They also investigate: five crime mystery series with a female accent

BarcelonaIn procedural series—those that follow the investigation of a crime—there is a variant that moves away from the stereotypical image of the tortured police officer: crime mysteries starring women. In recent weeks, several options have emerged that opt for this formula. We review the most recent premieres featuring female investigators who, like their male colleagues, also suffer from trauma and have unique characteristics that make them special. A list that could also include the Basque series Missing.

Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia, The Dropout) is Mickey, a police officer in a Philadelphia neighborhood marked by the opioid crisis. It's a problem she knows firsthand because her sister, Kacey, is an addict and has been living on the streets for some time. The young woman disappears just as three women are found murdered in the neighborhood, all three in vulnerable situations. Mickey, who is not only a police officer but also a single mother of a seven-year-old boy, becomes obsessed with solving the case and finding and protecting her sister so she doesn't suffer the same fate as the three victims. The miniseries is an adaptation of a best-selling book by Liz Moore.

This Italian mystery series has been appearing on Netflix's most-watched lists for a few days now. Based on a series of novels by Maurizio de Giovanni and set in Naples, it centers on Sara, a former intelligence agent who receives the news that her son, with whom she hadn't spoken in years, has died in an apparent accident. Convinced it was actually a murder, Sara returns to action and reconnects with her former team. For many years, she was called "the invisible woman" for her ability to read lips from a distance. Despite her long career, her gift remains intact.

As Sara, a woman in the shadows, one of the common threads of Filmin's new police drama is the difficult balance between life in the force and motherhood. Detective Inspector Ellis is a brilliant professional who lives glued to her cell phone, waiting for a response to a message from her daughter. She's much more skilled at investigating crimes than managing family life. As a senior investigator, she's sent to different police stations in England to solve murder cases and often faces disdain or reluctance due to her gender. "She knows exactly what the price is, and she has no illusions or romantic feelings. But she turns out to be very good at her job, so, in a way, she can't deny the world her talent," explains the series' creator, Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre. Inspector Ellis It marked a turning point in the United Kingdom as the first detective fiction series starring a Black woman. The first season consists of three episodes, one for each case Ellis must solve.

One of the latest additions to the sample of researchers with special skills is Patience, which premieres Monday on Cosmo. The protagonist is the titular Patience, a young woman with autism who works at the York City Criminal Records Office. Accustomed to a routine life, her deductive abilities attract the attention of Detective Bea Metcalf, who decides to recruit her into her team following the investigation of an apparent suicide. The two women work together to solve puzzling cases, and a relationship develops between them that goes beyond the strictly professional. One of the series' unique features is that actress Ella Maisy Purvis, who plays the protagonist, is also autistic, a diagnosis she received during lockdown. Patience thus joining the also British Dinosaur in the inclusion of neurodivergence in its cast.

For those who still want more investigative material, on Saint John's Day Filmin premieres an English classic of the genre, Vera, which has accumulated fourteen seasons (the platform currently includes the first five). The series is ideal for fans of Shetland, as both are adaptations of Ann Cleeves novels. One of the main attractions of the fiction is the participation of veteran Brenda Blethyn, an actress with a long and recognized career that includes a Golden Globe for Best Actress for Secrets and lies and three Oscar nominations. Here she plays Vera, a semi-retired detective inspector passionate about her work. Despite having an irascible and sarcastic personality, she genuinely cares about her team and has an almost mother-daughter relationship with Sergeant Joe Ashworth, her right-hand man. Vera It could already be seen in open television on La 2.