Dial M for Menopause: Women over 50 in TV
- Apr 20, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 26
This could be misconstrued, but I have a thing for shows helmed by middle-aged female characters. Especially ones who are difficult to define, have patchy judgement, and do questionable things. The messier the better, in fact.
Depictions of Older Women in the Content Revolution
In today's vast TV series landscape, we're increasingly seeing content from different perspectives that in the past never had much chance of being developed let alone green-lit. So although huge strides have been made in shining a light on stories featuring a female lead - that have actually been created and written by female writers - it feels like we have to bang the drum a little louder to see more authentic representations of older women on the screen.
The drive for female led material had been partially propelled by the explosion of TV series we experienced in the streaming era - the much cited "Golden Age of TV". We're now in a strange, post-covid, post-writers' strike era when financial constraints mean less shows are being made, Not only that, but what does get made is often based on previous IP, which seems less of a risk in decidedly risk-averse times.
But despite a glut of content on our screens, when it comes to TV series with women pushing or over 50 at their heart, it seems we're still pointing to shows like The Golden Girls or Murder She Wrote for noteworthy benchmarks in terms of audience and longevity.
We are still consistently seeing older women portrayed stereotypically as either a nosey neighbour or someone's quirky mother. Of course there are some great contemporary TV series featuring older women, but they seem to overwhelmingly be in either the comedy, comedy-drama (Grace & Frankie, Dead to Me) or crime genres (Prime Suspect, How to Get Away with Murder).
Introducing the meandering, manic and not so magical, Big M
We can't talk about middle-aged women without mentioning the other dreaded 'm' word: menopause. Is it still a dirty word for TV and film makers? The subject of menopause has been little explored in drama, which is ironic considering menopause IS drama.
In 2025 it's estimated that there are over one billion women going through one of the stages of menopause. That's 12% of the world's population according to the United Nations World Population Prospects 2019. Yet the surface of what is an enormously challenging phase of life has barely been scratched.
I struggle to name shows that deal with menopause in any meaningful way, Although conversations are starting to happen in the public domain, menopauses's symptoms and long-term impact still takes place on the periphery of popular culture. There seems to be some residual unwillingness to explore this stage of life that every woman passes through.
There's much to be done in redressing the lack of content featuring older women and the myriad of stories that can be told about them; the big M alone could be categorised as a reverse coming-of-age story. Although more about the journey than the destination, it can be a turning point for some women that creates a natural stepping off point into some very juicy drama territory indeed: the mid-life crisis.
In case you missed the memo, Menopause is not just about the cessation of periods. Falling hormone levels create such havoc both mentally and physically that no aspect of life is left unaffected. Everything from cognitive function and personality to libido can be turned on its head as a result.
Menopause is drama. Narratively, the possibilities abound because these women have reached a crossroads in their lives.
They are the shadowy figures who get up every morning and multitask their way through the day. The ones in crisis, navigating the mess of peri, post and menopause proper and who either have too many or no more f@cks to give (there is no middle ground).
They are the ones deemed past their used by dates and who happen to look their age. Rude and offensive they may be deemed, but perhaps they're just fed up with being invisible and "tolerated".
Where are these invisible women who make the world turn?
The stats for women initiating divorce in their 50s are apparently through the roof. I'd like to see some of those stories on the screen. Where are the tv shows that chronicle the older woman’s experience dealing with mid-life crisis, attempting to re-enter the job market, struggling with career dilemmas, or empty nest syndrome, having an affair or dealing with the existential issues that crop up after a certain age? Where's the matriarchal ruler of a successful business empire? The professional hotshot with a car crash for a personal life? The mild-mannered woman who risks all for a second chance?
How many similar stories have we seen from the older man’s perspective?
I believe there's a huge audience who desperately want to see older women doing ALL KINDS OF THINGS and being ALL KINDS OF CHARACTERS. They will not all be pleasant or likeable; that is the beauty of human existence and the magic that makes a story provocative and compelling. I actively search out these types of stories and greedily gobble them up when they appear: Eve in Killing Eve; Judy and Jen in Dead to Me; Clare Underwood in House of Cards; the sisters in Bad Sisters. These complex and shaded characters have cropped up here and there but are still very few and far between considering the size of this demographic and the appetite that exists for this type of content.
I'd like to see more, and I don't think I'm alone.
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