From The Crown To Masaba Masaba: 22 Original Shows On OTT That Are Led By Women

1. SHE

She is a crime drama revolving around a woman constable who goes undercover to bust a drug racket. The central character of Bhumika Pardesi is played by Aaditi Pohankar in the show. Bhumika not only has to work undercover as a prostitute, but she also has to fight off her oppressive drunkard husband at home and fend for her poverty stricken family.

It is available on Netflix.

2. Masaba Masaba

A fictional adaptation of Masaba Gupta's life, Masaba Masaba features the fashion designer herself in the lead, alongside her mother Neena Gupta. The show gained immense popularity for its relatable content revolving around two career-driven women and for the crackling chemistry that the mother-daughter duo share on-screen.

It is available on Netflix.

3. Bombay Begums

Bombay Begums is a drama series that revolves around five women and their tryst with power, desire, politics and personal struggles. Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, the show features Pooja Bhatt, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, and Plabita Borthakur. The show got into legal trouble for its portrayal of women and teens, as it showed an underaged character smoking.

It is available on Netflix.

4. Aranyak

Image Credit: YouTube screenshot

Aranyak in Bengali means "of the forest." The series revolves around a team of two incompatible cops who find themselves caught in a web of politics, lies and corruption while trying to solve a high profile murder case. The series features a stellar cast led by Raveena Tandon, Ashutosh Rana, and Parambrata Chatterjee.

It is available on Netflix.

5. The Crown

The Crown is a historical drama series that captures Queen Elizabeth II's reign. It starts off with Queen Elizabeth II's 1947 wedding to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to the early twenty-first century. Actors Claire Foy (seasons 1–2, also featuring in season 4) and Olivia Colman (seasons 3–4) have played the titular role in the series.

It is available on Netflix.

Suggested Reading: Best Netflix India Original Shows You Can Binge On

6. Warrior Nun

Warrior Nun is a fantasy series that tells the story of Ava Silva, a 19-year-old woman who wakes up in a morgue with a new lease on life and a divine relic embedded in her back. She learns that she is now a member of the ancient Order of the Cruciform Sword, which has been tasked with combating demons on Earth, and great forces from both heaven and hell are on the lookout for her.

It is available on Netflix.

7. Girlboss

This comedy show features Britt Robertson as Sophia Marlowe and Ellie Reed as Annie, Sophia's best friend, and is based on Sophia Amoruso's 2014 autobiography by the same name. The Series tells us the tale of how Amoruso founded retailer brand Nasty Gal while working as a campus safety host for San Francisco's Academy of Art University.

It is available on Netflix

8. Jane The Virgin

Jane the Virgin is a romantic comedy-drama set in Miami, which follows Jane Gloriana Villanueva, a hardworking, religious young Venezuelan Catholic Latina who falls pregnant after being artificially inseminated by accident. This Gina Rodriguez has been praised for its treatment of issues like single parenting and also representation of women of colour.

It is available on Netflix

9.  How to Get Away with Murder

How to Get Away with Murder is series that has redefined the genre of legal thrillers. Viola Davis plays Annalise Keating, a high-profile criminal defence attorney and Middleton University law professor whose life has been plagued with pain, and Billy Brown plays Nate Lahey, a Philadelphia police detective who is having an affair with Annalise at the start of the series. Their paths crossed when an unforeseen incident puts Keating in a tough spot.

It is available on Netflix

10. Orange is the new Black

A still from Orange Is The New Black

Orange Is the New Black (also known as OITNB) is a dark comedy that captures life of women inmates at a US jail. Piper Chapman is sentenced to a year and a half in prison for a decade-old offence of delivering drug money to an ex-girlfriend, forcing her to confront the reality of how life-changing prison can be.

It is available on Netflix

11. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a supernatural horror series that is set in Greendale, a fictional town. It's a bleak coming-of-age tale of a young witch laced with terror, fear, and witchcraft. Sabrina Spellman must reconcile her dual nature as a half-witch and half-mortal while battling the evil forces that endanger her, her family, and the human-dominated daylight world.

It is available on Netflix

12. Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation is a political satire and mockumentary featuring ludicrous antics of public officials in an Indiana town as they pursue various schemes to make their city a better place. The much-loved comedy series is led by Amy Poehler, Jim O'Heir, and Nick Offerman star in the drama.

It is available on Netflix

13. Supergirl

We all love Superman, now meet is equally amazing cousin Supergirl. Actor Melissa Benoist leads the show alongside Chyler Leigh, and David Harewood. Benoist's Kara Zor-El flees Krypton at the age of 12 to seek refuge with the Denver family on Earth, where she grows up in the shadow of her foster sister Alex and learns to conceal the remarkable abilities that she shares with her cousin, Superman. As an adult, Kara begins working for media tycoon Cat Grant, discovers that her days of keeping her powers hidden are gone when Hank Henshaw, the leader of the super-secret agency, enlists her to help safeguard the city's residents from dangers.

It is available on Netflix

Suggested Reading: Goodbye Sleep! 5 Creepy Crime Documentaries On Netflix To Keep You Awake All Night

14. Four More Shots Please

A still from Four More Shots Please Season 2

 Through friendship and glasses of tequila, the series follows four unabashedly "flawed" women (two in their 30s and two in their early 20s) as they live, love, make mistakes, and discover what really makes them tick in millennial Mumbai. Sayani Gupta, Bani J, Kirti Kulhari, and Maanvi Gagroo star in the series, which is one of India's first all-women-led series

It is available on Amazon Prime Video.

15. Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling

Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling is a women's professional wrestling promotion that debuted on television in 1986 (the pilot was filmed in December 1985) and has since resurfaced in various formats. The success of the series is due to its colourful characters, powerful women, and over-the-top comic sketches. The majority of performers on the show are aspiring actors, models, dancers, or stuntwomen.

It is available on Netflix.

16. Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones revolves around a superhero who had a brief heroic career until she was forced to kill someone by the monstrous Kilgrave. She goes on to work as a private investigator after that incident. But her archnemesis Kilgrave reemerges, Jones must use her powers once again to stop. The role of Jessica Jones in the series is played by Krysten Ritter.

It is available on Netflix.

17. Rasbhari

Swara Bhaskar plays three roles in Rasbhari, an Indian psychological comedy miniseries that exposes the taboo around sex and sexuality in India, especially in rural parts. Shanu, an English teacher and her husband go to Meerut where rumours began circulating in the city about her unusual sexual appetite. She is called a "husband snatcher" by the women of the community, while the men can't stop thinking about her.

It is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Suggested Reading: Top Romantic Korean Drama Shows On OTT

18. Homecoming

The series tells us the story of Heidi Bergman who works as a social counsellor at the Homecoming Transitional Support Center, a live-in facility run by the Geist Group, ostensibly helping soldiers adjust to civilian life. A few years later, we are told that Bergman (played by Roberts) has begun a new life as a waitress and has trouble recalling her time at Homecoming. After a US Department of Defense auditor inquires about why she quit her work Homecoming, Bergman realises she had been misled about the true purpose of the facility.

It is available on Amazon Prime Video.

19. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is a period comedy-drama that revolves around Miriam "Midge" Maise, a Jewish American housewife who discovers her talent for stand-up comedy after her husband leaves her. The role of Mrs Maisel is played by Rachel Brosnahan in the series.

It is available on Amazon Prime Video.

20. Hanna

Hanna is a 15-year-old girl who lives in a lonely corner of a forest in Poland with Erik, the only man she has ever known as her father. Erik once enlisted the help of pregnant women in a CIA experiment known as UTRAX, in which the children's DNA was altered in order to create super-soldiers. When Erik falls in love with Hanna's mother, Johanna, he rescues Hanna, and the two of them depart. The CIA then instructs Marissa, their on-site agent, to shut down the operation and kill all of the babies. Will Hanna survive?

It is available on Amazon Prime Video.

21. Fleabag

A still from season 2 of Fleabag

This British comedy is based on Phoebe Waller-Bridge's stand up show by the same name. Featuring Bridge in lead, the comedy series is about a young woman adjusting to life in London while dealing with the aftermath of a recent tragedy and adjusting to the whims of her dysfunctional family.

It is available on Amazon Prime Video.

22. Made in Heaven

Featuring Sobhita Dhulipala and Karan Mehra, the series revolves around two wedding planners and the challenges they face while trying to make a dream day out of high profile couples' weddings. The series also sees these characters deal with personal issues like police brutality faced by the LGBT community, infidelity and class divide.

It is available on Amazon Prime Video.