Like any other hardworking 20-something year olds we like to crash on our couch at the end of a long day and binge-watch our favorite TV shows. And what better time than the holidays? So what are our favorite TV shows? We listed them for you. And they all have one thing in common: they star some badass women who take no sh** and go after what they want. In short, the women we all want to be when we grow up. Here we go.
1. Scandal
We’ve made no secret of our love for Scandal. The show is currently on its 5th season and will be back mid-February. Plenty of binge-watching to do if you haven’t started yet.
The story starts off simple enough. Olivia Pope and associates run an agency that handles crises. It’s based on the story of real-life “fixer” Judy Smith. You can see an interview with her here. So Olivia and her sidekicks (a.k.a. gladiators in suits, how cool is that?) can count some of the world’s most powerful people among their clients, including the White House. Which also causes plenty of stress in Olivia’s personal life, seeing as the man she loves is none other than the President of the US of A. And the feeling’s mutual. Imagine that. Yeah. Anyway a lot has happened since the show first aired in 2012, so if you haven’t started watching, you really should have stopped reading and tuned into Netflix by now.
Being Mary Jane is about, you guessed it, Mary Jane, played by the beautiful Gabrielle Union. Mary Jane is a woman in her mid-thirties who hosts a popular talkshow and doesn’t shy away from painful subjects. In the meantime she’s trying to balance her love life, her friends and her family. Sounds familiar? Yeah, that’s why we love it. Minus the talkshow maybe. Oh and check this out: every show begins with a quote that’s important to MJ, and she keeps these quotes on sticky notes all throughout her (fabulous!) house. The show is a BET exclusive and is currently on its third season. Oh and also: her father is played by the original Shaft!
3. Empire
Empire is in a class of its own. It’s the brainchild of director Lee Daniels and currently on its second season. I’m not gonna lie, the first season seemed a whole lot better. But I still keep tuning in, partly because of the awesome guest appearances and because of Cookie, played by the incomparable Taraji P. Henson. The show centers around the Lyon family. The patriarch, Lucious Lyon (played by Terrence Howard) is grooming his three sons to take over his record label by the name of Empire. Enter Cookie. She’s been in jail for 17 years as a sacrifice for Lucious so he could build his empire, and she’s not about to give up what she gave up 17 years of her life for to build.
Apart from having Cookie the show also tries to break through some taboos that persist in the music industry, particularly Hip Hop. That makes it uncomfortable sometimes, but hey, some things need to be said/portrayed.
4. How To Get Away With Murder
This is another gem from the hands and mind of Shonda Rhimes (just like Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy – can you believe that show is still running, by the way?). Viola Davis plays Annalise Keating, a criminal defense professor. She and a group of law students become involved in a murder plot of some sorts. Oh yeah and Viola Davis was the first African American woman to win an Emmy for this role. Ever. In 2015.
Anyway, murder, mystery, and our newest crush Alfred Enoch (the guy from Harry Potter. He’s older now), what more could you want? The show is on its second season.
5. Nashville
Nashville is kinda the musical opposite of Empire (see #3). It takes place in, you guessed it, Nashville, Tennessee, and follows the story of 2 country singers: one living legend, and one on the come-up. These two singers are played by Connie Britton (who we all know and love from Spin City) and Hayden Panetierre (my first reference is the voice acting she did as Kairi in the Kingdom Hearts series), respectively. The show is currently on its fourth season already.
So what’s it about? Well. The first season kicks off with the rivalry between “Queen of Country” Rayna Jaymes (Britton) and Juliette Barnes, who plays a young little starlet making waves as music’s new country/pop princess. The big clash happens when they both want to get the same guitarist on tour, who also happens to be Rayna’s former loverman. Also, he’s already in Rayna’s band. Like, rude. But OK. Anyway, lots of drama, and the eternal struggle between experience vs. youth all captured in one show. Give it a try. G’head.
Everybody has an opinion on what constitutes a good wife and what she should or shouldn’t do. The Good Wife is an intriguing show in which the lead, Alicia Korrick (played by the wonderful Julianna Margulies) is constantly seeking to strike the balance between her career and family, excitement and stability, duty and self-interest, responsibility and impulsivity.
She has a state attorney for a husband (played by Mr. Big euhmm Chris Noth) and two kids, and used to be a promising lawyer before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Of course, this all falls apart when her husband is caught in a sex scandal. She’s forced to take a job in litigation again at a law firm where her “friend” gets her a job. Intrigued yet? Get your binge on, the show’s on its 7th season already!
7. Empresses in the Palace (a.k.a. Zhen Huan Zhuan a.k.a. The Legend of Huan Zhuan a.k.a. Hou Gong: Zhen Huan Zhuan)
Empresses in the Palace aired on HBO in a handful of episodes, but was originally a 76 episode long TV series. The show takes place during the Qing dynasty and centers on the plots and schemes of a handful of the emperor’s concubines. ZhenHuan is placed right smack in the middle between the concubines and the empress (yeah, there’s an empress too). So now she has to deal with the difficult task of navigating her way through the imperial palace.
8. Quantico
Quantico premiered last fall so it currently just in its first season. The show centers around a couple of FBI recruits. The main protagonist is Alex Parrish, played by Priyanka Chopra. What you should know her from? She has played in a huge number of Bollywood movies. Also, she’s done some voice acting on Disney’s Planes. Oh, right. She won the Miss World pageant back in 2000. Anyway, on Quantico she’s suspected of being a terrorist. Because of course.
Jane (Gina Rodriguez) is a young Catholic woman, living with her mom and grandmother. She works hard at a hotel while going to school, hoping to someday be a teacher. So one day Jane goes to the doctor’s office for a regular checkup. The doctor’s dealing with her own issues and accidentally artificially inseminates Jane. Devote Catholic Jane. Oops. Big oops. The father is a married man who just so happens to be the new owner of the hotel where Jane works.
The show is pretty much set up like a telenovela, the ones Jane’s abuela loves to watch. It’s cute. See for yourself. The show is currently on its second season.
9. Telenovela
Speaking of Telenovelas: Eva Longoria is back on the small screen! We all know her as Gabrielle Solis from Desperate Housewives, but the actress hasn’t been sitting still in the meantime. In Telenovela she plays Ana Sofia Calderon, a telenovela actress who doesn’t speak any Spanish. And then her ex comes back into her life. In the form of a co-star on the show. We haven’t seen it yet either, but it seems like the right mix of dramedy that we love so much.
10. Devious Maids
And speaking of Eva Longoria, did you know she also produces Devious Maids? Devious Maids is a show about the maids of the wealthy, who have to deal with their employers’ problems and drama as well as their own. The show will kick off its fourth season sometime in 2016.
Personally, Devious Maids has been my comfort since suffering the heartbreak of Desperate Housewives ending. The biggest difference really is that this time around the show takes the perspective of the maids.
So did your favorites make the list? Or are you already up to speed on all these shows? Tell us your favorites in the comments!
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