I love TV. I love the plots, I love the cliffhangers, but mainly I love the characters—especially the strong, relatable female characters prevalent on TV today. While audiences of yesteryear had to make do with a handful of one-dimensional TV women, nowadays female characters are all over the place: funny, independent, and able to draw in an audience on their own merits. We’ve compiled a top-ten list of the rad-est, baddest X chromosome-carrying characters to ever grace the small screen. These ladies are tough, funny, and, let’s admit it, the reason why we tune into their shows. Let’s take a look at the women who make television worth watching, starting with:
10.) Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham on Fringe
We begin our list with a woman who straddles two worlds—literally. FBI agent Olivia Dunham is the center of Fringe, J.J. Abrams ensemble occult drama. She’s strong, independent, obsessively determined to get her man (or monster), and, oh yeah…she can travel between dimensions. You tune in because you want to learn about her mysterious ties to parallel worlds—you stay because she’s just so cool.
9.) Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson on The Closer
When it comes to getting confessions and closing cases, there is none more qualified then The Closer’s Brenda Johnson. Played by the brilliantly sassy Kyra Sedgwick, Johnson is a powerful woman who does not want to be one of the boys. She revels in her femininity, and refuses to let that negatively affect her career. You tune in to see Kevin Bacon’s wife yell at people—you stay because you can’t wait for her to nab the baddies and put her sexist co-workers in their place.
8.) Jessica Walters as Mallory Archer on Archer
Did you ever find yourself saying, “Wouldn’t it be great if Arrested Development’s Lucille Bluth picked up a gun and showed even more callous disregard for people’s lives?” Well, let me introduce you to the FX show Archer. An animated comedy about incompetent spies, it stars Jessica Walters as Mallory Archer, head of the American spy group ISIS, and mother of the show’s protagonist. Sarcastic, ruthless, and constantly inebriated Mallory is a horrible boss, a nightmare mother, and one of the television’s funniest characters. You tune in to see Mallory accidentally shoot her son in the head—you stay to see if she’ll do it again.
7.) Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman on Wonder Woman
Do I even need to explain how great Wonder Woman is? It’s Wonder Freaking Woman! And it’s online! Lynda Carter brought the Amazing Amazon into mainstream American culture, and while there have been many different incarnations of WW, this seminal ‘70s show is still the best, most kick-ass version. You tune in to see if Carter’s Speedo costume will stay on—you keep tuning in because who doesn’t love watching an Amazon warrior beat up terrorists and Nazis?
6.) Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper on Torchwood
If you are not watching the BBC’s smash hit Torchwood you are missing out on TV’s most original female character, police officer Gwen Cooper. Gwen is sexy, smart, and believably flawed, a rarity in the black and white world of female TV characters. Taking down a malicious group of alien invaders? No problem! Agreeing to marry her long-term boyfriend? Run away! You tune in to see Eve Myles gun down a spaceship—you stay to see if she’ll pull her life together.
5.) Tina Fey as Liz Lemon on 30 Rock
Tina Fey is America’s foremost female comedian and the creator, star, and driving force behind NBC’s Emmy-winning comedy 30 Rock. A fictional depiction of Fey’s actual time on SNL, 30 Rock centers around Liz Lemon, the head writer for an NBC sketch comedy show. Fey is fantastic as the unbearably awkward and nerdy Liz Lemon, and isn’t afraid to look like a total fool in order to get a laugh. You tune in to see Liz completely mismanage every single aspect of her life—you stay because you’re laughing too hard to even think about changing the channel.
4.) Tracy Grandstaff as Daria Morgandorffer on Daria
During the 1990s, when MTV was king, the crowning jewel in the network’s media empire was the show Daria. Tracy Grandstaff voiced the series titular character, a deadpan, sarcastic teen who thought her peers were stupid, and wasn’t afraid to tell them that. Daria was a breath of fresh air to intelligent girls desperate to see a female character like them on TV—and many of its social criticisms still ring true today. You tune in to see Daria savagely tear her classmates apart—you stay because you agree with her.
3.) Christina Hendrickson as Joan Holloway/Harris on Mad Men
There is one reason and one reason alone that I watch Mad Men. That reason’s name is Joan Holloway. Played by Christina Hendrickson, Joan (now Joan Harris) is the embodiment of everything good and bad about the show’s chosen time-period: like the male characters, her unquenchable ambition propels her forward—unlike her male counterparts, astounding misogyny keeps slapping her down. You tune in to see what will happen to Joan—you stay to see how she’ll survive.
2.) Valerie Harper as Rhoda on Rhoda
While The Mary Tyler Moore Show broke barriers as the first show to ever focus on a single career woman, Rhoda helped cement the awkward, funny female as an American TV archetype. A ratings hit for CBS, Rhoda featured Rhoda, the loud-mouthed, weigh-conscious wacky neighbor from Mary Tyler Moore. Played by Emmy-winner Valerie Harper, Rhoda was vivacious and sometimes vicious, but always wickedly funny. You tune in to watch one of the only shows to ever beat Monday Night Football in ratings—you stay to watch Rhoda break the glass ceiling.
1.) Sara Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
And the number one female character on our list is from a show that defined feminism for my generation, a show so successful it is now a TV cliché to have a dainty, pretty girl be your toughest character.
Buffy Summers.
Sarah Michelle Gellar is pitch-perfect as the flippant teen, able to switch from valley-girl to warrior in the blink of an eye. Buffy’s cultural impact is still being felt over a decade after her show first aired, and her adventures continue even today in comic book form. I could go on and on, but why listen to me when you can see for yourself? You tune in to see Buffy trade quips and stake vamps—you stay because you want to be just like her.
