June Diane Raphael: We need flawed female characters

JDR - I mean, I have such deep, lasting, complicated, hilarious relationships with my girlfriends, and I don't think you get to see, necessarily, the whole scope of that, that female friendship on TV, and I think that's what people really respond to.

Larry King -As a screenwriter, you said, "The women that I find most interesting are flawed "and not necessarily likable "in the big studio definition of the word." Elaborate.

JDR - Oh, I said that. That sounds really smart.

Larry King - Yeah.

JDR - Well, and I think this is changing, but I think there was this idea that women have to be... You know, you don't really see the female antihero.

Larry King - Pedestal.

JDR - Yeah, you don't see the woman version of Walter White from Breaking Bad because that's a lot harder for people to digest. I mean, I think the closest example I can think of is The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow, which was a inherently unlikable character, and I think, at the time that show aired, people really weren't ready for it. I thought it was a work of genius, but I think people couldn't quite get on-board with her, and again, I think that's changing, but to me, the version of the romantic comedy where the lead woman, you know, loves dogs and just wants the guy and is great at her job, and that doesn't really have the flaws that most of us have, it's just not that interesting to me.

Larry King - Grace and Frankie are very well-written, right?

JDR - I think so, yeah.