Transnational Success Made in Spain

Police dramas are one of the most important genres on television, both to represent social issues and reflect ideological changes. Spanish crime dramas peaked in the 2000s and boasted huge, home-grown success stories, achieving higher ratings than US imports. However, after the economic crisis in 2008 and subsequent cuts to television budgets, Spain’s TV producers had to seek international opportunities. Creating a virtue out of necessity, an increasing number of drama producers were going global and beginning to reap the rewards of international ventures. One such venture is 'Los misterios de Laura/The Mysteries of Laura' (2009–14), a wonderfully light-hearted crime comedy about Police Inspector Laura Lebrel, a divorced mother of twins with a chaotic personal and professional life. This article examines the Televisión española and the American NBC productions 'Los misterios de Laura' and 'The Mysteries of Laura', respectively, in order to explore the dis/continuities of this transnational success formula, focusing on three key issues: female police officers, office politics, and working mothers. Central to my discussion will be the significance of humour in the workplace as a meaning-making cultural practice. I use humour theories from TV and Critical Management studies to ascertain the main and sometimes subtle differences in the representations of a working mother’s life.