The time period “Dad TV” has been round for years. Usually it refers to a collection with a male lead that’s relatable and an professional in a selected discipline who overcomes some sort of problem or sudden hardship. Throw in a contact of humor, a way of nostalgia, and a canine or little one to guard, and you’ve got a TV collection any dad could be completely satisfied to observe.
Whereas some could argue that tv has at all times been Dad TV (for those who’re over 40, chances are high your dad at all times managed the distant if you had been a child), the style has not too long ago developed. Because of sturdy feminine leads in what was once considered as prototypically male roles, the style has fully developed from Dad TV into Grown-Up TV.
Eric Deggans, a TV Critic and media analyst for NPR has additionally seen this evolution. Citing two specific causes for the shift: “Ladies watch TV extra than males do, so it’s by no means made sense to make TV exhibits that focus solely on guys as a result of it downplays your greatest potential audiences,” Deggans wrote, referring to procedurals centered on regulation and crime. “As an alternative of going for the viewers that’s laborious to get and charging advertisers extra, which is what networks used to aim to do with younger viewers, they comprehend it’s a greater enterprise choice to supply content material for the viewers that’s already there… Placing a girl in a historically male-centered atmosphere, like in Particular Ops: Lioness, for instance, performs with relationship dynamics, offers storytellers extra instruments to work with, and may create pressure. Characters that persist with conventional gender roles can result in predictable storytelling.”
Over the previous few years, there have been a number of examples of feminine protagonists with huge attraction that illustrate the evolution of Dad TV into Grown-Up TV. Most impressively, they now cowl a myriad of genres. Right here’s a glance.
Michael Greenberg / CBS
Procedural dramas
Maybe the world the place feminine leads have helped evolve Dad TV probably the most is in authorized, police, and medical procedurals. Mariska Hargitay (Legislation & Order: SVU), Ellen Pompeo (Gray’s Anatomy), Angela Bassett (9-1-1), and Queen Latifah (The Equalizer) have performed sturdy, beloved characters for years. In 2024, there’s been an inflow of much more feminine crime fighters and high docs.
Oscar winner Jodie Foster reinvigorated the True Detective franchise earlier this yr and gained an Emmy for her function as Detective Liz Danvers within the Alaskan-set Evening Nation. Excessive Potential, which debuted this fall and stars Kaitlin Olson as a single mother with a excessive IQ and a knack for fixing crimes, is ABC’s most-watched collection in six years. Matlock, a reboot that’s not a reboot starring one other Academy Award winner, Kathy Bates, has been an enormous hit for CBS and has a 100% evaluate rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The collection was renewed for a second season after simply two episodes. And Pulse, Netflix’s upcoming foray into hospital dramas, can be led by Willa Fitzgerald.
Apple TV+
Sci-Fi
The sci-fi TV style has lengthy been a house for layered feminine characters comparable to Dana Scully (The X-Recordsdata), Kara Thrace (Battlestar Galactica), and Olivia Dunham (Fringe). The previous few years have seen a resurgence of those sorts of roles.
Silo, which premiered with its second season on November 15, facilities its post-apocalyptic story round probably the most quintessential of Dad TV characters: the neatest particular person within the room (Rebecca Ferguson) making an attempt to get to a fact suppressed by a authorities company. Three of this 2024’s most talked about collection – The Acolyte, Agatha All Alongside, and Fallout – are all largely female-led exhibits and took difficult TV subgenres (Star Wars, Marvel, and online game variations) into daring instructions. Heck, with Fallout, Yellowjackets, Sweetpea, and Arcane, Ella Purnell is single-handedly redefining the Dad TV style.
Paramount+ / Courtesy Everett Assortment
Household dramas
Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuaron’s collection Disclaimer, based mostly on the 2015 novel of the identical title by Renee Knight, is yet one more instance of a task shift that works. We’ve all seen the results of males having an affair on tv, however on this collection, viewers are hypnotized when witnessing how a long-buried secret of journalist/documentarian Catherine Ravenscroft (Cate Blanchett) unravels her life.
Yellowstone, which has slowly turned Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) into the collection lead instead of Kevin Costner, and The Good Couple (Nicole Kidman) are two different in style exhibits which are constructed round sturdy, difficult feminine characters in household dramas.
Amazon Prime Video
Army/Spy
Not surprisingly, the army/spy TV style has been dominated by male leads for many years however that started to vary within the 2000s. Exhibits like Alias (Jennifer Garner), led to Homeland (Claire Danes), Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo), and Hanna (Esme Creed-Miles).
At the moment the army/spy style is pushed by the female-led Citadel (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), its two spin-offs Citadel: Diana (Matilda De Angelis) and Citadel: Honey Bunny (Samantha Ruth Prabhu), and Lioness (Zoe Saldana) which was created by the king of Dad TV, Taylor Sheridan.
What does the evolution of Dad TV into Grown-Up TV truly imply?
The largest takeaway from female-led exhibits gaining widespread reputation in what was once male-dominated subgenres is that at the moment’s TV viewers have demonstrated that they largely need the identical factor. No matter gender, audiences take pleasure in rooting for relatable, expert protagonists coping with a simple dilemma.
To make certain, there’s loads of nuance. Characters in Grown-Up TV exhibits have their complexities however when it comes proper right down to it, TV collection with clear good guys and unhealthy guys makes for a satisfying expertise. However whether or not that good man is a person or a girl not issues. Throw in a contact of humor, some nostalgia, and a canine or little one to guard, and you’ve got a TV collection anyone could be completely satisfied to observe.
