MomSkoop
For too long, Hollywood has overlooked the power and complexity of middle-aged and older women as leading characters. Thankfully, television has started catching up, offering stories that celebrate women in their prime—experienced, flawed, fascinating, and fully human.
These shows prove that the most compelling stories often come from characters who have lived enough life to know exactly who they are. From crime dramas to comedies, here are some of the best series featuring brilliant women over 40 taking center stage.
1. Mare of Easttown — Kate Winslet as Mare Sheehan
Kate Winslet delivers a raw, unglamorous performance as a small-town detective haunted by personal tragedy.
Mare is messy, stubborn, and deeply human—a woman trying to solve a murder while her own life falls apart around her.
Winslet strips away any Hollywood polish to show a real, flawed person doing her best in impossible circumstances.
The show explores grief, community, and resilience without offering easy answers.
Mare’s relationships with her daughter, ex-husband, and mother add layers of complexity that feel authentic and earned.
This limited series became a cultural phenomenon because it dared to center a middle-aged woman who wasn’t trying to be likable—just real.
2. Big Little Lies — Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern
Three powerhouse actresses lead this darkly compelling drama about secrets, motherhood, and domestic violence in an affluent California town.
Each character brings a different struggle: Celeste battles an abusive marriage, Madeline fights to stay relevant, and Renata deals with career and family pressures.
The show doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, presenting them with nuance and emotional honesty.
What makes this series special is how it portrays female friendship as both complicated and essential.
These women support each other while also clashing, creating relationships that feel wonderfully three-dimensional.
Based on Liane Moriarty’s novel, the show became appointment television for its gripping mystery and stellar performances.
3. Killing Eve — Sandra Oh & Jodie Comer
Sandra Oh plays Eve Polastri, a bored MI5 security officer whose life explodes when she becomes obsessed with tracking a charismatic assassin.
At 47, Oh became the first Asian woman to lead a major American drama series—a groundbreaking achievement.
Eve is brilliant but overlooked, craving excitement and recognition in equal measure.
The cat-and-mouse game between Eve and Villanelle (Jodie Comer) crackles with tension, dark humor, and unexpected chemistry.
Oh brings depth to a character who discovers dangerous parts of herself she never knew existed.
This stylish thriller proved that middle-aged women could carry action-packed, morally complex stories just as compellingly as any male antihero.
4. The Diplomat — Keri Russell as Kate Wyler
Keri Russell commands the screen as a brilliant but unpolished diplomat suddenly thrust into the role of U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Kate is whip-smart and politically savvy, but she’d rather be solving crises in war zones than attending fancy dinners.
The show balances international intrigue with personal drama as Kate navigates political minefields while her marriage crumbles.
Russell brings intensity and vulnerability to a character who’s constantly improvising under pressure.
Kate’s competence is never in question—only her patience with the absurdities of high-level diplomacy.
This fast-paced political thriller showcases a woman at the height of her professional powers dealing with situations that would break most people.
5. The Morning Show — Jennifer Aniston & Reese Witherspoon
Behind the polished facade of morning television, two ambitious women battle for survival in a cutthroat industry that worships youth.
Jennifer Aniston plays Alex Levy, a veteran anchor fighting to keep her job after her co-host’s scandal.
Reese Witherspoon is Bradley Jackson, a fiery reporter who becomes an unlikely replacement.
The show tackles ageism, sexism, workplace harassment, and the price of ambition with unflinching honesty.
Both actresses deliver career-best performances, showing women who refuse to be pushed aside quietly.
What could have been a simple workplace drama becomes a searing examination of power, complicity, and what it takes for women to succeed in male-dominated spaces.
6. Better Things — Pamela Adlon as Sam Fox
Pamela Adlon created, writes, directs, and stars in this deeply personal comedy about a working actress raising three daughters alone in Los Angeles.
Sam Fox is tired, broke, and constantly juggling auditions with parenting crises.
Adlon’s performance feels lived-in and authentic, capturing the exhaustion and dark humor of single motherhood without sentimentality.
The show explores aging in Hollywood, caring for elderly parents, and the thankless work of raising kids who don’t always appreciate you.
Sam makes mistakes, loses her temper, and keeps going anyway.
This series offers a refreshingly honest portrait of middle-aged womanhood—messy, unglamorous, occasionally magical, and always real.
7. Call the Midwife — Jenny Agutter, Helen George, Linda Bassett & ensemble
Set in 1950s and 60s East London, this beloved British series centers on a community of midwives—many of them older women—delivering babies and providing care in impoverished neighborhoods.
Characters like Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) and Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) bring wisdom, compassion, and decades of experience to their work.
The show celebrates women who dedicate their lives to serving others, often sacrificing personal desires.
Beyond birth scenes, the series tackles poverty, racism, disability, and social change with sensitivity and historical accuracy.
These midwives aren’t just medical professionals—they’re pillars of their community.
Running for over a decade, the show proves audiences love stories about capable, caring older women making a difference.
8. Hacks — Jean Smart as Deborah Vance
Jean Smart is pure fire as Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedian fighting to stay relevant in an industry that has written her off.
At 70-something, Deborah is sharp, demanding, and absolutely hilarious—a woman who has survived decades in comedy through sheer talent and ruthless determination.
When she’s forced to work with a young, canceled writer, sparks fly in the best possible way.
Smart won multiple Emmys for this role, which showcases both her impeccable comic timing and surprising emotional depth.
Deborah refuses to fade quietly, demanding the respect she’s earned.
This show is a love letter to funny women who paved the way and continue fighting for their place on stage.
9. The Good Fight — Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart
Christine Baranski reprises her role from The Good Wife as Diane Lockhart, a senior partner who loses everything and must rebuild her career at a predominantly Black law firm.
In her late 60s, Diane faces financial ruin, political chaos, and a world that has shifted beneath her feet.
Baranski plays her with steel and vulnerability, showing a woman adapting to circumstances she never imagined.
The show tackles Trump-era politics, racial justice, and generational divides with bold, sometimes surreal storytelling.
Diane remains brilliant and principled, even when her worldview is constantly challenged.
This spin-off proved that older female characters can anchor timely, provocative television that speaks directly to contemporary anxieties.
10. The Gilded Age — Christine Baranski & Cynthia Nixon
From Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes comes this lavish period drama set in 1880s New York, where old money battles new money for social dominance.
Christine Baranski plays Agnes van Rhijn, a fierce guardian of old New York society who will not yield to vulgar new millionaires.
Cynthia Nixon is her progressive sister Ada, who quietly challenges conventions.
Both actresses bring gravitas and wit to women navigating a changing world where their power comes from social standing rather than legal rights.
The costumes are stunning, the dialogue is sharp, and the performances are deliciously theatrical.
This sumptuous series proves that historical dramas can center older women wielding influence with intelligence and style.
11. The Crown — Olivia Colman & Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II
Netflix’s epic royal drama handed its central role to middle-aged and older actresses for its later seasons, focusing on Elizabeth II’s mature years.
Olivia Colman portrayed the Queen in middle age, capturing her growing isolation and duty-bound stoicism.
Imelda Staunton took over for the final seasons, showing an elderly monarch facing family scandals and a changing Britain.
Both actresses brought depth to a woman trapped by protocol, showing Elizabeth’s private struggles behind the public mask.
The show explores how power, duty, and family intersect across decades.
Casting older actresses in these crucial seasons demonstrated that stories about aging women—even queens—can be just as compelling as tales of youthful royals.
12. Happy Valley — Sarah Lancashire as Catherine Cawood
Sarah Lancashire delivers a powerhouse performance as Catherine Cawood, a no-nonsense police sergeant in Yorkshire dealing with crime, family tragedy, and personal demons.
Catherine has survived the suicide of her daughter and is raising her grandson while hunting the man responsible.
Lancashire plays her as tough but broken, carrying immense pain while refusing to give up.
This gritty British crime drama doesn’t romanticize police work or trauma—it shows a woman grinding through each day with grim determination.
Catherine’s age and experience make her formidable, not disposable.
The show became a critical darling for its unflinching storytelling and Lancashire’s extraordinary, Emmy-worthy performance as an unforgettable working-class hero.
13. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — Rachel Brosnahan & Alex Borstein
While Rachel Brosnahan’s Midge gets top billing, Alex Borstein steals scenes as Susie Myerson, Midge’s gruff, middle-aged manager navigating the brutal comedy world of the 1950s and 60s.
Susie is tough, loyal, and completely unglamorous—a woman who knows the business inside out and fights fiercely for her client.
Borstein won multiple Emmys for bringing depth and humor to this unforgettable character.
The show also features Marin Hinkle as Midge’s mother Rose, who undergoes her own transformation from suburban housewife to independent woman.
Both older characters have rich, evolving storylines.
This fast-paced comedy proves that period pieces can showcase middle-aged women as complex, funny, and essential to the story.
14. Unbelievable — Toni Collette & Merritt Wever
Two brilliant detectives—played by Toni Collette and Merritt Wever—team up to catch a serial rapist in this powerful limited series based on true events.
Both women bring intelligence, empathy, and dogged determination to their work, treating victims with respect while methodically building their case.
Their partnership feels authentic, built on mutual respect and complementary skills.
Collette plays the more experienced detective with quiet authority, while Wever brings warmth and intuition.
Together, they model what good police work looks like when officers actually care about justice.
This harrowing but ultimately hopeful series centers middle-aged women as heroes who use their experience and compassion to make a real difference.
15. The Golden Girls — Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty
Long before it was trendy, this groundbreaking sitcom centered four older women living together in Miami, dating, working, and supporting each other through life’s challenges.
Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty created iconic characters who were funny, sexual, opinionated, and fully human.
The show tackled serious issues—aging, illness, discrimination—alongside hilarious cheesecake-eating kitchen conversations.
Running from 1985 to 1992, it proved that audiences loved watching older women be funny, flawed, and fabulous.
The chemistry between the four leads was magical, creating television history.
Decades later, The Golden Girls remains beloved, paving the way for every show on this list by proving older women deserve starring roles.
16. High Potential (HPI) — Kaitlin Olson as Morgan
Kaitlin Olson brings her signature comedic energy to Morgan, a brilliant single mom with an exceptional IQ who becomes an unlikely police consultant.
Morgan cleans crime scenes for a living until detectives discover her genius-level intellect and photographic memory.
She’s chaotic, funny, and completely unconventional—solving cases while juggling three kids and financial struggles.
The show balances procedural elements with character-driven comedy, showcasing a middle-aged woman whose intelligence has been overlooked her entire life.
Olson makes Morgan lovable and relatable, never playing her genius for superiority.
This fresh take on the crime-solver genre proves that unconventional, older female leads can anchor entertaining, accessible network television with heart and humor.