Gender leadership stereotypes in Netflix political dramas: A quantitative content analysis of female political authority representation.

This article analyzes the representation of female political leadership in four Netflix original political dramas—*House of Cards*, *The Crown*, *Borgen*, and *The Diplomat*—using quantitative content analysis and automated sentiment and stereotype classification. It identifies dominant archetypes, notably the Maternal Nurturer (50% of characters) and an emerging Professional Expert model in recent American productions, highlighting cultural differences: American characters show greater variance with more negative sentiment linked to the Iron Lady stereotype, while European characters maintain positive, collaborative portrayals. The study reveals a temporal evolution from traditional gendered stereotypes toward competence-based representations that emphasize professional expertise over gendered performance. Despite these advances, the research notes limited intersectional diversity and underscores Netflix's role in balancing global distribution with culturally specific portrayals, influencing international perceptions of women's political authority.