Television’s Most Important Women Screenwriters

Many women have significant roles in the film and television industry. There are outstanding actresses and directors, but they also write popular stories. For example, for the 2022 Oscars, there are two women nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay: Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jane Campion. 

In television, however, this does not seem to be entirely fair. According to a recent study by the Writers Guild of Great Britain, only 28% of female scriptwriters worked in television over the last 15 years. For example, from BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 programs, there were only 18% women writers. However, this does not mean that there are no very relevant women who worked on the scripts of excellent TV series. Below, we will tell you which were the most outstanding ones. 

Phoebe Waller-Bridge

She is a British actress and writer. Waller-Bridge is the creative mind behind some very successful TV comedy-dramas, as is the case with 2016's "Crashing." Similarly, she developed and wrote the BBC television series "Killing Eve," based on the novels by Luke Jennings.

Her most important work is "Fleabag." She is not only the protagonist but also the creator of this series, which is considered one of the best in recent years. Thanks to this, she has been nominated for Best Comedy Writer for the BAFTA TV Craft Award. In that series, she takes advantage of the resource of breaking the fourth wall incredibly in the script. Undoubtedly, she is one of the best female screenwriters today.  

Esther Martínez Lobato

She is the creator of a global phenomenon: "La Casa de Papel." This production accumulated more than 6.7 billion hours watched, making it one of the most successful non-English speaking series on Netflix. As a result, it won the award for Best Screenplay by the 2017 IRIS Television Academy. 

Martínez Lobato has a gripping writing style that leaves you hooked chapter by chapter. However, her success did not end there. She worked as a scriptwriter in other major Spanish productions like "El Barco," "Vis a Vis," and "Sky Rojo," which is planning a new season for the future. She is one of the most relevant scriptwriters in the history of Spanish TV, which has allowed this country's fiction to be successful on an international scale. 

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Shonda Rhimes

Finally, we have another woman who has achieved great success as a screenwriter of series in the United States. She stands out for a production that has achieved impressive success: "Grey's Anatomy." This story, which began in 2005 and is still on the air, allowed her to win the 2007 Golden Globe for best drama series.

In 2007, she was even considered one of the 100 most influential people according to Time magazine. Best of all, she not only wrote these stories: She was also in charge of the scripts for "Inventing Anna," "Scandal," and "Private Practice," all series highly valued by the press and the public. She made history by delivering a medical story that continues to enchant her fans more than 15 years after the first broadcast. 

Jenji Kohan

She is an American screenwriter and television producer, fully recognized for her great works. She created "Will & Grace," "Mad About You," and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." She has an extraordinary filmography, which distinguishes the elaboration of stories in single episodes for series.

However, it is clear that she is recognized for what she achieved with "Orange Is The New Black." This is an adaptation of the play written by Piper Kerman and talks about the women's prison experience. Kohan was not only the writer behind each story but also the screenwriter and executive producer. Undoubtedly, she exploited an exciting format that inspired other successful productions, such as the aforementioned "Vis a Vis." In short, here you have met today's most successful female screenwriters. We hope you liked this information!