Women-Led Stories Still Undersupplied In Film & TV Despite Clear Demand — Report
A Luminate report says women-centred television shows are undersupplied relative to their share of US streaming, particularly serialised dramas and literary adaptations. The findings suggest there is room for more such programmes, as these stories draw a larger share of viewing than their share of releases.
Women-centred shows made up 11% of premieres from early 2025 to the third quarter of 2026, but accounted for 17% of US streaming minutes. Serialised dramas represented a third of women-led releases but 44% of viewing minutes for them; literary adaptations drew nearly a third of viewing minutes among women-led stories while making up 16% of supply. Luminate also found women-led documentaries and foreign-language films oversupplied, while streamers are developing more adaptations, including Prime Video projects based on Fourth Wing and Rose Hill.
- Women-centred shows drew 17% of streaming minutes but made up 11% of premieres.
- Serialised dramas and literary adaptations are among the undersupplied categories.
- Streamers are developing more women-led adaptations.
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Streaming services release programmes centred on women alongside a much larger range of other stories. Luminate is an audience research company that tracks what people watch and how much time they spend watching it.
Its figures compare women-centred releases with their share of US streaming viewing, and break the programmes down by type, including dramas and adaptations of books. This helps show where supply and viewing differ, as well as which kinds of programmes attract audiences.
The figures matter to streaming services deciding what to develop and release, and to writers and producers seeking projects. Adaptations turn existing books into screen stories, while serialised dramas tell a story across multiple episodes.
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The case for
The report suggests streamers are leaving audience demand unmet: women-centred shows account for a larger share of viewing than of premieres, especially serialised dramas and literary adaptations. Commissioning more of these programmes could better serve viewers and give platforms room to grow engagement, while the development of new adaptations may indicate the industry is beginning to respond.
The case against
Viewing share alone does not establish that more commissions would be commercially successful: it may reflect a smaller supply of highly watched titles, and the report’s categories and US streaming data may not predict performance across platforms or markets. Streamers also have to weigh production costs, risks and competing audience preferences, while the reported oversupply in women-led documentaries and foreign-language films cautions against treating all women-centred content as equally underserved.