"From a leading cultural journalist, a definitive look at the rise of the female showrunner--and a new golden era of television. Female writers, directors, and producers have radically transformed the television industry in recent years. Shonda Rhimes, Lena Dunham, Tina Fey, Amy Schumer, Mindy Kaling: These extraordinary women have shaken up the entertainment landscape, making it look like an equal opportunity dream factory. But things weren't always this rosy. It took decades of determination in the face of preconceived ideas and outright prejudice to reach this new era. In this endlessly informative and wildly entertaining book, veteran journalist Joy Press tells the story of the maverick women who broke through the barricades, starting with Roseanne Barr (Roseanne) and Diane English (Murphy Brown), whose iconic shows redefined America's idea of "family values" and incited controversy that reached as far as the White House. Barr and English inspired the next generation of female TV writers and producers to carve out the creative space and executive power needed to present radically new representations of women on the small screen. Showrunners like Amy Sherman Palladino (Gilmore Girls), Jenji Kohan (Weeds, Orange Is the New Black), and Jill Soloway (Transparent) created characters and storylines that changed how women are seen and how they see themselves, in the process transforming the culture. Stealing the Show is the perfect companion to such bestsellers as Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Tina Fey's Bossypants, and Shonda Rhimes' Year of Yes'; not to mention Sheila Weller's Girls Like Us and Rebecca Traister's All the Single Ladies. Drawing on deep research and interviews with the key players, this is the exhilarating behind-the-scenes story of a truly groundbreaking revolution in television"--
This is a well-researched history of female-created television shows and the way progressive female characters have become more and more common. There's a nice exploration of the cultural periods each show belongs to, though I would have liked even deeper acknowledgment of mass culture as a reaction to social and political movements. I wish there had been more focus on the role of women who aren't just creators/showrunners/writers, because female editors and crews play a huge part in the way a show takes shape and we are slowly seeing more women in every type of production role. Feminist media critics also need to cut it out with the Lena Dunham worship. It's utterly bizarre how Press was able to acknowledge Dunham's various fuck-ups while still maintaining that she is ultimately a positive force in the media landscape and that the real reason she is so hated is because she puts her naked size 10 body on television. Referring to her "disarming humor" is a grossly inadequate euphemism. Dunham traffics in shock value at the expense of pretty much every population that she doesn't belong to, her "feminism" entirely self-serving. Like, come on, we need to move past this.
