Earlier this year, Amazon Prime Video announced that it had signed 14 Indian comedians to record hour-long specials for the streaming service. It was lauded as a visionary move that would not only offer stiff competition to rivals Netflix and Hotstar, but also put the Indian stand-up comedy scene on the world map. However, it took a few months for people to realise a glaring omission — not a single female comedian had been offered a contract.
Murmurs of dissatisfaction emerged only around May, when a video of five men and one woman discussing sexism in the comedy scene in India, surfaced and went viral. Soon after, Netflix announced that it had signed Aditi Mittal for a comedy special.
At first glance, the announcement appeared to be a well-timed publicity coup. After all, it has not managed to produce (nor announce) many original content plans for India. Amazon, on the other hand, recently released its first original for India ( Inside Edge ) and has announced a long list of shows that are currently in development.
However, the reality might be different, and entirely in tune with the spirit of Netflix, which has long championed sisterhood by shining a light on women creators and shows that portray strong female relationships that break barriers and challenge stereotypes. Consider, for instance, Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch’s GLOW , a bittersweet, fictional exploration of professional women’s wrestling.
“When Jenji Kohan’s Orange is The New Black (OITNB) first arrived four years ago, it didn’t seem like anything you would see on network TV at the time,” says Cindy Holland, VP for original content at Netflix. “While giving us fearless, complicated and flawed characters like Piper, Poussey and Sophia, the show unlocked another truth: the fact that women want to see real and relatable groups of women supporting each other on screen.”
This focus isn’t entirely surprising: not only is the programming driven by a strong-minded woman with a stellar reputation for producing hit shows, it’s also rooted in unemotional practicality as well.
Holland says the popularity of OITNB around the world taught them that viewers were hungry for a show that portrayed women and their relationships with each other as complex, dynamic and unexpected. “We definitely strive to have progressive programming. Women are 50 per cent of the global population, so it’s natural for us to nurture and develop stories for women, about women,” she says.
She emphasises that Netflix knows that the best way to achieve true-to-life female relationships stories is to have groups of women create them. For instance, many of the members of the creative team for GLOW also worked on OITNB . “The alchemy that was created has naturally passed down from show to show,” she explains.
Holland insists that there’s a large-scale cultural shift underway, underpinned by two major factors. First, the existence of a platform like Netflix ensures that storytellers can realise their creative vision without being hindered by the usual constraints of network-based show-writing. This ensures that the shows can stay true to the vision of the creator and be more honest in their storytelling.
Second, we appear to be at the cusp of a cultural moment where in both the real world and on screen, we are seeing women shift focus from themselves to their wider community. Holland says that Netflix understands that entertainment is one of the most powerful tools to challenge societal norms and stereotypes.
Sometimes the sisterhood creeps in unwittingly. Like in Sarah Silverman’s A Speck of Dust , which is not only a stark reminder of the stand-up comic’s talent, but also a demonstration of Netflix’s focus on nurturing women creators.
“Entertainment can help change the narrative around female friendship,” says Holland. “Our global reach lets us share inspiring stories of women supporting other women. Whether it’s to stay-at-home mums in Singapore or teenage girls in Brazil, Netflix offers a level playing field for women to see females supporting other females on screen.”