Giallo! The Long History of Italian Television Crime Drama

Most of the Italian television drama able to circulate abroad belongs to the multifaceted crime genre, both in some sparse examples from the past and in the growing contemporary production, from premium channels and digital platforms to the public service and commercial broadcasters. However, only selected titles have been given scholarly attention, drawing a partial account of an otherwise dense and multilayered history. Moreover, the most conventional crime series in the “giallo” spectrum have been studied far less than the exceptions. Most crime series are too formulaic, or basically too popular, to be distinguished. This special issue would like to overcome these limits, by both focusing on the historical evolution of crime genre inside the development of Italian television, from the early stages to the last mainstream and niche successes, and highlighting also the many crime titles that have been a familiar background for Italian audiences. Through the Italian crime drama and its evolution over the decades, an original history of Italian television can be easily outlined, where the “giallo” often marks changes of pace, innovations, successes and failures.