Television’s fascination with organized crime has entered a new era, shifting away from the classic machismo-driven tropes toward complex female leads who command power. This evolution is perhaps most visible in the return of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series, The Gentlemen, which premieres its second season on September 3. The show, featuring Theo James as an aristocrat entangled in crime, has recently garnered headlines over rumors regarding potential involvement from the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, for its third season.
When The Gentlemen debuted in 2024, it marked a significant departure from Ritchie’s earlier work. Kaya Scodelario stars as Susie Glass, the ruthless head of a cannabis empire who brings Eddie, played by James, into her world. Unlike previous female characters in the director’s repertoire, Susie operates with total parity to her male counterparts. As Scodelario noted in a 2024 interview, the character is the polar opposite of a “damsel in distress.” She explained, “What I liked about her was that this isn’t a story about her learning how to be a criminal … She’s already at the top of the ladder.” Scodelario added that while many initially assumed Susie would be relegated to the role of a sidekick or romantic interest, the reality proved to be the opposite, with Eddie often following her lead.
Susie embodies a new wave of female gangsters who force audiences to re-examine motivations behind criminal behavior. In the second season, she remains a hyper-capable strategist, navigating high-stakes scenarios ranging from a £16m Botticelli purchase at an art auction to high-speed bike chases and tense negotiations with Italian mafia bosses. Her character serves as a millennial girlboss archetype, blending visual femininity with a cold, calculated ability to dismantle the egos of the men around her.
This trend extends across the genre. In the Netflix assassin series Black Doves, Kathryn Hunter portrays the formidable Lenny Lines, while Tracey Ullman plays Alex Clark, a crime boss with reach into the highest levels of the British government. Similarly, the Paramount+ series MobLand, returning for its second season this September, features Helen Mirren as Maeve Harrigan, an Irish matriarch whose protective nature is matched only by her bloodthirstiness.
Historically, women in these narratives were often confined to two categories: shallow objects of desire or quiet, behind-the-scenes power brokers like Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders or the corrupt country club owner played by Youn Yuh-jung in the second season of Netflix’s Beef. However, modern shows are breaking this mold. In HBO’s Euphoria, Martha Kelly’s drug queenpin Laurie operates independently of traditional matriarchal or sexualized tropes, engaging in a lethal turf war with fellow drug lord Alamo Brown where her fate remains entirely in her own hands.
The Gentlemen now carries a prestige production value reminiscent of Netflix hits like The Crown and House of Cards, cementing its place in a landscape where women occupy more space than ever. In Susie Glass’s world, while aristocrats may have been the original organized criminals, they are no longer the most effective—a reality that underscores the genre’s broader shift toward female-led power dynamics. The report also notes that we see her tweed-clad at grouse shooting, suited up at an art auction (to spend a cool £16m on a Botticelli painting), covertly hatching plans in a steamy lakeside sauna (o, in the heart-pumping season two premiere alone. The report also notes that t elevision loves a gangster story – and apparently so does the Duchess of Sussex. The report also notes that 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, and in August. The report also notes that 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. The report also notes that 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. The report also notes that the show stars Kaya Scodelario, who is best known for portraying Effy in Skins, the groundbreaking British teen drama, alongside James and Vinnie Jones. The report also notes that as a society, there’s a tacit acceptance that men will be involved in all kinds of criminal activity and violence, but female gangsters force us to take a much closer look at the characters’ motivations. The report also notes that precisely because of their proximity to femininity, these women create space for scenes that sometimes feel even more shocking and subversive.