Are Mad Men like shows only successful with male leads?

Mad Men is one of my favorite shows and I know how widely popular it is, however before reading this article I had never noticed the story line trend that it was following and how it can be found in many other popular tv shows. I think it is interesting that the public wants to see men fall from their supposed "high horses" in order to confront the realities of the world and come to terms with their lives. Towards the end of the article the author alludes to the idea that women can only be successful leading roles if they are comedies, she points to the success of shows such as 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation and The Sarah Silverman Show. Although I do agree that sometimes female leads are more successful in comedies, I do believe there are still successful shows out there that have strong leading female roles. 

For some reason I keep thinking of the crime/cop/murder dramas that have a strong woman as the leading character and the first one that comes to mind are the shows Body of Proof . (Here is a link to watch the show if anyone is interested in checking it out body of proof .) I think this show is a good demonstration of a powerful leading female characters. I would argue that in Body of Proof they are following the similar trend with the main character fighting to come to terms with the harsh realities of their lives in order to find happiness. The main character in this show has lost her job as a neuro surgeon and is divorced with a strained relationship with her daughter. She has now become a head medical examiner and is repairing her relationship with her daughter. I think this type of story line is just as successful when there is a female lead character. However, I don't know what this means for women and men for that matter. Are shows only truly successful when they are constantly challenging the main characters as a means to make them struggle? 

Downfall of Masculinity on TV leads to Dominance of Males

           When I first started reading this article and I read “[Paternity] as the source of power” (Marcotte), I thought this article was going to be about the dominance of men in television shows.  When I read this sentence it really struck me and I had to sit back and think about it.  Paternity as the source of power.  I kept repeating it in my head.  Why does paternity have to be the source of power?  What makes it so that males have all or at least most of the power in many different cases of life and they can never be broken down or fall apart?

            But as I kept reading this article, it became clear that majority of the shows Marcotte discussed are about tearing apart masculinity and making the oppressed, or in other words women, more powerful. “Americans can’t get enough of watching powerful men run into walls created by the limits of narrow, traditional masculinity” (Marcotte).  I found it really interesting when Marcotte discussed how shows such as Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad all start with a dominant male character who ends up falling apart and a woman comes into major importance in his life to get him back on track.  However, the show could not just start off with the dominance of the woman.  In order to be successful, the show has to being with a male who portrays the dominant masculine societal values and then it can go in any direction it choses, whether that is to have a dominant female show up in the picture or just stick with the dominant male. 

            So to go back to the beginning of my post, I guess paternity is the source of power in television right now even though there may be some shows that go against it.  But overall, majority of the television shows that are viewed daily display dominant male characteristics.