For The Love of Crime Drama

With the return of Marcella on ITV and new crime drama Collateral on BBC Two, I have come to the conclusion that as a population, we are addicted to crime TV.

Ever since I started Secondary school, I have become obsessed with crime drama. I remember watching my first episode of CSI;NY, and becoming intrigued with murder mysteries and the forensic techniques used. It was a strange and morbid curiosity that pushed me into watching 'just one more episode.'
Since then, I have watched so much crime drama and nearly every murder mystery that the television regularly throws our way. There's a mysterious allure that drives us to watch crime dramas, and I'm curious to investigate why that may be...

Since Collateral aired on BBC 2 last week, there has already been a total of 6.9 million viewers, whereas Line of Duty season 4 received 7.5 million viewers, and 6.4 million viewers tuned in to watch Bancroft.
With so many of us watching crime dramas, why do we find them so addictive?   

The world is such a dark and cold place, that maybe we watch crime dramas to fully embrace the negativity and violence that shrouds every corner of the world. Perhaps we find peace in watching crime dramas and knowing that by the end, the victim would have justice; something that is not so common in real life. Perhaps the satisfaction of watching a 'bad guy' get what he deserves via television, is the cherry atop a troubled world.

Embracing the darkness as human beings is the worst thing that we can do, so by watching crime dramas it helps us blow off some steam. Once in our lives, I'm sure we have all thought about killing someone and there is a huge difference between thinking and acting. Giving in to our dark impulses, murderous desires and angry flashes is just not an option, so maybe watching disturbing, gross and bloody crime shows acts as a catharsis; a way of releasing our most darkest thoughts in a safe and satisfying manner.

A study by psychologists Feshbach and Singer found that 'violence on television allows the viewer to relate with the characters involved in the violent act, and in doing so, the viewer is able to release all aggressive feelings through relation, causing them to be less aggressive than they would have been without watching the violent television'.
So by regularly watching the crime genre, it has transformed some of us into civil human beings who are able to release negative thoughts in a healthy manner.

As well as satisfying our darkest thoughts, and giving us a feeling of justice in a world where the concept is so limited, crime dramas are also dark, disturbing, dramatic, gritty and entertaining. The genre gives us many things, but it certainly provides us with gripping entertainment that will keep us enthralled until the conclusion. It gives us a connection with the main character - who is most often within law enforcement, and a deep hatred for the criminal that they are chasing. Crime drama somewhat restores our faith in the justice system, even if its just for an hour, and for one shining moment, we understand what it feels like to have justice in a not so perfect world.


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My Top 10 Favourite Crime Dramas -

1) Line of Duty
2) Happy Valley
3) Silent Witness
4) CSI
5) Person of Interest
6) Sherlock
7) Broadchurch
8) NCIS
9) Marcella
10) The Missing