Share

8 feisty shows for a night in with the girls

accreditation
A scene in Younger. (Showmax)
A scene in Younger. (Showmax)


Cape Town - In honour of International Girl Friends Day on 1 August (we know it’s not really a thing, but any excuse for a girls’ night, right?), we bring you a list of the top shows about feisty women that you can binge on internet TV this weekend.

Whatever you and your squad’s night-in “thing” is (Buddha bowls and matcha lattes? Popcorn and sherry? Grilled cheese and margaritas?), tonight’s the night to pull out all the stops and get your internet TV binge on, with these series and movies all currently available on Showmax, Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Younger, Seasons 1-4

First and only on Showmax

The first six episodes of the brand-new Season 4 of Younger launched earlier this week, first and only on Showmax, so now you can catch up on the action, the outfits, the steamy scenes and some of the best kisses we’ve ever seen caught on screen in Seasons 1-3 before getting acquainted with Season 4. This charming, addictive rom-com is about Liza, a beautiful, smart, funny 40-year-old who reboots her career and love life by posing as a twentysomething after leaving her husband. There’s no point getting dessert for your girls’ night - there’s eye-candy galore in this show, which has been called “Sex and the City for millennials”.

Watch the trailer here:

Available on Showmax.

Desperate Housewives

Full boxset

You probably all watched this when it was on TV the first time round, but who doesn’t need a reminder of all the scandal, twists, turns, deaths and ill-advised romps that were all in a day's work for the women of Wisteria Lane? The beauty of having the whole boxset on Showmax is that you can skip to your favourite episodes - like the one where Gaby mows the lawn in an evening dress and heels to cover up her affair with her toy boy (Season 2, episode 1), or the one where OCD Bree just DGAF about her own son and drops him off at a gas station out of town because she doesn't approve of his taste in men (Season 2, episode 21).

Watch the trailer here:

Available on Showmax.

Girls

Seasons 1-5

The difference between the characters on Girls and other shows about a group of girl friends is that none of these girls are actually likeable. They're all self-obsessed narcissists who are trying to make their way (while getting their own way) in modern-day New York. Never have middle-class twentysomething women been so boldly and unflinchingly portrayed on TV as they are in this Peabody, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning HBO series (created, written and directed by lead actress Lena Dunham and her bestie Jenni Konner) and their fights, fall-outs and massive mistakes are as much of a reason to watch as are their spontaneous bedroom dance-parties and quick-witted self-deprecating dialogue. 

Watch the trailer here:

Available on Showmax.

Sex and the City

Full boxset

Who could forget the classic female foursome: Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, taking on the New York dating scene and building their careers in their 30s? It never gets old, and we'll never get tired of Carrie's wardrobe, or suspend our disbelief in her job as a sex columnist affording those shoes or that apartment, or fail to shed a little tear in the finale, when Carrie's voiceover reminds us that the most significant relationship we'll ever have is with ourselves.

Watch the trailer here:

Available on Showmax.

Girlboss

Based on the true story of Sophia Amoruso, who started a women’s fashion label while working as a security guard at an arts school in San Francisco, this series stars Britt Robertson (who you might recognise from the Vince Vaughn movie Delivery Man) as Sophia, a smart-mouthed young woman who makes up for what she lacks in direction with more than her fair share of moxie and her keen eye for vintage fashion. Though critics are divided, we think this series embodies the spirit of millennial feminism in the way Sophia lets nothing stand between her and her vision for her future fashion empire. There are some very funny scenes, too - the lengths Sophia will go to, to avoid getting a bad rating from “Ladyshopper99” in episode 4 are hilariously impressive.

Watch the trailer here:

Available on Netflix.

The Incredible Jessica James

This movie stars one of the most dynamic comediennes out there, former Daily Show correspondent Jessica Williams (who also happened to celebrate her birthday earlier this week). She plays a force to be reckoned with - a woman who knows her true worth, despite the rejection letters she gets in her career as a playwright and the fallout from a bad breakup that are currently holding her back. Then she meets a divorced app designer on a blind date (played by Chris O’Dowd), and starts wondering if the life she’s striving for might not be within her grasp after all.

Watch the trailer here:

Available on Netflix.

Friends from College

A rom-com with a difference, the smokiest love affair that takes place in this series is exactly that - an affair between Sam (Annie Parise) and Ethan (Keegan-Michael Key), who met at Harvard decades ago and are married to other people, but have been engaging in romantic trysts whenever Ethan travels to New York. Now Ethan and his wife Lisa (Cobie Smulders), who, along with their whole circle of friends, also went to Harvard, are moving to the city, and Sam and Ethan have some big decisions to make about their non-relationship. Key is fantastic in the series (his nervous impersonations are the best) but it’s Lisa and Sam we can’t take our eyes off. Finally, here are two women on TV approaching 40 who are as fully realised, conflicted, flawed and powerful as their male counterparts.

Watch the trailer here:

Available on Netflix.

Fleabag

British playwright and actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge wrote and stars in this mini-series about a young woman trying to cope with adult life in London, based on her award-winning one-woman play of the same name. It’s raunchy and rough, and, on the surface, a comedy, but there’s something dark and very sad overshadowing Fleabag’s booze-and-one-night-stand-filled life. Also starring Olivia Colman as her diabolical “godmother” (is it just us, or is Colman even more brilliant as a bad guy than a good cop or love interest?).

Watch the trailer here:

Available on Amazon Prime.

Sign up to Showmax for these and other female-centric shows, and you’ll get a 14-day free trial »

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE