Becoming Ms. Big

Ironically, some of the strongest women in recent TV have been in shows aimed at men. Fox's hit Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and NBC's Chuck feature men being protected by superpowerful women (O.K., superhot too). The TV season has been full of nerdy, sensitive men (The Big Bang Theory, Pushing Daisies) and dominating women (Damages, Bionic Woman). Most of those shows target young men, who--born after the equal-rights movement and in the era of divorce--might have had female bosses or been raised by single moms. For them, female authority figures may be many things, but they are not anomalies.

This is not to say men are now unthreatened by women in power--just ask the "Iron my shirt" guy. It is to say that people are less monolithic than the narratives of politics and show biz have made them out to be. Lipstick takes a step toward showing that. For instance, the publisher of the tell-all unfairly labeling Wendy a "bad mommy" turns out to be a woman (Lorraine Bracco).

The TV show with the most nuanced take on gender now is actually a sitcom: 30 Rock. Through comedy-show producer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey)--a woman middle manager in an overgrown-boys' field--it has dealt with topics from misogynist swear words to the gap between baby-boom and Gen-X feminists with a gender-consciousness that's unashamed but unafraid to make fun of itself. (In one flashback, teenage Liz sues her high school to become placekicker on the football team; she flubs a kick and cheers, "Yeah! Feminism!") Liz isn't powerful enough to be in a mafia yet, but in 10 years she might join one. Or change it.

And her politics? "There is an 80% chance in the next election," she says in one episode, "that I will tell all my friends that I'm voting for Barack Obama but I will secretly vote for John McCain." Hillary, take note. Maybe she's still persuadable.

MORE TELEVISION To read more by James Poniewozik, go to his blog, Tuned In, at time.com/tunedin