Women To Watch

As a woman of color, representation in the media is one of my most favorite subjects to discuss, especially if I can bring it up randomly without any context in a conversation. And we’re fortunate enough to live in a world where more and more women are making names for themselves in television and film. Here are a few of my favorites to watch, both on-screen and off:

Mindy Kaling.

Comedy nerds the world over will remember Kelly Kapoor from cult favorite The Office. Kelly, portrayed by Kaling, was the vapid customer service representative at Dunder Mifflin that everyone loved to hate. What isn’t common knowledge is Kaling’s additional roles behind the scenes of The Office. Kaling was a writer and producer from the show’s inception. She wrote some of the shows most popular episodes - “Hot Girl,” “The Dundees,” and “Diwali” name just a few.

Now she’s working on The Mindy Project, a semi-autobiographical sitcom that she created, produces, writes, and stars in. Kaling is the first Indian American to create and star in her own show on a major network. The Mindy Project follows an OB/GYN who is struggling to juggle her busy schedule at work her quest to find her prince charming in New York City.

As much as she’s paved the way for women of color in television, Kaling still gets backlash for the choices she makes on her show. Despite this, she continues to address more taboo issues on her show. She manages to combat them with tact and humor; jokes about race and stereotypes against women are popular on the show. Kaling understands the standard she’s setting. And despite all the backlash (The Mindy Project was cancelled by Fox in 2015, but quickly saved by streaming site Hulu in the same year) Kaling is determined to keep working and set an example for young girls like her.

The Mindy Project is available to stream on Hulu. Kaling’s first collection of essays, Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns, is also available for purchase.

Aja Naomi King.

King’s claim to fame came with Shonda Rhimes’ murder mystery How to Get Away With Murder. She plays Michaela Pratt, a type A student dedicated to graduating top of her class and marrying her high school sweetheart. King won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the NAACP Image Awards in 2015. She’s also featured in Birth of a Nation, a film about a slave revolt in Virginia in the 1800s .

Though her career is just now beginning to take off, her performances are so strong in everything she’s featured in. King, along with the rest of the Murder cast, are amazing role models for the next generation of aspiring actors. Because of her performance in Birth of a Nation she could be up for an Academy Award in 2017.

How to Get Away With Murder is available on Netflix. Keep an eye out for Birth of a Nation later this year; it’s due for an October release.

Melissa Fumero & Stephanie Beatriz.

Another diverse show that’s rising in popularity is Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Produced by SNL alum Andy Samberg and the minds behind cult faves like Parks and Recreation, it follows a rag-tag group of cooky detectives and their stoic captain as they solve crimes in New York. B99 features a hilarious ensemble cast that defy their stereotypes, none better than Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Beatriz. Fumero plays Amy Santiago, an intelligent and competitive special agent in the Nine-Nine. And Beatriz plays Detective Rosa Diaz, the standoffish “tough guy” of the precinct.

Melissa Fumero is a first-generation American, the daughter of Cuban immigrants. And Beatriz is Argentinian; she moved to the US at a very early age. Their characters ignore the common Hispanic/Latina stereotypes that we always see in films and television. Women of color, especially latinas, are usually fetishized in the media and depicted either as super-sassy or super-sexy.

Fumero and Beatriz are more concerned with portraying their characters as competent and capable. They don’t let their ethnicities determine their characters in any way, which is so refreshing and rarely seen on television now. Their characters are latina, but they don’t let that define them. The same can be said for the rest of the B99 cast; they all have a wonderful understanding of who their characters are and where they’re going. It’s a shame that more tv shows don’t show the same level of understanding of their characters, but it’s what makes Brooklyn Nine-Nine a gem, and its actors even more rare.

Priyanka Chopra.

One of the newest and most popular shows of the year is Quantico, a series about trainees in the FBI in the midst of a terrorist scheme that involves one of the recruits. Chopra plays trainee Alex Parrish, an Indian woman who is framed as the mastermind of the terrorist operation. She sets off on a mission to clear her name and find the real culprit.

Quantico tiptoes across various taboo subjects. It walks a fine line, but still manages to address issues of racial profiling and stereotypes without overstepping into more offensive ground. Alex Parrish is complex and contradictory: focused, driven and intuitive while also vulnerable and naive. She’s a perfect example of the modern day career woman, and I love that Chopra isn’t afraid to show so many different sides to her character.

Priyanka Chopra is one of few Indian actors that have managed to crossover into Western film and television. She got her start doing Bollywood films before landing the lead role in Quantico. She’s also one of the stars of the Baywatch reboot, set for a 2017 release. She’s an inspiration for countless aspiring Eastern actors the world over.

Quantico airs every Sunday at 10 on ABC. Also catch some of Priyanka’s most popular Bollywood films: Barfi!, Agneepath, and Mary Kom.