Crime and the Media.
Representations of criminality and justice is UK and US crime tv, and how they relate to their cultures.
This is a bit broad and you will find it hard to prove anything solid. What about adapting it a bit - look at a range of contemporary cop shows from both US and UK and ask the question "why are we so interested in narratives of crime?" - ie what does the fact that our culture constantly seems to want to tell itself stories about criminals and police suggest about that culture? (Base it on British culture, not US). Do we watch them to sooth our anxieties? To experience transgression (stepping over the boundaries of the law) in a fantasy context? Or what???
There has been a fair amount of discussion about this area and I can point you in the direction of initial reading. Start with the chapter on the crime series in Teaching Popular Television by Mike Clarke. Ask me for it.
For primary research one idea could be that you get fans of the genre to discuss the pleasures of watching and see if it fits any of the ideas you come up with from your reading.
Sean
