The Women’s List names 2026 finalists for unproduced scripts
The third annual list spotlights women-written feature scripts and TV pilots, with stories spanning Swifties, space probes, horror and history.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
The Women’s List has picked its 2026 Scripts List finalists, putting a fresh spotlight on unproduced work by women across feature films, hourlong pilots and half-hour pilots.
The group announced the finalists Friday. Organizers said the selections were chosen for originality, strong characters and screen potential, with an emphasis on dynamic roles for women.
This is the third edition of The Women’s List. Organizers said previous rounds have helped alumni secure script options, meetings and read requests from agents, managers, actresses and companies including Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, and Abigail Disney’s Level Forward.
According to organizers, this year’s list has already drawn interest from companies and producers including Taylor Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch, Sony’s Screen Gems, Big Moody Curve and Gracie Otto’s Ralf Films.
The 2026 crop stretches wide: stories about Taylor Swift fans chasing Eras Tour tickets, anti-Nazi resistance fighters, the Voyager I mission and an Ozempic-themed horror movie all made the cut.
“Every year this list gets sharper and more surprising,” co-founder Jan Kimbrough said in the announcement. “These 2026 finalists prove that women are writing the stories audiences are actually craving right now, across every genre and format.”
Kimbrough chairs the board for The Women’s List. The board also includes co-founder Mia Certic, Christine Luby, Lisa Seidman and Sharon Soboil.
The 2026 finalists
- Alone, a feature by Ana Mendez
- Balloons, a feature by Nikki Braendlin
- Betty Lee Is Missing, an hourlong pilot by Allyson Morgan
- Bible Quiz, a half-hour pilot by Margaret Borchert and Geneva Willis
- Bright Belt, a feature by Don Angelica Silva
- Deep and Dark, a feature by Jennifer Grand
- Everybody Knows, a feature by Rangeley Wallace
- Exodus, an hourlong pilot by Leslie Borchert
- Fania In the Forest, an hourlong pilot by Lisa Kenner Grissom
- Filthy, a feature by Lisa Cole
- Giants Among Us, a feature by Elba Roman Morales
- Giles vs. Harris, a feature by Melanie Jeffcoat
- Ghosting, a feature by Micheline Auger
- Hungry Woman, a feature by Tricia Lee
- Hush, My Darling, a feature by Meagan Fulps
- I Met the Devil, a feature by Rachel Coomes
- Last Call, an hourlong pilot by Jelena Woehr
- Latecomer, a half-hour pilot by Alex Rubin
- Liberty Library, a half-hour pilot by Carmen Angelica
- My Last Skirt, a feature by Stephanie Sanditz
- North Brother Island, a feature by Kimberly McLeod
- Nuts, a feature by Sara Friedman
- Public Way, a half-hour pilot by Marty Johnson
- Rhythm Girls, an hourlong pilot by Judy Chaikin
- Ricky Baby, a feature by Chelsea Gonzalez
- See Jane Fight, a feature by Jill Morley
- Shucked, a half-hour pilot by Jana Peck
- Sisters of Industry, a feature by Kryssa Schemmerling and Jodi Gibson
- The Slemmon Sisters, an hourlong pilot by Siobhan Gilbert
- The Sacrifice, an hourlong pilot by Jo Budzilowicz
- Strange Chapel, an hourlong pilot by Austin Highsmith Garces
- The Swiftie Struggle, a feature by Danielle Bruncati
- Taku Dogs, an hourlong pilot by Sarah Sprague
- Thunderbird, a feature by Jacky Watson
- Total Smut, a feature by Frances Denny
- Triangle, a feature by Akiva Penaloza
- Voyager, by CS Fischer
- Weather or Not, a feature by Suzanne Johnson
- Woman Hollering, a feature by Lindsey Villareal
The finalists include projects inspired by true events, among them stories tied to the Scottish witch hunts, North Brother Island, a 1940s all-girl Black band from Mississippi and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.