Detection and crime, the season's novelties for fiction's most beloved genre

(by Nicoletta Tamberlich)

Commissioners, investigators, lawyers,

event-driven stories: crime and drama remain the most explored

genres in serialised television and are beloved by a broad audience that both

mainstream networks and streaming giants have decided

to offer for the upcoming season.

On Rai1, I casi di Teresa Battaglia returns with its third

season, entitled Figlia della cenere. We are reunited with Elena Sofia

Ricci in the role of the profiler who must investigate a new

murder: a man found dead, whose body bears the signs

of brutal violence inflicted post mortem. This crime is followed by others, with the same modus operandi: the work of a serial killer targeting victims bound together by a dark secret.

The most anticipated series is undoubtedly 177 giorni - Il Rapimento

di Farouk: in six episodes, again on Rai1, the story of

the kidnapping of young Farouk Kassam, aged 7, which took place in

Costa Smeralda on 15 January 1992. Directed by Carlo Carlei, the

drama series stars Marco Bocci and French actress Antonia

Desplat as Fateh Kassam and Marion

Bleriot respectively, the father and mother of the child, who was kidnapped by a group of Sardinian criminals led by the bandit Matteo Boe. In the role of the boy, appearing on screen for the first time, Filippo Papa.

On Rai2, Estranei promises to be an interesting prospect: a crime series

directed by Cosimo Alemà, starring Elena Radonicich, Kel Giordano and

Ricky Memphis. The story is set in Correggio and begins with

the disappearance of two young lovers, Camilla and

Manraj, belonging respectively to the local community and to

the Sikh community. The impressive cast also includes Marco Bocci, Isabella Ferrari

and Giulio Scarpati. Also on the way is Stucky 2: the laid-back and

rumpled inspector played by Giuseppe Battiston returns in the

series loosely adapted from the novels of Fulvio Ervas.

A second season is also on the cards for Libera: the judge played by Lunetta Savino

returns to Rai1 in the coming autumn. With her come back

Pietro Zanon (Matteo Martari) and Clara (Daisy Pieropan), and

above all the beautiful city of Trieste. Between Verona, Vicenza and Soave,

Costanza 2 was filmed instead: in the finale of the first season,

Costanza (Miriam Dalmazio), the paleopathologist protagonist of

the novels by Alessia Gazzola, declared her love for Marco

(Marco Rossetti), the father of her daughter. There is also room for Màkari 5,

featuring investigative journalist Saverio Lamanna, a character born from

the pen of Gaetano Savatteri and portrayed by Claudio Gioè. By

his side, the ever-present Piccionello (Domenico Centamore).

Its arrival on Rai1 is expected in 2027.

Can Yaman confirms his status as one of the leading figures in Mediaset

drama with Il Labirinto delle Farfalle, based on the Spanish series of the same name, four evenings on Canale 5, directed by Alberto Ruiz Rojo and Iñaki Peñafiel. The actor plays Kaplan, a secret agent with an impeccable career who is betrayed and accused of a crime he did not commit. Decidedly off the conventional path, with an unerring instinct, a chaotic personal life, an easygoing charm and questionable shirts, Alex Bravo - Poliziotto a Modo Suo arrives on screen, starring Marco Bocci, in six episodes co-produced by Rti with 11 Marzo Film, directed by Beniamino Catena.

Female-led detection is also thriving on Mediaset: Vanessa

Incontrada stars as Erica - Un Detective per Caso in the series inspired

by the French show Erica and based on the novels of Camilla Läckberg.

The protagonist is a crime writer in a creative slump who returns to her roots in Tuscany, in Piombino, where she finds herself

involved in a crime. During the investigation, a love story blossoms with Leonardo (Francesco Scianna), a police officer who will later stand by her side to solve other intricate mysteries.

Coming soon to Sky is Quelli della Mala, set in 1970s Milan where "people shot guns and had fun."

Also featured is Il Sospetto, a four-episode thriller starring Claudia Pandolfi and Alessandro Gassmann. Two new seasons for one of last season's ratings champions: Avvocato Ligas, the legal drama with Luca Argentero. But the most anticipated title on the platform, scheduled for early 2027, bears the signature of Gabriele Muccino and is Gucci - Fine dei Giochi, a portrait of the most iconic family in Italian luxury, with Miriam Leone, Francesco Scianna, and Matilda Lutz playing Patrizia Reggiani, Maurizio and Allegra Gucci respectively. Francesco Acquaroli, Paolo Pierobon and Sergio Romano play Aldo, Rodolfo and Paolo Gucci. Amid passion, revenge and unbridled ambitions for power, a sweeping family saga marked by a murder — that of Maurizio Gucci — which seals the end of an era. The series is based on the memoir Fine dei giochi - Luci e ombre sulla mia famiglia by Allegra Gucci.

Nemesi is one of the Italian thriller series announced by Netflix for 2026, though no release date has yet been officially confirmed: Pierfrancesco Favino, Barbara Ronchi and Elodie lead a cast that places the project among the most anticipated national productions for the platform. SuburraMaxima, featuring Giacomo Ferrara, Carlotta Antonelli, Filippo Nigro, Francesco Gheghi, Alexis Massine, Marlon Joubert and Martina La Manna, will mark a new chapter in the narrative universe launched by Suburra. The direction is shared between Michele Alhaique (for the first two episodes) and Leonardo D'Agostini (who directs the remaining four).

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