For the first time, the ReFrame TV Stamp is awarded to more than 50% of the year’s most popular shows

ReFrame™, the screen industry’s gender equity coalition founded by Women In Film and Sundance Institute, and IMDbPro today announced that 51% of the most popular scripted television and streaming shows of the 2020-2021 season will receive the ReFrame Stamp. This is the first time ever that more than 50% of the most popular shows meet ReFrame’s criteria for gender-balanced hiring.

Additionally, 50% of shows nominated in the Emmy^® category of Outstanding Drama Series received the Stamp (Bridgerton, Lovecraft Country, The Handmaid’s Tale, Pose), as did 50% of shows in the Outstanding Comedy Series category (Black-ish, The Flight Attendant, Hacks, Pen15) and 60% of shows in the Outstanding Limited Series category (WandaVision, I May Destroy You, The Underground Railroad). The Stamped show with the most Emmy nominations is WandaVision (Disney +) with 23 nominations, followed by The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) with 21 nominations.

In an effort to analyze a wider cross-section of genres, formats and platforms, and to determine industry trends, ReFrame expanded their 2020-2021 analysis to survey the Top 200 scripted shows on IMDb; previous analysis was based on the IMDb Top 100. 51 shows in this year’s Top 100 earned the Stamp (a 55% increase from 33 shows in the prior year), and an additional 50 shows in the 101-200 data set earned the Stamp, indicating a consistent stamp rate of over 50%.

Highlights of the report, determined by ReFrame’s extensive analysis of data provided by IMDbPro, include:

• Of the 200 shows analyzed, there were 62 women in the role of Showrunner, with 13 of those being women of color.
• A total of 221 women received directing credits on the 200 shows, of which 48 were women of color. One non-binary person received a directing credit.
• 25 of the 200 shows hired a woman cinematographer for at least one episode, with 5 of those being women of color.
• 102 of the 200 shows analyzed featured a woman in the top-billed actor role, with 31 of those being women of color.

“The significant increase in Stamped TV content tells us that we are beginning to see the impact of years of advocacy for more equitable hiring in Hollywood,” said Andria Wilson Mirza, Director, ReFrame. “These Stamped shows not only entertained, inspired and united audiences as we navigated a global pandemic, they also demonstrated that a commitment to inclusion behind-the-scenes translates to commercial success. As we celebrate this milestone, our advocacy doesn't stop at 51% — our goal is for 100% of TV and film productions to commit to equitable hiring and earn the ReFrame Stamp."

The ReFrame Stamp is a mark of distinction for projects that have achieved gender-balanced hiring, based on intersectional criteria developed by ReFrame, its ReFrame Ambassadors and other industry experts. ReFrame and IMDbPro (the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals) launched the ReFrame Stamp in 2018 and report annually on both film and television productions that earn the Stamp, based on an extensive analysis of data provided by IMDbPro.

To determine TV Stamp recipients, ReFrame examined IMDbPro data on the 200 most popular narrative television and streaming shows with a minimum of three episodes released during the Emmys eligibility period of June 1, 2020 - May 31, 2021. See the full list here. Each show was considered for the list based on its top-performing four weeks during the eligibility period on IMDbPro’s 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 200 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows and celebrities, and its vast and authoritative database features hundreds of millions of searchable data items.

ReFrame encourages all scripted productions to implement equitable hiring practices and apply to earn the ReFrame Stamp year-round. Through the open application process, numerous television and streaming productions outside of the Top 200 earned the Stamp in 2021, including Freeform’s Good Trouble and Motherland: Fort Salem; AMC’s Kevin Can F Himself, The Walking Dead: World Beyond and Nos4a2; and Netflix animated series titles Ada Twist Scientist, Ridley Jones, and We the People . The list of all 2020-2021 Stamped shows is available on ReFrame’s website and at IMDb.com/ReFrame.

About ReFrame

Founded and led 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. The ReFrame Council, which leads the strategic direction of the organization with ReFrame Director Andria Wilson Mirza, includes the initiative’s founding members, WIF Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer, Sundance CEO Keri Putnam, and Oscar-winning producer, WIF President Emeritas and founder of Welle Entertainment Cathy Schulman, alongside Channing Dungey (Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group), Franklin Leonard (Founder, The Black List), Rena Ronson (Head of UTA Independent Film Group), and Bird Runningwater (Senior Director of Indigenous Program and DEI, Sundance Institute).

ReFrame is made possible by support from The David and Lura Lovell Foundation; The Harnisch Foundation; Hulu; IMDbPro; Delta Air Lines; and the Women at Sundance Leadership Council.

About IMDbPro

IMDbPro (http://www.imdbpro.com) is the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals. This membership-based service includes comprehensive information and tools that are designed to help entertainment industry professionals achieve success throughout all stages of their career. IMDbPro offers members the following: detailed contact and representation information; tools to manage and showcase their IMDb profile, including the ability to select their primary images and the credits they are best “known for”; exclusive STARmeter rankings that are 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; a convenient tool that generates custom digital assets to promote their work on social media and other platforms; and free access to premium and secure video and voice meetings and chat messaging via Amazon Chime. Additional IMDbPro services include Box Office Mojo (http://www.boxofficemojo.com), the leading online source of box-office data. IMDbPro is a division of IMDb (www.imdb.com), the #1 movie website in the world with a combined web and mobile audience of more than 200 million monthly visitors. Follow IMDbPro on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/imdbpro/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/imdbpro/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/imdbpro).

About IMDb

IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows and celebrities. 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. IMDb also offers a free streaming channel, IMDb TV, and produces IMDb original video series and podcasts. 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.

About Sundance Institute

As a champion and curator of independent stories for the stage and screen, Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, film composing, and digital 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 Co//ab, a digital community platform, brings artists together to learn from each other and Sundance Advisors and connect 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. Sundance Institute has supported such recent projects as Clemency, I Carry You With Me, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, On The Record, Boys State, American Factory, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, City So Real, Top of the Lake, Between the World & Me, Wild Goose Dreams and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

About WIF

Founded in 1973 as Women In Film, Los Angeles, WIF advocates for and advances the careers of women working in the screen industries, to achieve parity and transform culture. We support women and people of marginalized genders in front of and behind the camera and across all levels of experience. We work to change culture through our distinguished pipeline programs; we advocate for gender parity through research, education, and media campaigns; and we build a community centered around these goals. Membership is open to all screen industry professionals, and more information can be found on our website: wif.org. Follow WIF on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

2020 - 2021 ReFrame Stamp – IMDbPro Top 200 Narrative & Animated TV Recipients

Listed in alphabetical order, below are the Stamped shows of the 2020-2021 season. To determine Stamp recipients, ReFrame examined IMDbPro data on the 200 most popular narrative television and streaming shows with a minimum of three episodes released during the Emmys eligibility period of June 1, 2020 - May 31, 2021. Each show was considered for the list based on its top-performing four weeks during the eligibility period on IMDbPro’s 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 200 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide.

ReFrame Stamped Shows in the Top 200

Additional ReFrame Stamps awarded in 2021

Listed in alphabetical order, below are the Stamped television and streaming productions outside of the Top 200 that earned the Stamp in 2021 through ReFrame’s open application process.

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