Investigating Detection: Methods of Detection in American Detective Dramas

Abstract

Detective dramas appear to be one of the most prolific genres on television screens internationally. American detective dramas are syndicated and broadcast all over the world. As such, the familiar narrative structures, ‘stock’ characters, urban settings, and so on seem to be almost taken for granted — the implication often being that because they are familiar, they must be reactionary and conservative. Yet, on the other hand, some of the most critically acclaimed and innovative dramas on television, from Hill Street Blues to The Wire, are detective narratives. These series, often celebrated for their ‘realism’, break new ground in what television narratives can achieve while using relatively familiar genre frameworks to guide us through complex and complicated stories and narrative structures.