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

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

News

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

2025-08-20 23:29 Last Updated At:23:50

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 20, 2025--

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.

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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:

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.

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.

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.

WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Another powerful storm system that could soak Southern California with its wettest Christmas in years rolled into the region on Thursday, potentially causing more flooding and mudslides a day after heavy rain and gusty winds were blamed for at least two deaths.

Forecasters warned the additional rain could increase the risk of debris flows in waterlogged areas scorched by wildfires in January. Those burn scar zones have been stripped of vegetation by fire and are less able to absorb water.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department issued an evacuation warning for Wrightwood, a mountain town about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles, due to a risk of mudslides.

County firefighters on Wednesday said they rescued people trapped in cars when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood. It was not immediately clear how many people were rescued.

Roads in the town of about 5,000 people were covered in rocks, debris and thick mud on Thursday. With power out, a local gas station and coffee shop running on generators were serving as hubs for residents and visitors. Statewide, more than 120,000 people were without power, according to PowerOutage.us.

“It’s really a crazy Christmas,” said Jill Jenkins, who was spending the holiday with her 13-year-old grandson, Hunter Lopiccolo.

Lopiccolo said the family almost evacuated the previous day, when water washed away a chunk of their backyard. But they eventually decided to stay and still celebrated the holiday. Lopiccolo got a new snowboard and e-bike.

“We just played card games all night with candles and flashlights,” he said.

Resident Arlene Corte said roads in town turned into rivers, but her house was not damaged.

“It could be a whole lot worse,” she said. “We’re here talking.”

With more rain on the way, more than 150 firefighters were stationed in the area, said San Bernardino County Fire spokesman Shawn Millerick.

“We’re ready,” he said. “It’s all hands on deck at this point.”

A falling tree killed a San Diego man Wednesday, news outlets reported. Farther north, a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy died in what appeared to be a weather-related crash.

Residents around burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County were under evacuation orders.

Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under a flood watch until Friday afternoon, and wind and flood advisories were issued for much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The storms were the result of multiple atmospheric rivers carrying massive plumes of moisture from the tropics during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.

Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 centimeters) of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.

More heavy snow was expected in the Sierra Nevada, where wind gusts created “near white-out conditions” in places and made mountain pass travel treacherous. Officials said there was a “high” avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe and a winter storm warning was in effect through Friday.

Ski resorts around Lake Tahoe recorded about 1 to 3 feet (30 to 91 centimeters) of snow overnight, said Tyler Salas, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Reno. Forecasters expect to see up to another 3 feet (91 centimeters) of snow through Friday, Salas said. The area could see 45 mile-per-hour gusts of wind in low elevation areas and 100 mile-per-hour winds along mountain ridges.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance in storm response.

The state deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.

Associated Press writers Sophie Austin in Oakland, California, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.

A car is flipped over along a storm-damaged road after a series of storms on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, near Phelan, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

A car is flipped over along a storm-damaged road after a series of storms on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, near Phelan, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Michelle Meyers inspects her property, buried in mud after a series of storms, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Michelle Meyers inspects her property, buried in mud after a series of storms, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

A car is buried in mud after a series of storms Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

A car is buried in mud after a series of storms Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Mud covers the inside of a property after a series of storms on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Mud covers the inside of a property after a series of storms on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Davey Schneider walks on the roof of his storm-damaged home on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Davey Schneider walks on the roof of his storm-damaged home on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

A tourist from China battles the rain on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

A tourist from China battles the rain on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Part of California State Route 138 washes away from flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, outside of Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Part of California State Route 138 washes away from flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, outside of Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

A resident sweeps water and mud in her house after flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

A resident sweeps water and mud in her house after flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

A car sits buried in mud after flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

A car sits buried in mud after flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

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