Five Femme-Focused Shows Coming This Fall

Fall means a lot of things: back to school, pumpkin-spiced lattes, and the return of our favorite shows. It also means new shows to cram into our already full DVRs. Which ones are worth making room for? Here are five shows with leading ladies that should definitely make your list:

1. Bad Judge

NBC, Oct 2, 9PM
Kate Walsh shows off her comedy chops as Rebecca Wright, a Los Angeles County judge who lays down the laws at work but likes to party down when she’s off the clock. Why we’re excited: Finally, a show that features a woman in charge! Not just any woman, but one that breaks gender stereotypes with a tough, no-bullshit attitude typically reserved for male characters. Plus, Nurse Jackie creator Liz Brixius is at the helm. Feminists, rejoice!

2. Selfie

ABC, Sept 30, 8PM
Doctor Who star Karen Gillan makes her American TV debut in a modernized twist on My Fair Lady/Pygmalion. Karen’s character, Eliza Dooley, asks a marketing guru (John Cho) to rebrand her image. Writer Emily Kapnek comments on our obsession with social media with her irreverent, poppy dialogue.

3. Cristela

ABC, Oct 10, 8:30PM
Stand-up comedienne Cristela Alonzo headlines this self-titled show about a woman interning at a prestigious law firm to the disappointment of her traditional Mexican-American family. The making of this show is a true underdog story. The producers spent their own money to shoot the pilot after ABC initially passed. Their gamble paid off when ABC ordered Cristela to a fall time slot after the pilot tested through the roof. So here’s to people taking risks on their dreams!

4. Jane the Virgin

CW, Oct 13, 9PM
Loosely based on the telenovela Juana la Virgen, Gina Rodriguez plays a woman waiting for sex until marriage, who is accidentally impregnated when a gyno trip goes horribly wrong. Now she must explain things to her fiancé and religious grandmother while contending with the father-to-be and his unhappy wife. Show-runner Jennie Snyder Urman perfectly infuses humor into the absurd premise to create an engaging story that pokes fun at its telenovela roots.

5. Happyland

MTV, Sept 30, 11PM
This half-hour dramedy is not only wrought with all the teen trappings of a good who-kissed-who soap, but it’s a rare glimpse behind the scenes of a Disneyland-type theme park. Bianca Santos plays Lucy, a teen girl raised in Happyland by her park-princess mother (Camille Guaty), who may or may not be too old for the part. The mother-daughter relationship is the true center of the show, as both women try to find themselves AND pay the bills. The theme-park action adds just a bit of magic.