ReFrame Analysis of IMDbPro Data Finds Gender-Balanced Series have Higher Viewership than Those that Hire Mostly Men

45 of the 100 most popular series of 2024-25 were gender-balanced productions, representing an improvement from the previous year but below the five-year average

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ReFrame, the initiative launched in 2017 by Sundance Institute and WIF (formerly known as Women In Film Los Angeles) to advance gender equity in the screen industries, and IMDbPro, the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals, today announced that 45 of the 100 most popular series of 2024-25 meet ReFrame Stamp criteria for gender-balanced production including Emmy-nominated series Dying for Sex, Hacks, The Bear and The Pitt (full list below). The 2024-25 ReFrame Report on Gender and Hiring in TV, which examines hiring across key roles in these series based on IMDbPro data, saw a rebound of 6.5% this year from last year’s tally, which was the lowest for gender-balanced series since 2020.

ReFrame and IMDbPro today announced that 45 of the 100 most popular series of 2024-25 meet ReFrame Stamp criteria for gender-balanced production. The 2024-25 ReFrame Report on Gender and Hiring in TV, which examines hiring across key roles in these series based on IMDbPro data, saw a rebound of 6.5% this year from last year’s tally, which was the lowest for gender-balanced series since 2020.

When content is produced by a gender balanced team, viewers tune in. ReFrame reviewed viewership data for the IMDbPro Top 100 Series and found that on average, ReFrame Stamped series have 1.33M more viewers than their non-Stamped counterparts. This preference for inclusive content held strong in the coveted target demographic of viewers 18-49.

ReFrame looked at a larger pool of the Top 200 series to examine hiring of writers and directors and the total episode count. Last year, the total number of episodes dropped from 1,977 to 1,773 (-204) and saw nearly equivalent losses for women, nonbinary and trans writers (-187) and directors (-199). This year, the total number of episodes rebounded to 1,979 (+206), but the hiring of underrepresented writers and directors did not recover proportionately. Only 134 of the restored episodes were attributed to writers and 117 to directors of underrepresented genders, an overall loss across those episodes of 28.3% and 41.2% respectively.

Additional findings of the ReFrame Report include:

• Women, nonbinary and trans directors shot 35.8% percent of episodes this year, a slight increase from last year’s 33.4% (+2.8%). While they still lag disproportionately in their share of pilots and first episodes, some ground was gained this year: those directors helmed 35.2% of pilots or first episodes, nearing their share of regular episodes with a gap of only 1%. That said, their overall share is still far from parity.
• Showrunners are still the single role with the highest correlation for overall gender-balanced hiring; 92.9% of series with women in that position qualified for the ReFrame Stamp.
• A significant number of series (82%) had at least one woman in a non-writing executive producer role, but women of color in the role fell to 18% (down 7.5%).
• There were increases in several key crew roles including unit production managers who reached 33%, first assistant directors who reached 46% and directors of photography which reached 26%, historic highs for women, nonbinary and trans persons in these roles.
• This year there were notable decreases for two key crew roles already lacking in inclusion; representation for women, nonbinary and trans persons fell 7.5% to 12% for line producers and 4% to 14% for composers.
• Only Editors and Costume Designers, positions where women, nonbinary or trans people have held more than 50% of positions year over year, have ever exceeded 10% of those persons also being people of color. No other key crew position has exceeded 5.5% of role attributed to women, nonbinary and/or trans people of color.
• There was an increase in lead characters portrayed by trans and nonbinary performers from one last year to three this year; however, gender diversity in co-leads fell from 14 to seven.
• Three series hired one nonbinary and one trans director of photography to lens their episodes.
• This year 85% of the Top 100 series were released by streamers, who have more than quadrupled their share of top series over the last eight years, rising from 19% to 85% (+66%). Network series were down to 5% from 48% (-43%) and cable projects down to 10% from 33% (-23%).
• For the third consecutive year, the majority of Emmy nominees for Outstanding Comedy Series received the Stamp: Five of the eight (Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Hacks, Nobody Wants This and Only Murders in the Building) met gender-balanced production criteria. Two of the eight nominated series in the Outstanding Drama category were Stamped (The Diplomat and The Pitt), as were three of the five Limited or Anthology Series (Black Mirror, Dying for Sex and The Penguin) and one of five Animated Series (Arcane).

COMPANY REPORT CARD

The ReFrame Report includes a report card showing the percentage of Top 100 series that met ReFrame Stamp criteria from each company. This year, two streaming companies, Amazon MGM Studios and Netflix, as well as projects released by Warner Bros. Discovery, earned the ReFrame Stamp for more than 50% of their releases. None of the three series released by NBCUniversal on Peacock obtained the Stamp, and there were no Top 100 series from ‘Other’ distributors, a category that has historically included companies like AMC, Lionsgate and IFC.

The ReFrame Stamp is an acknowledgement of gender-balanced hiring, so every production—regardless of subject matter or the gender of its director or lead talent—can achieve gender parity. The Stamp is awarded to series that hire ‘qualifying candidates,’ or women or individuals of other underrepresented gender identities/expressions (including those who are transgender, nonbinary, or gender non-conforming) in at least 50% of key roles, including showrunner, directors, writers, executive producers, lead, co-leads, director of photographer, production designer, costume designer, editor, composer, music supervisor, VFX supervisor, line producer, unit production manager, first assistant director, stunt coordinator and intimacy coordinator. Additional points are awarded to productions that hire qualifying candidates of color in these key positions, and to those with overall gender parity in their crews. View the full ReFrame Stamp criteria here.

To award the Stamp, ReFrame examined IMDbPro data on the 100 most popular scripted television and streaming series with a full season of episodes released during the Emmys eligibility period of June 1, 2024 - May 31, 2025. In 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2024-25, percentages are based on analysis of the Top 100 series; from 2020-21 to 2023-24, they are based on the Top 200 series. Each show was considered for the list based on its top-performing four weeks during the eligibility period on the IMDbPro proprietary ranking of titles, factoring in the removal of sports, news, non-fiction and reality programs. IMDbPro rankings are based on the actual page views of the more than 250 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide.

2024-25 Top 100 ReFrame Stamp Recipients

† Denotes series nominated for 2025 Emmy Award

9-1-1 / ABC: Season 8

The Acolyte / Disney+: Season 1

Agatha All Along / Disney+: Season 1

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder / Netflix: Season 1

A Man on the Inside / Netflix: Season 1

Apple Cider Vinegar / Netflix: Season 1

†Arcane / Netflix: Season 2

A Thousand Blows / Hulu: Season 1

Bad Sisters / Apple TV+: Season 2

†The Bear / Hulu: Season 4

†Black Mirror / Netflix: Season 7

The Bondsman / Prime Video: Season 1

†The Boys / Prime Video: Season 4

Cross / Prime Video: Season 1

†The Diplomat / Netflix: Season 2

Dune: Prophecy / HBO Max: Season 1

Emily in Paris / Netflix: Season 4

†The Four Seasons / Netflix: Season 1

Good American Family / Hulu: Season 1

Grey’s Anatomy / ABC: Season 21

Grotesquerie / Hulu/FX Network: Season 1

†Hacks / HBO Max: Season 4

†The Handmaid’s Tale / Hulu: Season 6

House of the Dragon / HBO Max: Season 2

Kaos / Netflix: Season 1

The Lincoln Lawyer / Netflix: Season 3

Lioness / Paramount+: Season 2

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power / Prime Video: Season 2

The Madness / Netflix: Season 1

†Matlock / CBS: Season 1

Missing You / Netflix: Season 1

My Lady Jane / Prime Video: Season 1

The Night Agent / Netflix: Season 2

†Nobody Wants This / Netflix: Season 1

No Good Deed / Netflix: Season 1

†Only Murders in the Building / Hulu/ABC: Season 4

†The Penguin / HBO Max: Season 1

The Perfect Couple / Netflix: Season 1

†The Pitt / HBO Max: Season 1

Ransom Canyon / Netflix: Season 1

†The Residence / Netflix: Season 1

Secret Level / Prime Video: Season 1

Tell Me Lies / Hulu: Season 2

Toxic Town / Netflix: Season 1

Yellowjackets / Showtime: Season 3

2024-2025 ReFrame Stamp Recipients Outside the Top 100

These series independently applied for the ReFrame Stamp as part of their production process.

The Better Sister / Prime Video: Season 1

Cruel Intentions / Freevee: Season 1

Disney Jr.’s Ariel / Disney+: Season 1

Harlem / Prime Video: Season 3

Mayfair Witches / AMC: Season 2

Queenie / Hulu: Season 1

The Road Trip / Paramount+: Season 1

The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy / Prime Video: Season 2

SkyMed / Paramount+: Season 3

UnPrisoned / Hulu: Season 2

The Upshaws / Netflix: Season 4

About ReFrame

Founded by Sundance Institute and Women In Film, Los Angeles (WIF), ReFrame is an initiative that employs a unique strategy: a peer-to-peer approach, in which ReFrame Ambassadors engage with senior industry decision-makers at over 50 Partner Companies to implement ReFrame systemic change programs. The initiative’s goals are to provide research, support, and a practical framework that can be used by Partner companies to mitigate bias during the creative decision-making and hiring process, celebrate successes, and measure progress toward a more gender-representative industry on all levels. ReFrame is made possible by support from Netflix’s Creative Equity Fund, IMDbPro, WME, Adobe and Pivotal Ventures.

About IMDbPro

IMDbPro is the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals. This membership service empowers professionals with information and features designed to help them achieve success throughout all stages of their career. IMDbPro premium membership includes the following: detailed contact and representation information; tools for members to manage and showcase their IMDb profile, including selecting their primary images and the credits they are best “known for”; exclusive STARmeter rankings determined by page views on IMDb; the IMDbPro app for iPhone, iPad, and Android; IMDbPro Track, which empowers members to receive personalized entertainment industry news and notifications on the people and film and TV projects they want to follow; and a convenient feature that generates custom digital assets to promote their work on social media and other platforms. IMDbPro is a division of IMDb, the world's most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities. Industry professionals can join IMDbPro today at www.imdbpro.com. Follow IMDbPro on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

About IMDb

IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities. Hundreds of millions of customers all over the world rely on IMDb to discover and decide what to watch, advance their professional entertainment careers through IMDbPro, and grow their businesses using IMDb data and trending insights. Products and services to help fans decide what to watch and where to watch it include: the IMDb website for desktop and mobile devices; apps for iOS and Android; and X-Ray on Prime Video. For entertainment industry professionals, IMDb provides IMDbPro and Box Office Mojo. IMDb licenses information from its vast and authoritative database to third-party businesses worldwide; learn more at developer.imdb.com. IMDb is an Amazon company. For more information, visit imdb.com/press and follow @IMDb.

Sundance Institute

As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Institute Collab, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working artists together to learn from Sundance Institute advisors and connect with each other in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Through the Sundance Institute artist programs, we have supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Big Sick, Bottle Rocket, Boys Don’t Cry, Boys State, Call Me by Your Name, Clemency, CODA, Dìdi (弟弟), Drunktown’s Finest, The Farewell, Fire of Love, Flee, Fruitvale Station, Half Nelson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hereditary, The Infiltrators, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Woods, Love & Basketball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mudbound, Nanny, One Child Nation, Pariah, Raising Victor Vargas, RBG, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, Sin Nombre, Sorry to Bother You, Strong Island, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Swiss Army Man, A Thousand and One, Top of the Lake, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and Zola. Through year-round artist programs, the Institute also nurtured the early careers of such artists as Paul Thomas Anderson, Gregg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Nia DaCosta, Ryan Coogler, The Daniels, Robert Eggers, Rick Famuyiwa, David Gordon Green, Sterlin Harjo, Marielle Heller, Miranda July, Nikyatu Jusu, James Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Boots Riley, A.V. Rockwell, Ira Sachs, Walter Salles, Quentin Tarantino, Erica Tremblay, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, Sean Wang, and Chloé Zhao. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling globally by making a donation at sundance.org/donate. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, and Bluesky.

About WIF

Founded in 1973 as Women In Film, Los Angeles, WIF has been fighting for gender equity for more than 50 years. Its advocacy, career programs, and research efforts are a driving force for increasing gender representation in Hollywood. WIF works to dismantle gender bias in the screen industries by building the pipeline, sustaining careers, and advocating for change. Membership is open to all screen industry professionals, and more information can be found on our website: wif.org. WIF is led by Chief Executive Officer Kirsten Schaffer and Chair of the Board of Directors Syrinthia Studer. Follow WIF on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.

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Source: IMDb