The History of Crime Dramas By Heather Prince

First Crime drama The history of crime drama dates back to Thomas Skinner Sturr's “Anonymous Richmond” or “Stories in the life of a Bow Street officer (1827)”. The earliest full-length short-story in the genre is “the Rector of Veilby” by the Danish author Steen Steensen Blicher published in 1829.

First crime drama on tv Before appearing on tv, crime drama was written as novels and stories. It started on tv in the 1950s (when television became more popular) where “Dragnet” was broadcasted on NBC in 1951. This was very successful and won many awards including Emmys.

The progression of crime drama Over the 1950's, 60's and 70's, crime drama became increasingly popular, moving into colour TV and using car chases, gunfights and brawls. TV series such as "the Sweeney" were very popular in Britain and incorporated crime investigating along with other features making them more exciting and watchable. Using handheld cameras were used and made the scenes more exciting as it gave a more shaky effect. 

The progression of crime drama In the 2000s, along with traditional programs, modern programs ran along side such as “Miss Marple” and “Silent Witness” to “Sherlock” and “Poirot”. Luther was the first crime drama series to have a black person as the main detective and CSI introduced science along detecting. This led to them winning awards for the science mixing with detecting as it was new.

What makes a good crime drama? Good plot Enigmas Mystery Action Shocking plot twists Not too many clichés (in plot and characters) Blood and murder