what current TV shows just "don't seem to care" about women?

Submitted by smesch83 t3_xzh339 in television

I'm reading a novel at the moment where it's clear that women just are not really important to the creator or the plot: there are not many female characters, they don't play interesting parts, and the author just seems WAY more interested in all of his (many) male characters.

I was wondering if there is a current TV drama or comedy that gives you these vibes: it doesn't have to be anti-feminist or reactionary or OPPOSED to women. also, it doesn't have to be something like "Das Boot" (maybe? I didn't watch it), where the setting is male-dominated.

but personally, I can't think of a current TV show that doesn't make a strong point to say "Hey: we love our female characters, we give them space and scenes to shine, and this is something that we're passionate about." is this true for ALL shows?

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anasui1 t1_irmj9ph wrote

Bosch, probably. It's one of the incredibly rare recent examples where gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation has absolutely zero importance to the story. They're just people, equal in everything. A woman may be better than a man in it, and a man can be better than a woman, with noone crying about it because it's not even a point the show deems worth making. You know, real life, real people. The sort of balance feminism is about and 99% of these dumbass hacktivist writers don't get

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staedtler2018 t1_irqmxui wrote

> It's one of the incredibly rare recent examples where gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation has absolutely zero importance to the story.

I only skimmed this show but,

> Civil rights attorney Howard Elias is representing a black man who is accusing LAPD of police brutality, but Elias is murdered. Elias had a history of representing citizens who sue the LAPD, and the case produces racial strife in LA and elevated tension between the LAPD and citizens.

Absolutely zero importance to the show?

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anasui1 t1_irqy8n8 wrote

first of all, thanks for pointing that out. Zero may be inaccurate but

the show itself treats that particular premise (which isn't even that) as a plot element, not *THE MESSAGE*. The "racial strife" in it is just there as backdrop not because they don't give a damn about it, but because the show doesn't bash your head in with it and it's just one cog in the political machinery, used and abused for personal gain. You get asshole black cops, easily bought activists, nefarious white politicians, good ones, bad ones, grey ones, it balances all this stuff so well. And that season may very well be the best, because the mystery is almost Christiesque in its complexity. Bosch himself is of course an extraordinarily smart detective but he got some bad flaws as well. Give it a try

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LeoLaDawg t1_irmf79e wrote

I can think of more current shows that such is true for the men, but not the women.

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ArsBrevis t1_irprn84 wrote

Women oriented shows are typically cheap dramas that come out by the dozens. Military, espionage, action, sci fi shows oriented towards men & male characters are more expensive to make but they're MUCH more likely to be (& be seen) as prestige fare.

It's a matter of quantity vs quality.

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Generic-username_123 t1_irvqcii wrote

Absolutely. Really, in a way this question is asking the opposite: Are there any shows that care about men and the answer is almost none from the responses.

I can name dozens of shows with female leads aimed at women today. It is great that women can now watch shows in which they are the target audience but there needs to be a little balance.

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pm_me_reason_to_livx t1_irm6gea wrote

is this your way of asking for recommendations? 😂😂

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smesch83 OP t1_irm7lff wrote

hehe - no. my theory is that TV shows are too lucrative and too important to actively alienate women in 2022. but it seems wild to say that as a blanket statement for all shows, so I'm looking for counter-examples.

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pm_me_reason_to_livx t1_irm84as wrote

you're right though. we could name shows from the past that just didn't care to include women, and even though they had female characters, they were mostly treated like an afterthought. i can't really come up with any examples where that's the case for modern television though.

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smesch83 OP t1_irm8htt wrote

right? (and how cool is that?) I feel like I could also name (current US mainstream superhero) comic books, and tons of cartoons from my childhood in the 80s. but I think TV shows "proved" that this is a problem that can be solved.

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yodimboi t1_irm810u wrote

The Terror season 1 maybe. There's a woman in the cast and a few in flashbacks but it's a show about sailors in the 1800s. Not a lot of women in that setting.

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navyvinny t1_irmgwzs wrote

Maybe The Patient? It’s a good show but all the woman so far are stereotypes, like the mother or the ex wife. Like half baked characters that only aid the crazy guy plot. Maybe the the therapist wife is a bit more interesting and celebrated in his eyes.

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staedtler2018 t1_irqn8y3 wrote

Peaky Blinders, though they have a good excuse.

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sleepyotter92 t1_irq6tlx wrote

was the author a gay man? because as a gay man, if i was a writer, everything would be focused on men, with female characters having little to no role in the story

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smesch83 OP t1_irq8bzv wrote

I get your point - but then, some of my favorite showrunners and TV writers are gay men and write awesome female characters.

and no, I think the author is straight (he was married and is dating lots of women and his alter ego in the book only has straight sex and straight desire), but the character loves working with men, looks up to men, has more male friends, fights for the respect of men etc. etc.

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ArsBrevis t1_irpres6 wrote

Out of curiosity, would you care if a TV show didn't seem to care about male characters? Why or why not?

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Generic-username_123 t1_irvszsz wrote

That was my thought. My wife reads numerous books aimed at a female audience where the opposite is true. I don't think it is problematic for a book or show to focus on a single gender and wonder if that is what the OP thinks. However, this question does point out that almost all shows care about women (OP's word choice) and perhaps that was the point?

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smesch83 OP t1_irq06ii wrote

yes, I absolutely would. there are some aktivist hashtags like "men are trash" and I abandon/unollow people who use these to gain clout.

that being said: I feel like I've seen so many fun and well-rounded male characters and listened to so many male authors that I'm more excited about female characters and voices etc. - and I like it if characters mess with gender roles or make me/us question the binary.

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BalsamicBasil t1_iruqia5 wrote

The Terminal List (lol)

Tbh I'm not a good person to ask, because I tend to avoid the types of tv series that tend to be the most male-dominated - violence-heavy, military/criminal/law enforcement, machista energy...and I drop most shows that don't have well-written women among their main cast. I can think of a lot of shows that have ended in the last few years...

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Generic-username_123 t1_irvr74p wrote

It is to the point now that I do the same thing with female dominated shows that don't have well-written men. Trust me, it is not easy to find them anymore. The fact that shows with a male target audience are violence heavy is such a stereotype and a disservice to men in general. My wife and I loved Men of a Certain Age which had was about men dealing with life. Great cast, dealt with realistic issues men faced and often with some humor. Shows like that just don't get greenlit anymore.

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SteelmanINC t1_irmsjmp wrote

I can think of a TON of shoes like this for men

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