Conventions of Television Crime Drama

The genre of television crime drama is extremely large.  There are many different examples of the genre   with many different styles, formats and sub-genres.  Not all conventions will apply to all texts.  This is merely a list of typical characteristics of crime dramas.  It is unlikely that any one text will exhibit them all but many of them will be present in many examples of the genre.




Examples of Crime Drama

A Touch of Frost
The Wire
Miss Marple
Midsummer Murders
Dexter
Luther
Cracker
Lewis
Monk
Diagnosis Murder
Ironside
Columbo
Kojak
CSI
Scott and Bailey
Poirot
Boardwalk Empire
The Sopranos
Sherlock
Life on Mars
Ashes to Ashes
Starsky and Hutch

As you can see, many crime dramas are named after their lead character.  This is a strong convention of the genre.  The lead character is integral to the show and it is usually very much 'their' story.


Characters
The lead character will often be a detective or some sort of police investigator.  They will usually be a white male - 40 years old plus.  The lead character will have some sort of major personality defect or flaw such as a failed marriage, alcoholism, gambling addiction etc, sometimes there may be a physical one as well eg Ironside is confined to a wheelchair whilst Columbo has a glass eye..

There will often be a sidekick character - a younger and more inexperienced individual.  This is sometimes a woman though women are usually in scientific advisor roles.  If there is a woman there will usually be some sort of sexual tension between the two.

There will often be a group of support characters or 'gang' who help the lead character in their investigation.

There will often be a superior officer or 'police chief' who the lead character must report to and will often be in trouble with.

Narrative and Theme

The narrative will usually be centred around a detective trying to solve a crime - often a murder.  There will be an investigation taking place which involves clues and red herrings.  The killer's identity will often be revealed at the end of the episode.

There will often be chase scenes present.  There may also be an interrogation scene.  There will usually be a teaser or 'hook' sequence at the start which shows the crime being committed or maybe the body being discovered.  Its purpose is to draw the viewer into the narrative.

The theme of justice and good vs evil will be prevalent in the narrative.

Format:  Episodic but usually with stand alone episodes.

Iconography

 Police cars, blue flashing lights, crime scenes, police tape (do not cross), murders, dark lighting, guns and weapons.  Flashlights in dark places.

Sound

Serious and dramatic non-diegetic music.  Often this is very sombre and brooding during dark moments and fast-paced and bombastic as action sequences occur.

Settings

 Interview rooms, urban settings, police stations, crime scenes, forensics labs, morgues, the killer's lair - often dark, ominous and threatening.

Case Studies

Luther:  Series 1, episode 1.

Conventions Conformed to:

The show is named after the protagonist.
Luther is a detective with personal problems - he has a failed marriage and is emotionally unstable, perhaps even suicidal.
He has a younger, more inexperienced sidekick who looks up to him.
He has a group of allies who help him.

What other conventions does this crime drama conform to?  Think about the examples stated above.

Conventions Subverted:

John Luther is not a white man though he is in all other ways a fairly conventional crime drama protagonist.

Are there any other ways that you think Luther subverts or challenges the generic conventions?

A Touch of Cloth

Conventions Conformed to:

This is an example of a parody of the genre and as such it uses the conventions to create comedy.  How many genre conventions can you identify in the first episode of A Touch of Cloth?

Conventions Subverted:

All of the conventions seen in this example are actually subverting the genre at the same time as they are conforming to it as they are parodying the genre.