Entertainment

Lena Dunham & 6 Other Accomplished Women New PBS 'Makers' Series Should Feature

The Makers: Women Who Make America documentary and website are so important in so many ways. Not only does the series give a refreshing take on how women got where they are today, it also profiles individual women's success stories. And now, the Makers name is being taken even further, with PBS and AOL set to produce a series with six one-hour episodes documenting the accomplishments of women this June and August. PBS has already announced the full lineup, and it's nothing short of impressive: there's CEOs, politicians, astronauts, comedians, and many more women who have made great strides in their field. Every subject is an incredibly inspirational woman, but here's the interviews that we're most excited to see.

by Caroline Pate

Lena Dunham

Obviously. Lena Dunham isn’t a perfect role model by any means, but she’s one of the youngest and most successful women in Hollywood today. And Dunham has always been a vocal advocate for women, especially in the media. She’ll certainly have some issues to address (like the lack of people of color in GIRLS) as well as some great insight about what it means to be a woman in the entertainment industry. Dunham will appear in the “MAKERS: Women & Hollywood” episode.

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Carol Burnett

There’s a huge roster of household names in the “MAKERS: Women & Comedy” episode: Jane Lynch, Chelsea Handler, Sarah Silverman, Mo’Nique, Lily Tomlin, Ellen Degeneres, Kathy Griffin. But the most interesting to talk to will be the woman who achieved great success before the age of Bridesmaids: Carol Burnett. As someone who’s seen it all, hopefully Burnett can put the “Are women funny?” argument to bed.

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Christiane Amanpour

When thinking of any foreign correspondents, women or no, Christiane Amanpour is the first name that comes to mind. From reporting on the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, to the Persian Gulf War, to the Bosnian War, Amanpour has seen a lot of conflict. She’ll be a fascinating interview for the “MAKERS: Women & War” episode.

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Mae Jemison

Going to space is interesting enough for an interview alone, but Mae Jemison was the first woman of color to go into space. STEM fields have traditionally been difficult for women to access, so Jemison should have some insight on why that is in the “MAKERS: Women & Space” episode. Also, the woman has nine honorary doctorates. Nine.

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Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg already kicks ass as the COO of Facebook. But the advice in her book Lean In made her a role model for women in the workplace. Sandberg has been an advocate for women in business, so her success story should be one that many women can look to in the “MAKERS: Women & Business” episode.

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Shonda Rhimes

As a screenwriter, Shonda Rhimes’ shows have been unique in that the usually are an accurate representation of the kind of diversity that occurs in real life. Shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal have been so popular not only because real representations of characters of every color and gender, but also because they’re accessible and incredibly addictive. It’ll be also be great to see Rhimes talk about her recent success with Scandal, because, you know, Scandal.

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Elizabeth Warren

As the first woman senator from Massachusetts, it should be fascinating to watch Elizabeth Warren talk about her struggles in running for her seat in the “MAKERS: Women & Politics” episode. Many have also named the Democratic Senator have also mentioned Warren’s name as a potential candidate for the upcoming Presidential election, so it should be exciting to see a woman with that kind of power to inspire give an interview.

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