If you’ve just finished The Five-Star Weekend and are looking for a new show that celebrates the messy, meaningful and life-affirming nature of female friendship, we have just the list for you.
I love sinking my teeth into a good romance or a twisty psychological thriller, but more often than not it’s the friendships at the heart of a show that stay with me long after I’ve pressed the ‘off’ button on my remote. From lifelong bonds that weather decades of change to unlikely connections forged through grief or shared secrets, there are endless fictional portrayals out there of women finding strength, comfort and joy in one another.
It’s a theme Jennifer Garner touched on when she sat down with me to discuss her latest Sky series, The Five-Star Weekend. “Romance may be wonderful to watch, and it may be something that you can dream about or maybe even have, but you cannot live without your girlfriends,” she said.
After watching The Five-Star Weekend, which follows one woman as she reunites with a friend from every chapter of her life, I found myself thinking about the TV shows that capture female friendship at its very best (and, sometimes, its very messiest). So whether you’re looking for something heartwarming, hilarious or deliciously complicated, these are the series worth adding to your watchlist in case you’re in need of a fictional friendship fix.
Insecure
Created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore, this award-winning HBO series follows the lives, careers, friendships and romantic relationships of two Black women navigating adulthood in Los Angeles. Partially based on Rae’s web series, Awkward Black Girl, Insecure premiered in 2016 and ran for five seasons before its finale in 2021. Widely praised for its authentic portrayal of the lives of Black millennial women, it scooped up multiple award nominations, including an Emmy nomination for outstanding comedy series and three Golden Globe Award nominations for Rae.
Imperfect Women
Sometimes a twisty mystery is exactly the kind of show that offers a compelling take on female friendship, and Apple TV’s Imperfect Women delivers in spades. Starring Kerry Washington, Elisabeth Moss and Kate Mara, the series follows three friends whose decades-long bond is turned upside down when a crime shatters everything they thought they knew about one another.
Dying For Sex
Inspired by the story of Molly Kochan, who co-hosted the hit Wondery podcast with her best friend Nikki Boyer, this Disney+ series follows Molly (Michelle Williams) after she receives a stage IV metastatic breast cancer diagnosis. Leaving her husband behind, she begins to explore the full breadth and complexity of her sexual desires for the first time. By her side is her best friend Nikki (Jenny Slate), who offers her unwavering courage and support every step of the way until the very end.
Firefly Lane
Over on Netflix, Firefly Lane is based on Kristin Hannah’s bestselling novel and follows the 30-year friendship of Tully and Kate, who support one another through life’s highs and lows with an unbreakable bond that carries them from their teens to their 40s. Starring Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke, the series premiered in February 2021 and garnered a total of 1.3 billion minutes in its debut week
Everything I Know About Love
If you haven’t yet tuned into this adaptation of Dolly Alderton’s 2018 memoir, then consider this your sign to start the binge-watch now. Starring Emma Appleton and Bel Powley as childhood best friends Maggie and Birdy, the series offers a deep dive into the lives of the girls’ friendship group as they navigate life in London during the 2010s. Offering an unflinching look into bad dates, heartaches and humiliations, it asks an enduring question: can platonic love survive romantic love as we grow up?
Dead To Me
A friendship built on grief, loss, crime and forgiveness is born in this dark, twisty Netflix comedy starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini. Created by Liz Feldman, Dead To Me follows recently widowed real estate agent Jen Harding (Applegate), who joins a grief support group after her husband is killed in a hit-and-run accident. There, she meets eccentric care worker Judy Hale (Cardellini), who quickly becomes her friend – but beneath the surface, Judy harbours a crushing secret that threatens to destroy the trust they’ve built.
Derry Girls
One of Channel 4’s most beloved comedies, Derry Girls is created by Lisa McGee (How To Get To Heaven From Belfast) and is set in Derry, Northern Ireland, during the final years of The Troubles. Starring the brilliant Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Nicola Coughlan, Louisa Harland and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, the coming-of-age comedy follows a group of spirited students as they contend with the universal challenges of being a teenager – all under the watchful eye of Siobhán McSweeney’s Sister Michael.
Big Little Lies
Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling book and boasting an ensemble cast of Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoë Kravitz, Big Little Lies follows a group of five very different women, whose children all attend the same school in the affluent seaside community of Monterey in northern California. When a suspicious death rocks the affluent community, secrets, rivalries and unexpected alliances begin to emerge beneath its seemingly perfect facade. Praised for handling delicate themes like domestic abuse, trauma, female rage and motherhood, the Apple TV show received 16 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and went on to win eight, including outstanding limited series in 2017.
The Hunting Wives
Based on the 2021 novel by May Cobb, The Hunting Wives first landed on screens in the US in July 2025 and quickly accumulated a dedicated audience in the UK when it landed on ITVX in December. Starring Malin Åkerman, Brittany Snow, Dermot Mulroney and Chrissy Metz, the series follows Sophie O’Neil (Snow), who moves from Boston to east Texas after a traumatic event shakes her family. There, she meets the enigmatic Margo Banks (Åkerman), who quickly initiates Sophie into her exclusive inner circle of privileged, affluent girlfriends, known as the hunting wives.
Sex And The City
I know, I know, this one is obvious – but I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t include one of the most influential shows about female friendship in TV history. Created by Darren Star, Sex And The City follows Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte as they navigate life, love and dating in New York City. First landing on screens in 1998, the HBO show remains a firm favourite among millennial women for its celebration of female friendship and the enduring truth of Samantha’s wise words: “Men, babies, doesn’t matter. We’re soulmates.”
