13 Reasons to Watch TV

The '90s proved to be a fertile field for single women characters on TV. Friends gave us the unforgettable Monica (Courteney Cox), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow); Sex and the City changed the landscape with its footloose Manhattan single gals led by Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker); and on the dramatic side, no one kicked more booty (quietly) than the brilliant and gorgeous Agent Scully (Gillian Anderson) of The X-Files.

But since those shows went off the air, the networks have struggled to create characters who didn't need a male companion to make them interesting. There have been a few here and there, including the top-rated The Closer, though they eventually married off Kyra Sedgwick's character, rendering the show less interesting by half. But mostly, it's been randy sitcoms and embarrassing characters. (I mean, Cougar Town? This is a typical single woman in her 40s? Kill me now.)

That has happily started to change in the past year, and signs are good that single women characters with nuance and verve -- especially those of a certain age -- are going to enjoy a bumper season.

I'll admit to feeling a bit bitter about this -- or perhaps it's just sour grapes? A few years ago, a book I wrote about being 50 and single was optioned for a TV show. It was a fantastic experience working with a very savvy screenwriter, producer and director -- all women. But then the (male) network executives declined to take it any further, saying they didn't think anyone would tune in to see a show about the romantic travails of a woman in her mid- to late 40s. The following year, Cougar Town came out and was a huge success. Sigh.

But rather than dwell on that bad decision, let us list the reasons single women of a certain age should be happy to watch TV these days. The past year has seen the emergence of some wonderful new characters and shows:

• Dana Delaney has riveted audiences as the main character in Body of Proof, which features her as a crusading medical examiner (and disgraced former surgeon) seeking to balance the burdens of her job with single motherhood.
• A single, overweight character named Molly (Mike & Molly), played by Emmy-nominated Melissa McCarthy, has shocked people by being one of the most popular women on TV -- evidence that one does not have to own the Body Beautiful to make it in La-La Land.
• AMC, the network that brought us the testosterone-fueled Mad Men and Breaking Bad, now offers a single heroine for the ages in The Killing, which is inspired by a Danish book and set in Seattle, with Mireille Enos as the best woman cop since Prime Suspect.
• Hot in Cleveland on TV Land is proof that there is a market for jokes about sex among women who are on the riper side of middle age. It's been called this decade's Golden Girls, as all the characters, from Valerie Bertinelli to Betty White, have sex on the brain. At the same time, they are independent and happy while waiting for that next man to come along.
• The Nielsen ratings tell us that viewers have also fallen in love with two single gals who share the title roles in Rizzoli and Isles on the TNT network. Angie Harmon is Rizzoli, a Boston detective. Sasha Alexander is Dr. Maura Isles, a medical examiner. Best friends, they could not be more different in personality -- a virtual Odd Couple on the distaff side.
• Kathy Bates is stellar in the otherwise mediocre Harry's Law on NBC, about a woman of a certain age taking charge after being fired as a patent lawyer, and rebuilding her life from the ground up.

In addition to those characters, single women in recent years have seen good times -- and good ratings -- in these roles:

• Mary McCormack's character on In Plain Sight, a peppery, funny U.S. marshal who deals with relocated protected witnesses in her home town of Albuquerque: Having been the one responsible adult in her family -- her father deserted, her mother a drunken flake, and her younger sister beset by troubles with deadbeat boyfriends and the law -- she has a completely cynical viewpoint and a clever sarcasm that is entertaining to watch even as you feel badly for her.
• Tina Fey as Liz Lemon of 30 Rock: Even though Fey angers some single women for writing her role as borderline pathetic, she still makes us laugh every week. Liz can be a mess, but there's never a question that she's in charge.
• Showtime's two very complex, if fabulously flawed, single women characters: Nurse Jackie, starring Edie Falco, and Mary-Louise Parker of Weeds are unstoppable women with missions -- even if their peccadilloes (pill-popping and pot-selling) are alarming.
• Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife: The show was slow to warm up but is now one of the best on TV -- about a political wife surviving scandal with grace and aplomb.
• The scenery-chewing, brilliant Glenn Close in Damages, which was close to disappearing, but has now moved to DirecTV.
• And coming this season... I'm told that one of the hottest fall shows will be the American version of the British detective show, Prime Suspect, with actress Maria Bello in the role originated by Helen Mirren.
• One of my favorite young actresses, Zooey Deschanel (500 Days of Summer), is getting a lot of buzz for her new show, The New Girl, about the only female roommate in a house full of guys -- perhaps a Friends for a new generation?

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