It’s all about the girls this week as I have lots of news about women starring in new TV shows.

Phylicia Rashad has been cast in the pilot of a new drama series about a gay black woman. The show’s pilot is being directed by Ava DuVernay (who seems to be doing everything at the moment). The show is called For Justice and follows a female FBI agent working in the Criminal Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division who finds herself caught between her radical real family and her professional family. Rashad’s rile isn’t the lead but she will appear as a series regular.

Paula Patton is filming the pilot for Runner, a new drama series about a woman whose perfect life is torn apart by one twist of fate. Patton will play Lauren Marks who must follow a trail of lies that take her into the world of cartels and the illegal gun trade between the U.S. and Mexico. If the series is picked up it will be Patton’s first regular role on TV.

Marisa Tomei is to play feminist icon Gloria Steinem in a new miniseries produced by George Clooney. The series will focus on the creation of Ms Magazine in 1971 and the story will be told through the eyes of the women who created it.

Calista Flockhart is returning to TV after joining the cast of a new version of Supergirl. Flockhart will play Cat Grant who is Kara Zor-El’s boss. Meanwhile former Superman Dean Cain and Helen Slater (who played the lead role in the 1984 Supergirl film) have also joined the cast of the pilot in unnamed roles; and British actor David Harewood will also be among the cast.

In case you missed it: Lady Gaga is heading to TV after landing a role in the next series of American Horror Story. There are no details about her role yet but we do know the next series has a subtitle of Hotel. Each series of the drama have been connected so it’ll be interesting to see where creator Ryan Murphy plans to take the show. The new series is due on air in October.