An Ode to the TV Shows That Showed Just How Powerful Women Can Be – E! Online

A slew of TV shows featuring inspiring AF women? Consider them handled, thanks to none other than Shonda Rhimes.

Whether you aspired to be part of a crisis management team after watching Kerry Washington steal the show in Scandal or you were more than ready to get your law degree after seeing Viola Davis star in How to Get Away with Murder, either way, the prolific television creator knew how to write characters that inspired viewers by displaying just how powerful women could really be.

And even before Rhimes stole our hearts (and our attention) every Thursday with her star-studded ABC lineup, women were kicking both literal and figurative butt in spy-centric shows like Veronica Mars (which had Kristen Bell, her trusty camera and sardonic wit as its lead) and Alias (which saw Jennifer Garner carry out countless missions as a double agent in the early aughts).

And there’s more action where that came from.