The screen has finally grown up enough to hold her. And audiences can’t look away.

The playing field is still uneven. While a few A-listers (Fonda, Kidman, Davis) are working constantly, the "supporting actress" category is still rife with ageism. Character roles for women over 60 are often limited to "eccentric neighbor" or "Alzheimer's patient."

The result is a tsunami of content where the protagonist is not a dewy-eyed novice, but a seasoned warrior.

has seen a late-career surge, winning multiple Emmys for her role in Hacks .

Streaming data from Netflix and Apple TV+ shows that shows with ensemble casts over 50 have higher completion rates (the number of people who finish the series) than shows with younger casts. Mature audiences have longer attention spans and deeper loyalty. They watch the credits. They analyze the dialogue. They are the ideal audience for prestige cinema.