America in Primetime Independent Woman (Season 1, Episode 1)
TV-PG
TV Episode | 54 min | Documentary

America in Primetime

Independent Woman (Season 1, Episode 1)

TV-PG

TV Episode | 54 min | Documentary

In the early days of television, American prime time provided an idealized and stereotypical view of the American woman, who was more often than not portrayed as being subservient to the man, basically as housewife and mother in service to...See moreIn the early days of television, American prime time provided an idealized and stereotypical view of the American woman, who was more often than not portrayed as being subservient to the man, basically as housewife and mother in service to the family. In real life, most American women could could not measure up to this idealized view. From 1950 to 1970, three lead characters are seen as groundbreaking away from this stereotype (despite two being wife and mother): Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy, Laura Petrie in The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Richards in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, who were each independent for different reasons, much of those reasons specific to the era. Other characterizations of independent women that followed owed much to these three, and were reflective of the times. They include Roseanne Connor in Roseanne, and the title character in Murphy Brown. The lack of advertising on cable opened up the role of the independent woman even more, with Sex and the City being one of the earliest successes. Current examples of American prime time shows that feature independent women include Desperate Housewives, Weeds, Grey's Anatomy, Nurse Jackie and The Good Wife. Similarities between the women portrayed in these shows are that they are far from perfect but they are true to most parts of their selves. Written by Huggo See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
41 cast members

Name	Known for
Julianna Margulies Self / Alicia Florrick, The Good Wife Self / Alicia Florrick, The Good Wife See fewer	ER (1994)
Robert King Self - Co-Creator, The Good Wife Self - Co-Creator, The Good Wife See fewer	The Good Wife (2009)
Michelle King Self - Co-Creator, The Good Wife Self - Co-Creator, The Good Wife See fewer	The Good Wife (2009)
Archie Panjabi Self / Kalinda Sharma, The Good Wife Self / Kalinda Sharma, The Good Wife See fewer	San Andreas (2015)
Roseanne Barr Self - Executive Producer, Roseanne (as Roseanne) Self - Executive Producer, Roseanne (as Roseanne) See fewer	Roseanne (1988)
Diane English Self - Creator, Murphy Brown Self - Creator, Murphy Brown See fewer	Murphy Brown (1988)
Liz Brixius Self - Co-Creator, Nurse Jackie Self - Co-Creator, Nurse Jackie See fewer	Nurse Jackie (2009)
Jenji Kohan Self - Creator, Weeds Self - Creator, Weeds See fewer	Orange Is the New Black (2013)
Patricia Heaton Self / Debra Barone, Everybody Loves Raymond Self / Debra Barone, Everybody Loves Raymond See fewer	Everybody Loves Raymond (1996)
Steven Levitan Self - Co-Creator, Modern Family Self - Co-Creator, Modern Family See fewer	Modern Family (2009)
Will Scheffer Self - Co-Creator, Big Love Self - Co-Creator, Big Love See fewer	Big Love (2006)
Linda Wallem Self - Co-Creator, Nurse Jackie Self - Co-Creator, Nurse Jackie See fewer	Nurse Jackie (2009)
Danny DeVito Self / Louie DePalma, Taxi Self / Louie DePalma, Taxi See fewer	Matilda (1996)
Ron Howard Self / Opie, The Andy Griffith Show Self / Opie, The Andy Griffith Show See fewer	Arrested Development (2003)
Dick Van Dyke Self / Rob Petrie, The Dick Van Dyke Show Self / Rob Petrie, The Dick Van Dyke Show See fewer	Mary Poppins (1964)
Carl Reiner Self - Creator, The Dick Van Dyke Show Self - Creator, The Dick Van Dyke Show See fewer	The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)
Mary Tyler Moore Self / Laura Petrie, The Dick Van Dyke Show Self / Laura Petrie, The Dick Van Dyke Show See fewer	Ordinary People (1980)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Self / Elaine Benes, Seinfeld Self / Elaine Benes, Seinfeld See fewer	Seinfeld (1989)
James L. Brooks Self - Co-Creator, The Mary Tyler Moore Show Self - Co-Creator, The Mary Tyler Moore Show See fewer	Broadcast News (1987)
Shonda Rhimes Self - Creator, Grey's Anatomy Self - Creator, Grey's Anatomy See fewer	Grey's Anatomy (2005)
Candice Bergen Self / Murphy Brown Self / Murphy Brown See fewer	Miss Congeniality (2000)
Marcy Carsey Self - Executive Producer, Roseanne Self - Executive Producer, Roseanne See fewer	The Cosby Show (1984)
Diablo Cody Self - Creator, United States of Tara Self - Creator, United States of Tara See fewer	Juno (2007)
Tom Werner Self - Executive Producer, Roseanne Self - Executive Producer, Roseanne See fewer	The Cosby Show (1984)
Laurie Metcalf Self / Jackie Harris Self / Jackie Harris See fewer	Lady Bird (2017)
Judd Apatow Self - Executive Producer, Freaks and Geeks Self - Executive Producer, Freaks and Geeks See fewer	Girls (2012)
Kevin Reilly Self - President, Fox Entertainment Self - President, Fox Entertainment See fewer	Fan Level Midnight: Devoted to the Office (2024)
David Chase Self - Creator, The Sopranos Self - Creator, The Sopranos See fewer	The Sopranos (1999)
Mike Royce Self - Co-Creator, Men of a Certain Age Self - Co-Creator, Men of a Certain Age See fewer	One Day at a Time (2017)
Stephen McPherson Self - Former President, ABC Entertainment Self - Former President, ABC Entertainment See fewer	Untitled Kate Gersten Comedy
Sue Naegle Self - President, HBO Entertainment Self - President, HBO Entertainment See fewer	The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Darren Star Self - Creator, Sex and the City Self - Creator, Sex and the City See fewer	Sex and the City (1998)
Sarah Jessica Parker Self / Carrie Bradshaw Self / Carrie Bradshaw See fewer	Sex and the City (1998)
Elisabeth Moss Self / Peggy Olson, Mad Men Self / Peggy Olson, Mad Men See fewer	The Invisible Man (I) (2020)
Marc Cherry Self - Creator, Desperate Housewives Self - Creator, Desperate Housewives See fewer	Desperate Housewives (2004)
Eva Longoria Self / Gabrielle Solis, Desperate Housewives Self / Gabrielle Solis, Desperate Housewives See fewer	Desperate Housewives (2004)
Felicity Huffman Self / Lynette Scavo Self / Lynette Scavo See fewer	Transamerica (2005)
Sandra Oh Self / Dr. Cristina Yang Self / Dr. Cristina Yang See fewer	Killing Eve (2018)
Mary-Louise Parker Self / Nancy Botwin, Weeds Self / Nancy Botwin, Weeds See fewer	RED (2010)
Edie Falco Self / Jackie Peyton, Nurse Jackie Self / Jackie Peyton, Nurse Jackie See fewer	The Sopranos (1999)
Alan Yentob Self - Presenter (UK version) Self - Presenter (UK version) See fewer	Imagine (2003)