Introduction

Abstract

This introductory chapter begins with a background on the television series Prime Suspect, which chronicles the life and career of Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren), a detective chief inspector and later a detective superintendent for the London Metropolitan Police. Beyond its worldwide popularity, Prime Suspect is a pathbreaking series because it centers a strong woman lead in a gritty portrayal within what had been an otherwise overwhelmingly male-dominated police procedural subgenre. The series has shaped also the police procedural subgenre by setting higher standards for conveying a sense of social realism in the coverage of police work and, more specifically, what media analysts call “forensic realism.” The remainder of the chapter presents a brief history of the crime genre and women's place as well as a brief history of how television has portrayed women more generally. It concludes with an overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.