How many times have we heard the phrase “strong female characters” when Hollywood studios are marketing their next big project? The right answer is – too many times to mention. Although series like Agatha All Along and Ms. Marvel have been sold to viewers like some kind of amazing new concept, shows starring women have been around for a very long time. They have also been extremely successful without anyone having to sell them as a novelty showcase. 

Some series that come to mind are the 1976 crime drama Charlie’s Angels and the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls. But we’re not going to go as retro as that at this moment. Instead, we will explore a story about a teenage girl who realizes that she is meant to save the world from monsters, a trio of sisters with a spellbinding magical background, a high school girl with a knack for solving crimes who’s been cast out by her peers, and a close-knit group of teens who are taunted via text messages. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer follows Buffy Summers, a teenage girl chosen by fate to be a Vampire Slayer. Like her predecessors, Buffy is guided by a member of the Watcher’s Council. Rupert Giles provides Buffy with knowledge to take on dark forces while working as the school librarian. At first, the teen tries to shirk her supernatural responsibilities in favor of a normal life, but as the series progresses, Buffy embraces her destiny as The Slayer and takes down bad guys like vampires and demons. 

The story begins when Buffy moves to Sunnydale and becomes friends with Willow, a smart, shy girl who eventually becomes a powerful witch, and Xander, a loyal, non-magical boy who sticks with Buffy through everything. But the quiet town is located on a Hellmouth–a portal to a dark dimension that attracts all sorts of evil. The series also tackles regular teenage stuff like friendship, love, and loss. There’s also a very cool story about a vampire named Angel who is cursed with a soul. 

Charmed

Charmed focuses on Prue, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell, who find out that they are powerful witches destined to protect the world from evil. After the death of their grandmother, the sisters move back into their family’s old home in San Francisco. One day, while going through items in the house, they find the Book of Shadows, which reveals that they are the Charmed Ones. When their abilities are combined, the trio of witches becomes a powerful force of good. 

As they figure out their new powers, which include telekinesis, freezing time, and premonitions, the Halliwell siblings also have to deal with normal stuff like their careers and relationships. As if everyday life wasn’t difficult enough, the sisters are constantly tossed into battles with demons, warlocks, and other supernatural creatures who want to steal their powers and cause chaos in the world. Fortunately, they have each other and their Whitelighter, Leo Wyatt, to protect and guide them. 

Veronica Mars

Veronica Mars is essentially a teen drama crossed with a detective show. Although the series only lasted three seasons, its popularity led to a movie and a fourth season, released in 2014 and 2019, respectively. The story is a retrospective look at the life of high school student Veronica Mars, whose life is destroyed when her best friend Lilly Kane is murdered and her dad, Sheriff Keith Mars, arrests Lilly’s father for the crime. Since the Kane family is wealthy, Keith is fired from his job. 

Veronica is shunned by her peers after siding with her father, even after her mother starts drinking and leaves their home in the fictional town of Neptune, California. Veronica spends most of her time at her dad’s new private investigation company, with the hope of clearing his name and figuring out who killed Lilly. She gets help from Wallace Fennel, who becomes her friend after she saves him from bullies, and Eli “Weevil” Navarro, the leader of the PCH Biker gang. The series also has a very cool theme song. 

Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars is based on Sara Shepard’s novel series of the same name. The story follows one-time best friends Aria Montgomery, Emily Fields, Hanna Marin, and Spencer Hastings, who are taunted via text by a mystery person who signs off their messages with an “A.” The contents of the messages suggest that “A” knows what really happened on the night the leader of the girl’s friend group, Alison DiLaurentis, went missing. That was also the same night the remaining girls drifted apart. 

As the story progresses, the truth about that fateful night comes to the fore. But things get more complicated as the messages from “A” become more threatening in nature, with the girls’ secrets at risk of being exposed. Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer are forced to work together to prevent their lives from being destroyed. The secrecy around the girls’ lives drives the story while adding to suspense as the true identity of “A” is revealed a few seasons later.