedian Ziwe Fumudoh plugged a live wire into the late-night talk show format when she launched her 2021 satirical series, Ziwe. Electrifying and unpredictable, combative and confrontational, host Ziwe challenges her guests – including Bowen Yang, Rachel Brosnahan and drag queen Katya – to answer questions about modern life and politics, while sheep-dogging them into traps with a gleeful malice. Say anything to Ziwe and she’ll either brutally highlight your flimsy choice of words, or twist them.

Watch her leverage her identity as a Black woman as she hosts a focus group of women named Karen, a game show to crown the “wokest ally”, or or a panel of Hollywood stars who have to talk about whitewashing. It’s a rare guest who manages to turn the tables and challenge Ziwe; she’s call-out and cancel-culture in human form. The series is an extraordinary look at how to punch up in comedy and worth watching even if it makes you sweat. 

Watch Ziwe S1-2 now » 

5. I May Destroy You 

British comedian Michaela Coel wrote and directed this dark comedy series centred on Bella (Michaela Coel), a novelist and millennial influencer who tries to get over writer’s block with a night out that ends in a sexual assault and a hole in her memory. Bella and her friends Kwame (Paapa Essiedu) and Terry (Weruche Opia) try to piece together what happened, while nobody has a reliable hold on the night. Horrified and angry, Bella takes her experiences onto social media, where her version of events becomes a lightning rod for everyone’s issues with questioning sexual consent, online identity, trauma and Black solidarity.

If you’re used to the biggest conflict in your stories being “How long will he get away with it,” buckle up as Bella tries to take back control of her narrative while wrestling with the trauma of sexual assault. It sounds like a lot, but a shrewd and observant script makes it addictive viewing. Where Hollywood stories often demand “perfect” victims, this series offers a piercingly honest window into the real, socially uncomfortable reactions that both men and women have as sexual assault survivors.  

Watch I May Destroy You now » 

6. The Woman King 

There were as many women warriors behind the scenes as there were on screen during the making of the smash-hit movie The Woman King. Producer and star Viola Davis worked hand in hand with South African producer Tshepiso Chikapa Phiri (executive producer of dramedy series uBettina Wethu), director Gina Prince-Bythewood, and story creators Dana Stevens and co-producer Maria Bello.

On screen in early 1800s Benin, Viola plays General Nanisca, the leader of Dahomey’s all-female Agojie warriors, including the headstrong Nawi (Thuso Mbedo), Izogie (Lashana Lynch) and Efe (Zozibini Tunzi). General Nanisca has to train her army to fight back European and African slave traders, but each of her warriors is already at war in an ongoing battle against men who’re allies one minute, and enemies the next when they dictate that women’s bodies belong to them.

Within the Agojie compound, Nanisca’s warriors share a sisterhood where they can shape their own identities, and explore their potential, regardless of class or gender, and it’s eye opening to see how much they physically relax when they’re together.  

Watch The Woman King now » 

Also watch: Director Patty Jenkins’ take on warrior women with muscle in the super hero action adventure Wonder Woman, with Gal Gadot. 

7. Somebody Somewhere 

Want a challenge? Count the number of series and movies that lovingly tell the story of a woman who is over 40, fat, relatively poor, not even remotely stylish, yet still having a fabulous time, regardless. She’s rare to the point of extinction in Hollywood, but look around your own life for a minute and there she is! What an amazing trick.  

Co-executive producer Bridget Everett (who worked with the Somebody Somewhere’s creators Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen) plays Sam, who’s 40-something and lost after returning to her Kansas small town home to help take care of her dying sister. Her directionless life gets turned on its head when her co-worker Joel (Jeff Hiller) invites her to a church choir practice night, which turns out to be a front for a secret social club where the town’s misfits can laugh, socialise, dance, and be themselves without fear. What follows is an awakening and a journey into fun, friendship, and a real salvation in self expression. And Sam doesn’t need a makeover montage to get there.  

Watch Somebody Somewhere S1-2 now » 

8. Unmarried 

South African drama series Unmarried is a female powerhouse behind the scenes, especially in Season 3, which is produced by Connie Ferguson’s Ferguson films. Season 3 head writer and storyliner Nonzi Bogatsu works with showrunner Lauren Nell to bring us the truth about being 20-something in the age of social media and hookup culture, situationships, and “just vibing”, while figuring out where you stand in terms of traditional values.

At the heart of the story is Confidence (Florence Mokgatsi), whose two best friends, media darling Enzo (Khanya Mkangisa) and proud troll Rea (Mapula Mafole), are striving to get their real lives to match up with the perfect faces of success that they present online. Whether your DMs are “filled with dirty men”, or you’re a woman dating women and your girlfriend is telling you to cool it because sex is not porn, it’s going to get as spicy as some real girl talk! You caught the guys’ side of dating and careers in Adulting S1, now this is a must-watch, because those gents had a whole lot of hot takes about women.  

Watch Unmarried S1-3 now » 

If you’re looking for connection with a movie or series, the person who sees you most clearly won’t necessarily look like you. Luckily, there’s never been a better time to reach out and watch somebody new … in a series or movie that passes the Bechdel Test*. 

*To pass the Bechdel Test, all a piece of media needs to do is feature at least two women. Wait! These women must talk to each other. And one last thing: their conversation revolves around something other than a man. Anything. Please. The bar is SO low.