Between noir and poliziesco all’italiana: Italian crime shows and the ‘noirification’ of contemporary television seriality

This article addresses the development of TV crime dramas in Italy during the last two decades, arguing that the impact of international shows as well as national literary series gradually led to significant changes in the crime series produced by both public and private broadcasters. In particular, a few recent crime series produced by Rai participate in a process of ‘noirification’ of crime narratives, in an attempt to produce noir series addressed to an international audience and characterized by the combination of national literary sources and the model of US quality television. On the one hand, the aim is to explore the specific traits of the national approach to crime narratives. On the other hand, the investigation gives the opportunity to reflect upon the ‘noirification’ of European popular narratives more broadly, examining the uses of genre to increase the cultural and commercial value of TV series on the international market.