Birds of a Feather: the history of female-centric sitcoms - in pictures

Although it revolves solely around one female lead, we couldn't start without I Love Lucy - the grande dame of female sitcom characters. The laughs came from Lucy's (Lucille Ball) relationship with her husband and the trouble she gets them into as she chases a life in showbiz and it paved the way for strong female comedy leads. The show ran from 1951 to 1957 and was the most watched programme in the US for four of its six series. It was the first scripted TV show to be shot on 35mm film in front of a studio audience Photograph: C Everett Collection/Rex Features

Set in Liverpool, The Liver Birds was a comedy based around the exploits of two young single women, Sandra (Nerys Hughes) and Beryl (Polly James) who tackled boyfriends, work, parents and each other wearing the finest of 1970s fashions. The show ran from 1969 to 1978 and was written by two Liverpudlian housewives, Carla Lane and Myra Taylor, who met at a writer's workshop
Photograph: Moviestore Collection / Rex Features

Despite the British getting there first, The Mary Tyler Moore Show is seen in the US as a real ground-breaker. She was the first lead female character to be a never-married, independent career woman. The show, which ran from 1970-1977, saw the three main female characters, Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper), Mary Richards (Moore) and Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) tackling issues such as equal pay, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, marital infidelity, divorce and prostitution and death with award-winning humour Photograph: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

A spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, starring Valerie Harper, was extremely popular and ran from 1975-1978. The show revolves around Rhoda's relationship with her sister Brenda (Julie Kavner, here on the left) and her mother, Ida (Nancy Walker). When Rhoda married her boyfriend the show was watched by 52 million Americans Photograph: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Another spin-off show, this time from Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley was so popular it spawned its own merchandise and the leads were among television's best-paid actresses. It ran from 1976-1983 and starred Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, single flatmates who worked as bottle-cappers in a fictitious Milwaukee brewery called Shotz Photograph: ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

Running from 1985-1992, The Golden Girls was another smash. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centred on four older women (three widows and one divorcee) sharing a home in Miami, Florida. A highlight of the show each week was when they would gather around the kitchen table and discuss and resolve some problem, sometimes late at night and often while eating cheesecake Photograph: ABC Studios

Over in the UK, things were getting more anarchic. Girls On Top was an attempt at a female version of The Young Ones. It starred four flatmates - Dawn French, Tracey Ullman, Jennifer Saunders, Ruby Wax and their landlady, Joan Greenwood, who were always in conflict but the stereotypical characterisation didn't go down well with critics and the show only ran from 1985-1986 Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

Much more popular with critics and viewers alike, Birds of a Feather ran from 1989 to 1998 and will return to our screens next year. The show's popularity was based on the aspirational/jealousy-based conflict between two sisters, Tracey (Linda Robson) and Sharon (Pauline Quirke), who are thrown together when their husbands are sent to prison for armed robbery. Along with their next-door neighbour, Dorien Green (Lesley Joseph), the trio were comedy gold Photograph: BBC

Absolutely Fabulous first aired in 1992. Created by Jennifer Saunders, based on a sketch by her and Dawn French, it has carried on sporadically to the present day. Saunders plays Edina Monsoon, a heavy-drinking, drug-abusing PR agent who strives in excruciating fashion to stay young and hip. Edina is joined in her quest by her best friend, magazine editor Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley), whose drug abuse, alcohol consumption and promiscuity far eclipse Edina's comparatively mild self-destructive behaviour. The show also stars the brilliant Julia Sawalha and comedy stalwart June Whitfield Photograph: BBC/Allstar

The gentle comedy Dinnerladies was created, written and co-produced by one of Britain's favourites, Victoria Wood. The show depicts the lives and social and romantic interactions of the staff, and is centred on Brenda Furlong (Wood). Set entirely in the canteen of HWD Components, a factory in Manchester, the programme ran between 1998 and 2000 Photograph: BBC

Next up, an Australian entry. Kath & Kim was created and written by Jane Turner (Kath) and Gina Riley (Kim) who play a suburban mother and daughter with a truly dysfunctional relationship. In Australia, it has become a pop culture phenomenon and internationally the series, which ran from 2002-07, has spawned a huge cult fanbase. A superb show Photograph: ABC

Written by and starring Miranda Hart, Miranda follows the trials and tribulations of the 6ft 1in, awkward, clumsy and accident-prone joke shop owner. Her relationship with her ever-disappointed mother, played by Patricia Hodge, is key to the show which started in 2009 and is still going strong, but most of the laughs are old-school slapstick Photograph: Adam Lawrence/BBC

Following a tried and tested formula, 2 Broke Girls charts the adventures of hard-up flatmates Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline (Beth Behrs) as they try to start a cupcake business in New York. Well-written situations with boyfriends, girlfriends, bosses, work and life in general have led to this show, which started in 2011, being given a third series to air this year Photograph: CBS

And finally to the new BBC sitcom Up the Women created and written by Jessica Hynes. Having seen the women's suffrage movement first-hand in London, Margaret (Jessica Hynes) returns to her home town of Banbury and asks the ladies of her local craft circle to support the cause. The group start their own suffrage league called Banbury Intricate Craft Circle Politely Requests Women's Suffrage. The group's interplay revolving around their president, Helen (Rebecca Front), provides most of the comedy. Women laughing at women's suffrage, an interesting place to end Photograph: Gary Moyes/BBC