Crime Comedies on TV: A Thematic Analysis of Satire and Parody

• In Event: Crime and Justice in the Popular Media

Abstract

While crime comedies have been popular on television for decades, popular criminology has paid little attention to examining the ways that these programs depict crime and justice. Humorous depictions of crime have the potential to satirize the institutions that seek to control crime, providing subversive messaging about the criminal justice system. However, not all humor is subversive; it is also possible that these depictions may reinforce the criminal justice system as essential for controlling crime. This study examines two crime comedy programs – "Reno 911!" and "Only Murders in the Building" – to identify the ways that these shows present two types of themes: those that subvert the system and those that reinforce the status quo. These shows offer parody representations of forms of popular crime media (reality-based police shows and true crime podcasts, respectively); the current study will also evaluate these shows as parodies. Implications for the social construction of crime and justice will be discussed.

Author

• Andrew J. Baranauskas, SUNY Brockport