When Hillary and Chelsea Clinton filmed “Gutsy,” their new docuseries about brave and bold women, it required a fearless approach. For instance, an episode about women in comedy prompted the mother-daughter team to enroll in a clown school in Paris. 

“I found myself on the stage of the Moulin Rouge, putting on a red nose and thinking, what am I doing here?” laughs Mrs. Clinton during a press conference for the Apple TV+ show. 

The duo’s series profiles a wide array of determined, courageous, and resilient women. Some of them – including naturalist Jane Goodall, feminist Gloria Steinem, and rapper Megan Thee Stallion – are famous. But many others, such as a group of female firefighters in Brooklyn, are unsung heroes. In a moving episode titled “Gutsy Women Refuse Hate,” the Clintons meet two women whose children were killed in hate crimes. Susan Bro, mother of Heather Heyer, and Dawn Collins, mother of 1st Lt. Richard Collins III, exemplify how women are often peacemakers.

“That work takes so many different forms,” Mrs. Clinton told me in an interview. “There is such a premium on the noise level in our country right now, so much yelling and finger-pointing and scapegoating and all that goes with it. To try to highlight some of these women who have taken it upon themselves to try to bring a peaceful resolution to a problem, or to find the peace within themselves that enables them to reach out and help other people, is a message that I certainly need to hear, and I think others do as well.”

The eight episodes cover relationships, the environment, spirituality, and motherhood. I asked the Clintons what they’d like male viewers to take away from the show.

“I hope men appreciate how many different ways that women are, and can be, gutsy in their daily lives,” says Chelsea Clinton. “And then I hope the men will think about how they can better support that gutsiness.” 

“Gusty” was filmed during the pandemic. Mrs. Clinton says that the laughter and smiles of the people they met buoyed her during that time.

“There was a joy about these women, despite what they’d been through or what obstacles they had faced,” she says. “It was very life-affirming.”