Female leads in contemporary Italian crime drama: Industry, narratives and reconfiguration of gender in Rai Fiction (2016–21)

The paper examines the changing portrayal of female leads in Italian crime television drama, focusing specifically on RAI productions from 2016 to 2021. While the number of women protagonists has grown considerably in recent years, gender representation remains uneven and often characterised by ambivalence and contradiction – particularly in portrayals of female professionalism. Using content and character analysis, the study is divided into two parts. The first traces the historical marginalisation of women in Italian crime serials, where male protagonists traditionally held dominance in both narrative and professional authority. The second explores how contemporary series depict gender through postfeminist perspectives, balancing between innovative representations and lingering stereotypes. It contends that, although significant progress has been made in diversifying female characters – especially through more complex narrative roles and professional identities – such progress is frequently limited by romantic subplots and traditional gender norms. The article places these findings within wider discussions on narrative complexity, production culture and the symbolic role of public service broadcasting in shaping gender discourse.