13 Inspiring Shows Celebrating Women To Watch This International Women’s Day

The list of movies and television shows feature different female characters with their own set of strengths and smarts.

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This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the strong female characters, the actresses who portray them, and the people who support and inspire them in their journey!

Here’s a list of old and new shows to revisit, explore, and enjoy.

Movies

1. Gone with the Wind

Based on Margaret Mitchell’s literary work of the same name, Gone with the Wind tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh), the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, and her survival through the Civil War and the Reconstruction era. The 1939 film received 10 Academy Awards and several other awards.

2. Enola Holmes (Netflix)

Based on a book series of the same name by Nancy Springer, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) travels to London to find her missing mother but ends up in a wider mystery that will threaten the entire country. With allies such as her brothers, Mycroft and Sherlock (Sam Claflin and Henry Cavill), and her mother’s friend Edith (Susie Wokoma), it’s up to her to save the world her way.

3. Legally Blonde

Reese Witherspoon stars as the “dumb blonde” Elle Woods who attempts to win back her ex-boyfriend by getting a Juris Doctor degree at Harvard Law School. She eventually overcomes the stereotypes against hyperfeminity and becomes a successful lawyer on her own accord.

4. Charlie’s Angels (Netflix)

No matter which Charlie’s Angels films you prefer, they all feature women who can hold their own ground. In the 2019 version, the new Angels – Sabina, Elena, and Jane – are tasked to retrieve a weapon of mass destruction known as Calisto. Kristen Stewart plays a rebellious agent Sabina Wilson, Naomi Scott plays an engineer named Elena Houghlin, and Ella Balinska plays Jane Kano, a former MI6 agent.

5. Turning Red (Disney Plus)

In this coming-of-age tale, 13-year-old Mei Lee who struggles to be the perfect Asian daughter to her mother finds herself transformed into a giant red panda. As she frantically finds a way to turn her back into a human, she eventually learns her world of duty to her family and what it’s like to spread her wings with her friends.

6. Clueless

Clueless is loosely based on Jane Austen’s novel Emma set in modern-day Beverly Hills. It tells the story of Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), a popular teenager who tries to be a matchmaker and sets her sights on a new girl in school as her next project. When her plans kind of backfired, it led her to reflect on her priorities and her failures to appreciate the people in her life who cared for her.

TV series

1. Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (Netflix)

This Australian drama series is set in 1920s Melbourne following the life of a glamorous private detective, Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis). Armed with her charm, wits and a pearl-handled pistol, she solves crimes with her maid, Dot, to the chagrin of Detective Inspector John Robinson and his constable, Hugh Collins.

2. Pandora: Beneath The Paradise (Disney Plus)

Hong Taera (Lee Ji-ah) suffered a traumatic experience in the past as a child but has no recollection of the incident. Nevertheless, she managed to live a seemingly perfect life with her successful husband and her loving daughter. But when her memories come flooding back, she has to make a life-changing decision to protect her family.

The show debuts in Disney Plus on 11 March 2023.

3. Physical:100 (Netflix)

In this South Korean reality show, the best 100 athletes from various sports backgrounds come together to compete to show who has the ideal human physique. The show featured 23 strong women who have excelled in their own fields. Showcasing their different strengths and abilities, they continue to push boundaries in each task.

4. Special Force: Anarchy (Disney Plus)

In this local series, Iman (Puteri Aishah) is a courageous policewoman who’s recruited to join an elite anti-corruption special forces team. When she investigates a bank heist with her partner Sara (Elizabeth Tan) in the fictional country of Tenggara, she comes face to face with a dangerous underground group and uncovers the trail of secrets that will leave her with an impossible choice.

5. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix)

Based on the comic book series of the same name, CAOS follows the story of a half-witch Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) and her coven (family and friends). Just like any teenager, she has to navigate high school romances, friendships and family issues, and protect the world from evil forces. It’s almost like a current Buffy the Vampire Slayer situation.

6. She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (Disney Plus)

Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) only wanted to be a lawyer. She never wanted to be an Avenger but life comes at you fast. Now that she’s also the She-Hulk, she needs to learn how to embrace that part of herself while also living the life she has always dreamed of as an attorney. The only problem is, she’s super high profile right now. Can’t have the cake and eat it, right?

7. The Orville (Disney Plus)

In this sci-fi comedy-drama, the crew aboard the starship USS Orville go on adventures in various parts of the galaxy. When Captain Ed Mercer (Seth MacFarlane) and his ex-wife Commander Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki) were assigned to lead the ship together, they agreed to put aside their differences and work as a team.

Joining them on their space adventures are the supportive crew Dr Claire Finn (Penny Johnson Jerald), Lieutenant Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes) and Lieutenant Commander Bortus (Peter Macon).

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