Women-Led Stories Still Undersupplied In Film & TV Despite Clear Demand — Report

Women-led stories are in short supply on television, according to a new report from data company Luminate.

Shows that centered on women accounted for just 11% of premieres from the beginning of 2025 through the third quarter of 2026 despite drawing 17% of U.S. minutes streamed, per the analysis. That may seem a small gap between supply and demand, but Luminate says that this data “shows women-centered series command more viewing time than the volume of these shows would suggest.”

In particular, serialized dramas about women are undersupplied. The subcategory, which includes titles like Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Furious or Showtime’s Yellowjackets, accounted for one-third of women-centered stories released over much of the last two years but 44% of minutes streamed for such shows.

Luminate postures that the “significant unfulfilled demand” for women-led dramas on television should come as no surprise, given the buzz that they make when they do make it to air. Last year, The Handmaid’s Tale was the most-streamed title on Hulu as it concluded its six-season run. Even more recent, the Emmy Rossum-starrer Furious grew its audience 90% in just five weeks post-premiere, Disney said in September.

Not every category or genre is lacking in women-centered stories, though. For example, Luminate finds the supply of women-led documentaries and foreign language films to be oversaturated in the U.S. market. Meanwhile, thrillers and, surprisingly, literary adaptations are still being undersupplied.

There is a 16-point disparity for literary adaptations, which accounted for nearly a third of minutes streamed among women-led stories but just 16% of supply, Luminate’s report finds.

Naturally, some heavy hitting outliers like Bridgerton and The Handmaid’s Tale contribute to that skew, but still this suggests that there’s plenty of room for more in the space. Streamers have clearly taken note of the demand and are already becoming more bullish, particularly with women-led literary adaptations. After the successes of The Summer I Turned Pretty and Off Campus, Prime Video has developed a whole slate of upcoming women-centered adaptations from Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing to Elsie Silver’s Rose Hill.

Luminate also notes Netflix’s recent adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, which has been among the most-watched weekly television titles on Netflix since it premiered.

“In a TV landscape where female-led dramas are still rare enough to be remarked upon, there is clearly a healthy appetite for them among audiences,” the report reads.