The brutal genius of the character Miranda Priestly has returned with the long-awaited sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2! As we bask in what is sure to be a fresh round of devastating verbal backhands and ruthless ambition, what will we do with all that HBIC energy when the credits roll? If you’re as obsessed with powerful women who make no apologies as we are, these books, movies, and shows featuring some wickedly creative characters devoted to their careers can’t be missed.

Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous by Christine Stringer

It is the late 90s in Hollywood and Charity Trickett is just getting started. Moving to LA for the opportunity to assist a director in an upcoming blockbuster movie, the role is both a dream and nothing like she imagined. Feisty and willing to work in an industry filled with people hoping she fails, Charity gains traction impressing Canopy Studios’ leadership and it feels like the beginnings of success. That elation is quickly interrupted by underhanded coworkers, money troubles, a lackluster love life, and a costly mistake that shakes her new foundations. Charity stumbles into legal trouble and must learn how to fight for her career in the entertainment industry, walking a fine line between success and failure.

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All Fours by Miranda July

A well-received artist recognized for her creative talents announces her upcoming cross-country drive from Los Angeles to New York. After departing from her husband and child, she decides to change her destination to a motel to take a journey through the ins and outs of herself in the quiet reprieve of anonymity.

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Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Alice Scott is an up-and-coming writer with an even disposition and people skills in spades. She is eager to prove herself and is thrilled to be seen as a real opponent to moody Pulitzer Prize winner and writer Hayden Anderson. Set on Little Crescent Island, Alice and Hayden spend a month with the reclusive, formerly infamous tabloid star, Margaret Ives, competing for the honor of writing her biography. Tied to an NDA, the two writers are told pieces of her story and are barred from discussing any information regarding the woman with each other. The mystery is enticing, and attraction stirs in intense competition. The two writers, one novice and the other experienced, find out that everything is a matter of perspective.

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The Favorites by Layne Fargo

Katarina Shaw doesn’t come from great wealth, fame, or a family that supports her, but what she does have is the drive to become the Olympic ice skater she was meant to be and works tirelessly to make her dreams come true. Then, she meets Heath Rocha, a foster kid who has been in the system his whole life, and is dying to connect with someone, anyone. Katarina and Heath’s connection spark a childhood romance that translates into a fiery show on the ice. Katarina and Heath gain a reputation as a rebellious duo and a rocky relationship off the ice that comes to a head at the Olympic Games where an incident ends their partnership for good. Ten years later, a documentary is being made, claiming knowledge of what really happened between Katarina and Heath, forcing Kat to reclaim her own narrative. The fake story might be damaging, but the real one might be worse.

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Boss Lady by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans

Antonia “Toni” Arroyo’s career is at a standstill in airport transportation services, but she has a mind for business and aims to become an inventor and entrepreneur. Toni is a mother of twins, and she is the daughter of an old-fashioned mother who firmly believes that marriage will make everything work. Finding support in unlikely places, Toni connects with a frequent flier named Slyvia Eisenberg who later introduces her grandson, Ash, a venture capitalist who just might be able to help her make her dreams a reality. Opportunity strikes in the TV show Innovation Nation, a televised show where professionals pitch business ideas, but it takes a surprising turn when Toni’s soon-to-be-ex-husband becomes her rival in the competition.

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Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Dreams come in all shapes and sizes in this beautiful story. Four interconnected women face daunting challenges that force the women to rise to the occasion. Central to the story, Chiamaka is working in America as a Nigerian travel writer and is alone during the pandemic shutdown; she is left with ample time, and rumination takes over as her mind focuses on the past. Chiamaka’s best friend, Zikora, is an exceedingly successful woman who turns to an unlikely source for solace when a betrayal ends in heartbreak. Chiamaka’s cousin Omelogor is a financial expert in Nigeria who grapples with a spontaneous existential crisis that brings her life to a screeching halt. And Chiamaka’s housekeeper, Kadiatou, is a mother bringing up her daughter in America when she faces a seemingly insurmountable obstacle that shakes up her stable life.

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Careering by Daisy Buchanan

Imogen is trying to start her career, so she spends all her waking hours working endless internships, writing a blog in her off time, and working at a pub to make ends meet. Harri nears the end of her career and decides to leave her position at Panache magazine to launch a feminist site called The Know. In need of views, Harri proposes for Imogen to be the writer of sexual exploits in the new magazine. With nothing to lose, or so she thinks, Imogen writes more for the rebellious magazine, but with time and energy spent without fulfillment, the position becomes a weight on her lofty ambitions. Before long the two women reach a point that work becomes a burden and it is time to make radical change or throw everything away.

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Atmosphere By Taylor Jenkins Reid

Joan Goodwin has always loved the stars and even with an eye on the sky, she settles into a content life as a Rice University Professor teaching physics and astronomy. Then one day, NASA is on the hunt for female scientists to join the space shuttle program and with thousands of applicants competing, Joan is one selected to attend training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. The crew is filled with intelligent minds and an array of characters including an aeronautical engineer Vanessa Ford, a woman who can fix just about anything. The collection of specialists becomes a tight knit group as they ready themselves for their first mission. Joan is elated to be there and finds that she is made for fire and passion more than grounded consistency which forces her to reconsider her position in the world. Then in December 1984, mission STS-LR9 is where everything gets a whole lot crazier.

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She Watches

Looking for even more addictively complicated characters like Miranda Priestly in TV and film? Look no further than this lineup of films and shows full of addictively complicated leaders, morally grey women, and a vicious dedication to careers above all.

Cruella (2021) film – Cruella

Ella grew up eccentric and rebellious and was expelled from many schools until her mother, Catherine, decided to move to London. Gifting Ella with a beautiful necklace that she fatefully loses at the event, the two attend the party hosted by the fashion icon Baroness in London that ends in tragedy with Catherine dying after falling off a cliff. Ten years later, Ella is an adult living with two opportunistic thieves. When opportunity arises, Ella begins working her way up the fashion industry undermining her boss who she suspects had something to do with her mother’s murder. Under the guise of her alter ego Cruella, she becomes a fashion icon taking to the spotlight to disguise her efforts to redress the past.

Working Girl (film) – Katherine Parker

In this throwback pick, Tessa McGill is a secretary working towards a bigger career. One day, her boss, Katherine Parker, uses Tess’s idea and shamefully presents it as her own. A timely accident happens leaving Katherine stranded at the hospital with a broken leg which gives Tess an opportunity. In her boss’s absence, Tess successfully makes a business deal in her place but faces severe consequences when Katherine returns.

Whiplash (film) – Fletcher

A young and talented drummer, Andrew Neiman, aims to be the top performer at his music conservatory. He quickly gains the attention of notorious instructor Terence Fletcher. Unusual and a bit cruel, the instructor takes Andrew on as a student and quickly changes Andrew’s career by transferring him to a jazz ensemble. Andrew soon discovers that career highs come at the cost of severe mental lows in performing perfection.

Scandal (TV show) – Olivia Pope

Crisis management is her profession, and Olivia Pope is the very best. Formerly a presidential media consultant, Olivia opens her own firm filled with employees that have checkered pasts but are completely dedicated to professional fixing. As cases come and go, the scandals become increasingly complicated, and eventually, the crisis management team becomes the biggest crisis of all. Higher stakes lead to messy mistakes, and Olivia finds that she cannot escape her past.

How to Get Away with Murder (TV show) – Annalise Keating

Annalise Keating is a complicated criminal defense attorney and a compelling defense law professor with a proclivity for seduction. Alongside an elite team of legal professionals, Keating carefully curates a group of students to serve assistants to the firm. The cases are tricky, and the toll is heavy on the team that quickly shows each person what they are really made of.

Yellowstone (TV Show) – Beth Dutton

The largest contiguous ranch in the United States is owned by John Dutton and his family. Other than John himself, none are as brutal and intelligent as his daughter Beth Dutton who uses her gifts to viciously protect the family. In the effort to protect the property from a town seeking to expand borders, an Indian Reservation, and the makings of a national park, the ranch becomes a hot bed for strife and criminal activities. Allegiances change and discord threatens the ranch’s stability in this gritty drama filled series.