In an ideal world, there would be no need to write about the best shows with female protagonists However, male characters have been the default protagonists of TV shows for decades, and when a series focuses on female characters, it places an extra burden on creators and stars

Still, women have been the main characters in popular and influential programs since the dawn of TV, and in recent years we have seen a significant increase in the number of female characters at the forefront We still have a long way to go, but for now, here are seven great shows to check out, led by attractive and compelling female characters

Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was specifically created as an answer to the typical helpless female character in horror films, the one who appears as disposable fodder for the villain She is a feisty teenage blonde who is also the chosen one, endowed with special powers to defeat vampires and other supernatural threats Buffy has many friends, including her best friend Willow (Alyson Hannigan), a shy nerd who keeps the California town of Sunnydale safe

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" features many male and female characters, but powerful women like Buffy and Willow always lead the fight against evil Geller sees Buffy as a strong leader and fierce fighter, but also finds room to be smart, sweet, and emotionally open

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While the classic hard-boiled detective is a male loner, Kristen Bell's title character in "Veronica Mars" is a teenage girl with a reliable support system She still embodies the familiar hard-boiled qualities of cynicism, keen eye for detail, and ubiquitous faded narration For Veronica, the world of high school is as dangerous as the seedy underworld of vintage detective novels

Veronica's father (Enrico Colantoni) is her biggest supporter, an actual private detective who reluctantly allows his daughter to help him with cases Veronica has the ability to solve crimes and is respected for her deductive skills and her unwillingness to back down This has carried over through the show's first three seasons to the revival version featuring the adult Veronica, who still solves cases and is even more hard-boiled than she was as a teenager

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Samantha Stevens (Elizabeth Montgomery) may be a housewife in 1960s sitcoms, but she is also an advertising executive Darin (Dick York in the early seasons and Dick Sargent in the later seasons) ) is clearly in charge of her marriage to advertising executive Darin (played by Dick York in the early seasons and Dick Sargent in the later seasons) Samantha is a powerful witch, easily able to bend her husband to her will and solve all the petty problems of the suburban middle class if she so chooses

Despite these great powers, Samantha chooses to live a simple life with Darin, but since "Bewitched" is a situation comedy, that simple life is complicated in each episode by various factors, both mundane and magical Samantha's meddlesome mother Endora (Agnes Moorehead) may object to Samantha's marriage, but Samantha lives her life in her own way, balancing the human and magical worlds and maintaining order in the house

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Starring and co-creator Rachel Bloom in this original and hilarious musical comedy about a self-destructive lawyer who impulsively moves across the country after a chance encounter with a man she had a teenage crush on series, reclaims the "crazy ex-girlfriend" label Rebecca Bunch (Bloom) is insecure and intimidating, but also bubbly and fun, and her journey to a healthier relationship is touching and heartfelt

Bloom is not afraid to take Rebecca and the show's supporting cast to dark places, but it is all wrapped up in gorgeous, catchy musical numbers worthy of a major Broadway adaptation In this portrait of intense and complex emotions, breaking into song is often the only way Rebecca and the other characters can express themselves

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To call Roseanne Barr a troublemaker is an understatement, but that doesn't diminish the impact of the pioneering sitcom that bears her name At a time when popular, seemingly gentle stand-up comedians were all getting their own sitcoms, "Roseanne" stood out for its honest portrayal of blue-collar family life in the Midwest, rather than the urban bachelor life Barr plays the eldest daughter of a noisy but loving Illinois family, John Goodman plays her contractor husband Dan, and Laurie Metcalf plays his nervous sister Jackie [Roseanne and Dan work multiple jobs while raising three children, and Barr's biting humor never hurt anyone Roseanne" goes by the wayside in its final season, but mostly it's a funny and generous showcase for Barr's unique comedic voice

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There may be no more wonderful mother-daughter relationship in television history than the deep connection between the title characters of "Gilmore Girls" In the impossibly quaint Connecticut town of Stars Hollow, innkeeper Lorelei Gilmore (Lauren Graham) raises her teenage daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) as more best friend than parent This allows creator Amy Sherman-Palladino to write inventive and witty exchanges between the two, and also highlights the difficulty of blurring the lines between parenting and friendship

The driving force of "Gilmore Girls" is the fast and witty dialogue between Lorelei and Rory as well as the supporting cast, but it is not just the dazzling dialogue Lorelei and Rory endure a variety of family and romantic tribulations, but their bond never breaks, making the show a wonderful tribute to the powerful love between mother and daughter

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Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is both an excellent writer and an excellent detective, producing best-selling mysteries and casually solving puzzling cases while seemingly effortlessly juggling both roles She appears to be Lansbury lends dignity to Jessica's performance while also weaving a playful sense of humor, especially in the week's lighter cases

Jessica's seemingly laid-back hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine, somehow retains a cozy charm, despite the joke that it must be the murder capital of the world because people are constantly dying Jessica ventures outside of Cabot Cove, unraveling murder mysteries everywhere she goes and staying one step ahead of the culprit who makes the mistake of underestimating this unassuming older woman

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