“The international marketplace will pay less for shows with certain ethnic leads than they will for shows with white leads.”
– Susanne Daniels

Women characters in television dramas have come a long way since the 1970s, but where are they going in the future?

Thursday night, Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication Elana Levine hosted a university satellite seminar series on women’s changing roles on television dramas. The seminar, titled “Taking the Lead: Women and the Changing Face of Television Drama,” was presented by the Museum of Television and Radio.

The seminar, which was broadcast to universities across the country, featured five panelists with experience in ground-breaking female leads in television dramas.

It included Barbara Corday, co-creator of one of the first television dramas to feature intelligent female leads, “Cagney and Lacey;” Susanne Daniels, president of entertainment for Lifetime; Jill Hennessy, star of “Crossing Jordan;” Jane Seymour, star of “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman;” and Jenji Kohan, creator of the Showtime series “Weeds.”

The moderator, Cynthia Littleton, deputy editor of “The Hollywood Reporter,” provided unintended comic relief for the UWM audience. Her tendency to throw out random, pointless comments and stumble over her own awkwardly worded, long-winded questions seemed to confuse the panelists while entertaining the viewers.

The seminar began by tracing women’s roles in television dramas, showing clips from shows such as “Nurses,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “My So-Called Life,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Desperate Housewives” and others, including the shows the panelists were involved with.

The panelists answered questions regarding the challenges they have faced working in the male-dominated television industry.

“Sometimes when you go beyond your small role that you have control over, you need a beard,” Kohan said.

Daniels, whose extensive experience working in television includes “Saturday Night Live” and the WB network, said that the decision to put “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” on the air was nerve-racking.

“I was told you don’t take a failed movie and turn it into a TV series,” Daniels said.

But the female-empowering series was a hit with television audiences. Allowing women into leading roles in television dramas has often involved an executive willing to take a risk.

Corday explained that it took her six years to sell “Cagney and Lacey” as a television series. First, she attempted to sell it as a movie, but the only executive interested in it demanded that only women who could star in it were Raquel Welsh and Ann Margaret, sex symbols of the time.

Seymour said that it took a long time and consistent top 10 ratings for anyone to believe in “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.”

Hennessy and another actress were hired to replace two male actors on “Law and Order” after declining ratings forced executives to make a change. The result? Hennessy reports that the show’s rating went up 12 percent.

During the last half-hour of the seminar, viewers were allowed to call in questions. A caller from Hamilton College in New York asked how women can succeed in the television business.

“Have sex with the executives!” said Kohan, who then joined the laughter of the panelists and the UWM audience.

Hennessy advised women not to be afraid to be aggressive.

Daniels said women should make as many connections and get as much experience as possible, even if it’s not in the specific area of television they want to work in.

The UWM audience gasped when the next caller was introduced. It was Levine, who asked how representations of women characters are different on cable versus network television. This question undoubtedly resulted in the most insightful answer of the evening.

The panelist’s initial responses were along the lines that cable shows can take more risks with female characters than network shows can. Yet, Daniels said both still have advertisers to consider.

Later in the show, this answer was fleshed out when a caller from the University of Iowa asked about the challenges women of color face on television dramas.

“It’s a business,” Daniels said. “And the fact is, the international marketplace will pay less for shows with certain ethnic leads than they will for shows with white leads.”

Hennessy responded to a question about where she would like to see women’s roles in television drama go in the next 10 years by saying that she would like to see more television that brings families together and is more socially conscious. However, she said that the types of roles for women come in ebbs and flows.

“Right now, we’re at a high point,” Hennessy said.

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