Giallo! Going through the History of Italian Television Crime Drama

This editorial provides an overview of the historical development of crime dramas on Italian television from the early years to contemporary challenges, while sketching many of the complexities of the giallo genre. With references to a large number of crime dramas, to the contributions included in this Special Issue and to relevant literature, the representation of investigators and criminals in Italian television is scrutinized in its most distinguishing features: from genre tropes and hybridizations to literary adaptations and digital transmedia aspects; from leading male and female characters to central and peripheral locations; from the global circulation of local content to the changing cultural and societal representations. As a result, Italian TV crime drama is shown as a field of constant negotiation where varied and satisfying forms of balance have been experimented.