Her experiences in urban Philadelphia at UPenn and as a young woman in the entertainment industry provided much of the inspiration for Cold Case.

The show explored many issues related to 20th century American history, including sexism, racism, homophobia, anti-war activism and police brutality.

In 2011, Stiehm joined the Showtime thriller Homeland as a writer and executive producer, writing several episodes in the first two seasons.

Due to creative differences with her co-producer, Stiehm left the series after one season and returned to Homeland.

In September 2018, it was announced that Stiehm was adapting the bestselling novel The Banker's Wife for television; the series was ultimately scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.