Representations of Gender and Leadership in Australian Television Drama

This chapter conducts an analysis of the representation of gender as a major factor in the experiences of women holding formal leadership positions in three recent Australian television crime dramas: • 'City Homicide' (John Hugginson & John Banas) which premiered on the Seven Network in August 2007 • 'Fast-West 101' (Kris Wyld & Steve Knapman) which premiered on SBS in December 2007 • 'Rush' (Mimi Butler & John Edwards) which premiered on Channel Ten in September 2008. In addition, in order to comment on how such television narratives may represent women as leaders in series put to air in the future, it is instructive to consider the extent to which current narratives differ from those of the past. This reprise of the past includes a backward glance at women's leadership roles and opportunities in the early episodes of a range of similar Australian television crime series put to air over the previous ten-year period, with a more detailed discussion of 'Water Rats' (John Hugginson & Hal McElroy, 1996). It is suggested that a comparison of the current television series, 'City Homicide', 'East-West 101' and 'Rush' and their predecessors may plot a past-to-present trajectory that can provide a basis for speculation about future television representations of women in leadership in the field of crime prevention.