Women are so done with playing the hero’s love interest or the damsel in distress. Today’s leading ladies are fearless detectives, business owners, monster hunters and even cold-hearted criminal masterminds. Got a strong home internet connection? Check out these binge-worthy women power series.

Just Dropped: Wednesday

Streaming on: Netflix | Seasons: 2

Your favourite deadpan detective is back for another women's power series of mysterious murder investigations and offbeat adventures at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday Addams has spent her summer holidays honing her psychic abilities and tracking down a serial killer. Totally on brand. Now she has a bunch more creepy murders to solve. Love that for her. If you’re a fan of The Addams Family – good news. The rest of the clan gets a lot more screen time this season.

All The Drama: Kings of Jo’burg

Streaming on: Netflix | Seasons: 3

The queen of woman power characters on SA screens, Connie Ferguson, is back for a third season as the lethal antiheroine Veronica Masire of the powerful Masire crime family. The first two seasons were all about power struggles, as the Masire family dealt with threats from their enemies, betrayal from within their own circle and dangerous alliances. But underneath it all was something even more sinister – the family curse. In season three, this eerie supernatural layer gets more prominence, making the story spicier than ever.

Longest Running: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Streaming on: Apple TV | Seasons: 26

Detective Olivia Benson is the OG badass woman power character. She’s spent more than two decades investigating crimes that “in the criminal justice system…are considered especially heinous”. We can’t get enough of her fearless determination in seeing offenders brought to justice and her deep compassion for their victims. It’s the layers and the believable characters that make this such a winner for fans of crime drama. Even 26 seasons later, SVU just never gets old.

Feel Good: Mince Jou Hare

Streaming on: Showmax | Seasons: 1

A show created by the hilarious Shimmy Isaacs is guaranteed to serve up plenty of humour, OTT characters and a relatable storyline. Frieda is the loveable main character who decides to quit her job and open a hair salon from her house. Except her house isn’t exactly set up for the purpose. The result? A lot of make-do solutions as she gets her business up and running. It’s a light-hearted, small-town comedy but also a women power celebration of the many small women-owned businesses in our country.

For The Nostalgia: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Streaming on: Disney+ | Seasons: 7

“Into every generation a Slayer is born….” For elder millennials, that heroic figure was Buffy Summers, a feisty teen navigating high school, love interests and the forces of darkness in the small town of Sunnydale. Nineties nostalgia is having a moment, and it doesn’t get more Ninetiescore than Buffy. With a sequel series in the works for 2026 that will see Sarah Michelle Gellar reprising her woman power role as she passes the stake to a new slayer, what better time to slip on a pair of comfy cargo pants and lose yourself in a world of magic, monsters and butt-kicking Buffy!

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