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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Entertainment
Louis Staples

The opposite of ‘damsels in distress’: how TV fell in love with female gangsters

composite of female TV characters, L-R: Kaya Scodelario in The Gentlemen, Helen McCrory in Peaky Blinders, Helen Mirren in MobLand, Youn Yuh-jung in Beef, Kathryn Hunter in Black Doves and Martha Kelly in Euphoria
These women create space for scenes that sometimes feel even more shocking and subversive, precisely because of their proximity to femininity. Illustration: Guardian Design / Netflix / HBO

Television loves a gangster story – and apparently so does the Duchess of Sussex. This week, Netflix’s The Gentlemen – Guy Ritchie’s latest addition to the gangster canon, which stars Theo James as a distractingly handsome aristocrat who becomes embroiled in the world of organized crime – returns for its second season. And in August, the show hit the headlines after rumors that Meghan was reportedly in early talks to join its third season when she and Prince Harry made their highly unexpected return to the UK.

At first, Meghan’s potential role seemed like a random pivot for the former Suits star, who now seems far more at home holding a jar of her Montecito-made jam than brandishing a gun. But really, these casting rumours are indicative of a wider shift in the traditionally machismo-fueled gangster genre, where it’s now more common to see women stealing the spotlight – and calling the shots.

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