The 20 best movies and TV shows featuring Black women

Released in 2023 to significant acclaim, the documentary Kokomo City focuses on several trans women of color and their lives as sex workers in New York and Georgia. The film is remarkable for several reasons, for it is not only strikingly beautiful and stylistically sophisticated, but it also gives the women in question the opportunity to speak about their lives and experiences as Black trans women and sex workers. The film’s raw honesty makes it one of the truly great documentaries of the 21st century.

Pose is widely regarded as one of the best productions from Ryan Murphy. Taking its cue from such films as Paris is Burning, it follows a group of trans women of color as they navigate the fraught world of late 1980s and early 1990s New York City. The series is heartfelt and features some truly outstanding performances from the likes of Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Billy Porter. It is, above all, a poignant portrait of the strength of these women in the face of the AIDS crisis and social intolerance of trans women of color.

Cynthia Erivo gives a performance that is nothing less than dynamite in Wicked, the film adaptation of the beloved and long-running stage musical of the same name. She portrays Elphaba, the green-skinned young woman fated to become the Witch of the West, one of the most recognizable villains in literature. Whether it’s belting out showstoppers like “Defying Gravity” or quieter moments of joy, Erivo can do it all, and her remarkable star power and performance adds further poignance to Elphaba’s story and sets the stage for even greater joy and heartbreak to come in the musical film’s second part. 

Based on the book by Alice Walker and the musical adaptation of the novel (and of the 1980s film), The Color Purple  is the heart-wrenching story of Celie as she endures heartbreak and abuse and eventually finds happiness. It features several beautiful songs and performances, particularly from Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, and Danielle Brooks. It’s a powerful adaptation of Walker’s remarkable book and a testament to the undying spirit of Black women and their relationships and bonds with one another.

With The Bodyguard,  Whitney Houston demonstrated that she was not just one of the finest voices of her generation but also a surprisingly strong actress. The film’s story might be a bit predictable, but there’s no question that Houston has charm and charisma to spare. Even if the film had otherwise failed, it would have been noteworthy for introducing the world to Houston’s cover of “I Will Always Love You” which, though written by Dolly Parton, has come to be regarded as one of Houston's signature songs.

Black female friendship is central to Waiting to Exhale,  which is known for its remarkably talented cast and very popular and critically praised soundtrack. The cast includes such heavy hitters as Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Dennis Haysbert. The film is remarkable for featuring an entirely African-American cast and for examining issues and concerns of particular importance to Black women. 

Based on the novel by Nella Larsen, Passing  chronicles the fraught relationship between Black woman Reenie (Tessa Thompson) and her friend, Clare (Ruth Negga), the latter of whom passes for white. This choice of Clare’s ends up having tragic consequences for everyone involved. Both Thompson and Negga give powerful and haunting performances, and the film, like the novel, demonstrates the extent to which whiteness all too often becomes a weapon that blights and destroys everything that it touches. It’s black-and-white cinematography endows the film with a lyrical and poetic quality that makes its story even more poignant.

Viola Davis is her usual powerful self in The Woman King, in which she plays General Nanisca, one of the elite warriors of the Agojie, a group of women warriors. Though it takes some notable liberties with history, it is still a fascinating look at a group of African women existing at a key moment in history, when the slave trade was still a part of the European economy and when various African kingdoms had to fight back or become part of a horrible system. Davis is at her very best in the role, and she is perfectly suited to play a formidable woman warrior.

Danielle Deadwyler is nothing short of electric in Till, in which she plays Mamie, the mother of Emmett Till, the African-American boy who was murdered by white supremacists while visiting the South. Mamie isn’t one to take this injustice lying down, and the film follows her attempts to get justice for her son. Deadwyler perfectly captures a mother’s rage and sorrow at the racist murder of her son, and her story feels even more relevant with each passing year. It’s a film that once seen is never forgotten.

Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust remains one of the most powerful pieces of feminist cinema from the 1990s. Taking place in 1902, it focuses on the Gullah people of South Carolina, in particular the female members of one family who prepare to leave their ancestral homeland. It’s meditative and experimental, with a poetic pace that perfectly captures the fleeting nature of memory and the deeper roots of family history. The narrative can sometimes be a bit hard to keep track of, but it’s a film more interested in providing a cinematic experience rather than a traditional story.

Hidden Figures is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to its cast, starring such heavy hitters as Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe. Moreover, it tells a vitally important story about the African-American women whose efforts and mathematical skill were key to NASA and America’s efforts during the Space Race. All three of the leads are extraordinary in their roles, and the film is an important reminder of the vital role that Black women have played in all stages of American history.

Gabourey Sidibe burst onto the acting scene with her performance in Precious, in which she portrays the title character, who endures horrifying abuse at the hands of her mother and other members of her family. Given that this was Sidibe’s first acting role, her performance is particularly remarkable. The film remains one of Lee Daniels’ best, and it manages to explore the opposite poles of joy and abject despair. It’s one of those films that, once seen, is never really forgotten. 

Having shown her remarkable acting abilities in True Blood, Rutina Wesley got an even greater opportunity to showcase her charisma in Queen Sugar. She plays one of three siblings who inherit their father’s sugarcane farm. The series skillfully blends a great deal of social and cultural commentary with propulsive plotting, giving audiences characters whose lives feel authentic. Its ability to grapple with personal and family dynamics and broader issues is a key part of its power and intense appeal.

Abbott Elementary burst onto the sitcom scene in 2021, the brainchild of creator Quinta Brunson, who also stars as well-meaning and eternally optimistic Philadelphia school teacher Janine Teagues. In addition to being one of the funniest and most well-written series on television, the show also features empowered and complex Black women in leading roles. In addition to Brunson, it also stars Janelle James as the narcissistic (but secretly caring) principal, Ava, and stage legend Sheryl Lee Ralph as kind-hearted teacher Barbara. It’s easy to see why this series is one of the most beloved of ABC’s current lineup.

There’s a good reason that Viola Davis is often lauded as one of the finest actresses of her generation, and How to Get Away with Murder remains one of her finest screen appearances. Her character, Annalise Keating, the kind of antihero that television audiences love, and though she makes many questionable moral decisions during the series run, such is the power of Davis’ performance that one can’t help but be drawn to her. Thanks to Davis, Keating has become a true feminist icon, and her influence endures even though the series finished its run years ago.

Natasha Rothwell stars in How to Die Alone, in which she appears as Melissa, an airport employee whose entire life changes when she almost dies. Rothwell is at her best in this role, and though Melissa is often the architect of her misfortunes, the audience finds her impossible not to like. Though the series only lasted one season before being canceled by Hulu, it’s still a fun watch, and a testament to Rothwell’s skills as both an actress, a writer, and a director.

Issa Rae is the creative genius and star of Insecure, which stars Rae as Issa Dee, a young African American woman who has to contend with financial and personal struggles as she tries to find happiness. Of particular note is her fractious but loving friendship with her best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji), as well as her sometime-boyfriend Lawrence (Jay Ellis). By turns funny and poignant, this series is remarkably adept at exploring the difficulties of adult millennial life and friendship, and it isn’t afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve.

Scandal remains one of the most beloved entries in the sprawling TV empire of Shonda Rhimes, and it’s easy to see why. Kerry Washington’s Olivia Pope is the perfect kind of antihero, the kind of character that was a prominent part of TV in the 2000s and throughout the 2010s. As a political fixer Pope is innately a morally gray figure, and this becomes ever more clear the longer the show goes on, and she ultimately becomes one of the most notable antiheroes of the 2010s.

Maya Rudolph first obtained fame and prominence thanks to her many hilarious performances on Saturday Night Live. Starting in 2022, however, she finally got a show that was worthy of her talents: Apple TV’s Loot. In the series she portrays Molly Wells, who dives headfirst into philanthropy after she’s divorced by her billionaire husband. Molly is a remarkably complex and at times frustrating character but, thanks to Rudolph’s charisma, she’s still a good person at heart, and this is why she makes the perfect (flawed) hero of a sitcom.

Though Jeremy Allen White is often the center of attention in the series The Bear,  Ayo Edebiri is just as important. Edebiri stars as the aspiring chef Sydney Adamu. Like the other characters in this series, Sydney has her struggles and dramas, and it remains one of Edebiri’s strongest and most nuanced performances. In addition to being one of the series’ most notable stars, she earned praise for directing an episode. There’s clearly nothing that she can’t do.