Roar: A Provocative and Whimsical Look at Womanhood Driven by Its Stellar Cast

While once a male-dominated medium, TV is brimming with female-driven programming in 2022.

Women are getting the royal treatment with psychological perspectives not often available, especially with additional women behind the camera.

Airing on Apple TV+, Roar is a new anthology series about women's empowerment from Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, who have previously showcased the female mind on shows like Nurse Jackie and the gone-too-soon GLOW.

Given their previous work, basing a series on Cecelia Ahern's book of short stories with the same title makes perfect sense, and some moving episodes really make you think.

The stories study many issues women face today, including fear, shame, and guilt, with a literal, somewhat whimsical bent.

Whether boldly told or with a lighter approach, each chapter finds a woman sharing her empowerment or experience with womanhood.

Liz Flahive joined us on press day to share her thoughts on bringing these stories to the screen.

Flahive and Mensch have amassed significant talent for Roar, and their history has reunited them with actors who have been featured in their previous work, but the talent doesn't indicate the effectiveness of any particular take.

For example, "The Woman Who Was Kept on the Shelf" stars Betty Gilpin and Daniel Day Kim as a newly married couple that begins an interesting journey as Kim's character wants the ultimate trophy wife, and Gilpin's character, oddly, agrees to spend her marriage on a shelf.

It's about as literal as you can get, but I could not determine the point.

On the other hand, Gilpin's GLOW costars Alison Brie and Chris Lowell star in one of the most rewarding episodes, "The Woman Who Solved Her Own Murder."

It's fairly straightforward from there, but the examination of femicide and the short shrift such cases can get from detectives is incredibly on point. Brie offers her take on that tale in the domestic press conference below.

It's the kind of material that deserves a thorough discussion, but it will likely be watched and soon forgotten, with all episodes dropping at once.

Nicole Kidman's "The Woman Who Ate Photographs" is equally moving. She stars as a woman struggling with her mother's (Judy Davis) descent into dementia has her clinging to the past, not just to remember but to relive it, which she discovers she can do by eating photographs.

But living in the past doesn't help you in the present, which beautifully plays out quite literally before our eyes.

Another literal interpretation. "The Woman Who Disappeared" stars Issa Rae as a black woman who feels invisible alongside her white male coworkers.

It's a play on virtue-signaling companies do all the time without walking the talk.

Cynthia Erivo stars in "The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on Her Skin," an unnerving look at a mother's guilt for going back to work after her child is born.

For women who feel stuck in a dead-end relationship, "The Woman Who Returned Her Husband" is a delight. Meera Syal stars as a housewife who believes she deserves more than her husband gives her.

Using the warranty she got when she married her husband, she exchanges him at a Home Depot-like store to try living with some other hubbies for a while.

Some of the most literal stand well whether they hit their mark fully or not, but others are left to interpretation with conclusions you might not recognize.

"The Woman Who Was Fed by a Duck" reunites Nurse Jackie actor Merritt Wever as a woman sick of her revolving-door relationships with somewhat abusive men.

Taking the word of someone she knows, she begins dating a duck (voiced by Justin Kirk), only to fall into the same pattern.

When I watched, I took the duck as a spin on the adage, "if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck," it must be a duck. It didn't matter what the duck looks like because if he walks like an abuser and talks like an abuser, he's an abuser.

When I chatted with Merritt Wever, she had other thoughts, and she shared them below.

"The Girl Who Loved Horses" is the only chapter that doesn't relate to grown women, but all of them will recognize what it's like to strike out on their own.

Fivel Stewart had weeks of intensive training for her role as an accomplished rider, which also offered her time to get in touch with her character.

She stars as a young woman with dreams of adventure, hampered by her father's somewhat overbearing love for her.

When tragedy strikes, she gets the opportunity she needs to break out on her own.

Hear a little more about it from Fivel Stewart below.

The chapters take on different storytelling genres, some more successfully than others. But even the less successful endeavors feature actors who eagerly tear away at the material, which lends itself to a visceral experience.

My biggest issue isn't with the show itself but with its rollout.

The topics and their story treatment deserve conversation. With a full season drop, the binge-watching experience will trump meaningful thought, and that's a shame.

There may be an ever-growing wealth of shows for and by women, but the opportunity to soak in what's being said and expand on it gives some shows a longer shelf life, and the talent amassed here deserved that.

Roar Season 1 drops on Apple TV+ on Friday, April 15.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.