While TV entertains us, it also serves as a vehicle to celebrate and question modern society. Television needs to provide its audience with accurate representation.
During Women’s History Month, we illustrate how TV shows empower women with one word: friendship. Television has the opportunity to emphasize healthy relationships between female friends and how vital it is to stick together rather than tear each other apart.
Here’s a look at 8 of the best female friendships in television history that A) pass the Bechdel test and B) uplift women.
Before we do that we have to know: What is the Bechdel test?
The Bechdel test was initially inspired by Alison Bechdel’s 1985 comic. In the comic strip, a woman explains to her friend that she will only see a movie if it passes her rule with 3 requirements. The film has to have 2 female characters, those female characters have to talk to each other, and their conversation has to be about something other than a man.
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It has become a part of the Hollywood conversation, with cultural critics and media fans dissecting films and TV shows to discover whether they pass the Bechdel test. The 3 requirements rule helps to reinforce positive portrayals of women on screen.
While there are many TV friendships that pass the Bechdel test and uplift women, here are 8 of our favorites.
Best TV friendships: Rebecca & Keeley, Ted Lasso
These polar opposites have captured our hearts! While Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) is initially seen as the cold owner of the AFC Richmond team, Keeley (Juno Temple) is an over-the-top bubbly model. However, they realize they’re not much different from each other than they thought. While Keeley helps Rebecca gain her self-confidence back after a terrible marriage, Rebecca lets Keeley tap into her career potential.
It’s refreshing to see 2 female characters exist without competition. Although Rebecca and Keeley occasionally gossip about their dating lives, most of their conversations revolve around lifting each other up.
The actors are super close off-screen too! Hannah and Juno’s duo interviews are just the cutest to watch.
Do they pass the Bechdel test?: Yes! Most of their conversations aren’t about a man.
Best TV friendships: Rose, Dorothy, Blanche, & Sophia, The Golden Girls
We have to thank this OG girl group for eating their fair share of cheesecake and saying some of the funniest jokes on television. The Golden Girls introduced older female friendships where 4 single women faced aging together. Each “Golden Girl” has distinct qualities: Dorothy is the sarcastic and hardworking teacher, Rose is the naive and sweet farm girl, Blanche is the sexually free Southern femme fatale, and Sophia is Dorothy’s sardonic Italian mother.
The 4 women may get into their fair share of arguments, but they always show their support for each other. They confide in each other about their careers, interests, troubles, and wildly engaging sex lives. Betty White, Bea Arthur, Estelle Grey, and Rue McClanahan connect magically on-screen, making their friendship dynamic even more fun and heartfelt to watch.
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Do they pass the Bechdel test?: They are 1 of the first core girl groups that passed the test!
Best friendships on TV: Ilana & Abby, Broad City
Ilana (played Ilana Glazer) and Abbi (Abbi Jacobson) are 20-something Jewish-American best friends in New York City that are equally obsessed with each other. The 2 friends try to survive in NYC while getting themselves into crazy adventures. While Ilana is more outspoken and overtly sexual and Abbi is shy and sweet-natured, the two fit perfectly together.
Together, Ilana and Abbi are crude and rebellious as they talk about sex and bodily functions, stick to feminist ideals, and smoke tons of weed. They also spend little to none of their time talking about men. It’s a friendship that brings the best out of the 2 characters.
Since Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson wrote the show based on their real friendship, the beauitful relationship you see between them is even more genuine.
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Do they pass the Bechdel test?: Oh yes! They only have time for each other, no man.
Best female friendships on TV: Grace & Frankie, Grace and Frankie
Grace and Frankie are another example of a healthy representation of aging women on TV. Rivals Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin) are women in their 70s who learn their husbands have been in love with each other for years and want to get married.
The 2 couldn’t be more different. Grace is an uptight, sophisticated cosmetics mogul and Frankie is a laid-back, hippie art teacher. The two must bond together, though, to help them get over their cheating husbands. While their conversations may focus on their ex-husbands at first, their friendship grows to them celebrating each other over milestones.
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin have been friends for over 4 decades and we’re finally seeing the 2 reunite on-screen since their 1st project 9 to 5. How cool is that?!
Do they pass the Bechdel test?: These 2 gal pals have passed the test for over 40 years!
Best female friendships on TV: Kimberly, Leighton, Whitney, & Bela, The Sex Lives of College Girls
Mindy Kaling introduces the beauty of blossoming female friendships for a Gen-Z audience in The Sex Lives of College Girls. The 4 freshmen roommates come from very unique backgrounds: Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) is an awkward work-study student from a small Arizona town, Leighton (Reneé Rapp) is a wealthy student hiding a secret, Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) is a soccer star, and the daughter of a U.S. senator, and Bela (Amrit Kaur) is a sex-positive Indian-American student who aspires to be a comedy writer.
The 4 are a fun and beneficial model for young female friendships on screen. Sure, Leighton takes some time to warm up to the other 3 roommates, but in the end, they show up for each other. They face issues like race, class, sexuality, gender inequality, and sexual assault together.
While there are several conversations about their sex lives, (college girls like sex too!), the characters focus on their own wants and needs.
Do they pass the Bechdel test?: Totally! They have wild fun without a guy in sight.
Best TV friendships: Issa & Molly, Insecure
Insecure’s Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) represent an honest Black female friendship. The 2 women deal with their own flaws and insecurities as they go through their late 20s. Instead of these flaws separating the two, it unties them to have a stronger bond.
Each friend has jobs on opposite sides of the spectrum; Issa works at a non-profit while Molly is a corporate attorney. Sometimes their different lifestyles cause them to disagree with each other, leading to more intense arguments. Fights are normal! And healthy. Issa and Molly prove that sometimes you grow apart from friendships for a bit, but you can overcome it with empathy and care. The 2 always continue to show their love, and it translates off-screen too!
Do they pass the Bechdel test?: Yes! With flying colors! These women are there for each other no matter what.
Best TV friendships: Sutton, Jane, & Kat, The Bold Type
Move over Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha; a new city girl group is in town. Sutton (Meghann Fahy), Jane (Katie Stevens), and Kat (Aisha Dee) are 3 best friends who work at the women’s magazine Scarlett in NYC. Sutton is an assistant who dreams of leading the fashion department, Jane works as a staff writer, and Kat is the social media director for the magazine.
Amidst tackling issues around race, sexuality, romantic relationships, health scares, gun control, and much more, the 3 friends inspire one another to live to their truest potential. Kat, Sutton, and Jane cheer each other on when achieving big goals like a new career, engagement, or even rocking a new outfit. They are the definition of close-knit work friends who have fun during and after office hours. With daily meetings in the fashion closet to “hash out” their day, the trio screams “dream gal pals.”
Do they pass the Bechdel test?: Confidently can say absolutely! A lot of the episodes barely touch on the men in their lives.
Best TV friendships: Midge & Susie, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Out of all the love stories in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) and Susie (Alex Borstein) is the best 1. The manager-comedian relationship gets off on an interesting foot because both have no filter with how they feel about the other.
While Susie may be tough on Midge and her eccentric and outspoken comedy approach, she will protect Midge at all costs. Midge helps Susie get out of her no-nonsense nature, letting Susie open up more about who she is.
The relationship starts off as strictly professional, but as the seasons go on, the 2 become closer. Midge and Susie clearly love each other and show up when both need it most. Who would’ve thought you could be friends with your boss? Apparently, in the late ‘50s comedy scene, anything is possible.
Do they pass the Bechdel test?: Definitely! They’re focused on career. . . career. . . career!
Do you agree with our list? Who are some of your favorite TV female friendships? Let us know on Twitter!
