Best of the decade: What were the top 10 female-fronted sci-fi shows of the 2010s?
By Shaun Stacy
Runaways (Hulu), 2017-present
The first — but definitely not the only — Marvel superhero show on our list, Runaways, is based on the comic book of the same name that follows a group of super-powered teenagers who find out that their parents are villainous members of an organization called the Pride.
The series was widely praised by critics and audiences a like, attributing stellar casting and writing that grounds such a fantastical, coming-of-age story. Each of the teens has his or her own powers or abilities that they use to fight against their nefarious parents and other Earthly threats. It explores the idea of nature versus nurture, looking at the difference between the family you’re born into and having a chosen family.
Nico Minoru (played by Lyrica Okano) is the team’s de factor leader and goth witch, Karolina Dean (Virginia Gardner) is a human-alien hybrid with light-based powers, Gert York (Ariela Barer) a feminist and social activist who is telepathically linked to a genetically engineered dinosaur, and Molly Hernandez (Allegra Acosta), a mutant with superhuman strength and invulnerability.
It’s not just that the majority of the team are women. Nico and Karolina happen to, simultaneously, be the most powerful members of the team and also a loving couple. Molly is Gert’s adoptive sister who searches for answers on what happened to her birth parents. Gert also struggles with her own anxiety disorder while the teens are indeed on the run.