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Exit
lar questions. I recognize that
men are entirely capable of writing good female characters, and
that white people can write quality roles for characters of color
(but let’s not kid ourselves, it
doesn’t happen often enough).
But when networks go to the
same wells again and again, it
starts to seem like the narrative
concerns of programs created by
men are the only narrative concerns that matter. They’re not.
Simply from a commercial
perspective, the short history of
Netflix’s original programming is
instructive: Orange Is the New
Black, which was created by a
woman, has helped put Netflix
on the map because its stories
and characters were not what TV
viewers usually see. If the companies that commission TV shows
want to stand out in an increasingly competitive environment
— or perhaps would like to cater
to an American population that is
half female and will soon have a
non-white majority — don’t they
need, or possibly want, as many
fresh voices, ideas and perspectives as they can get?
It’s not as though nothing is
changing. A number of current
dramas feature complex, interest-
TV
HUFFINGTON
03.16-23.14
We can do better;
we are doing better; we are
striving to do better.”
ing women, and more platforms
seem willing to tell offbeat or
unusual stories about a more diverse array of characters. And it’s
possible that the networks have
some dramas in development that
are being made by women and
people of color. Some of those
shows may actually make it on
Abi Morgan,
writer of the
2006 HBO
miniseries
Tsunami: The
Aftermath.