Best of the decade: What were the top 10 female-fronted sci-fi shows of the 2010s?

As another decade comes to a close, Culturess takes a look back at the supernatural, superhero, and sci-fi shows that gave us the best female storytelling of the 2010s.

The past decade was a pretty rough one for women, especially toward the end. We saw our rights threatened in a way not seen since the ’70s. Equal pay is still very much an uphill battle, particularly for women of color. But despite these oppressions in real life, female characters have thrived in television and other forms of media throughout the 2010s, almost as a reflexive counter-balance.

In science fiction, especially, women have moved to the forefront to become integral parts of saving the world (or universe). From superheroes to clone clubs, we’re taking a look at some of our favorite female-fronted sci-fi shows from the past decade.

What constitutes an amazing, female-fronted sci-fi show? We’ve taken into consideration a variety of factors, such as the number of regular female cast members, the types of storylines they’re given, the duration of the series, and the cultural impact the series has had throughout the years. While there have been a great deal of worthy female characters on sci-fi shows the past decade, we’ve narrowed our list down to 10 shows that we believe have become instant classics.