The gangster genre, long dominated by masculine tropes, is undergoing a significant transformation as female characters increasingly take center stage. This shift is highlighted by the return of Netflix’s The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie’s high-stakes crime series, which premieres its second season on September 3. The show, which follows an aristocrat played by Theo James navigating the world of organized crime, has recently garnered attention following rumors that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was in early discussions for a role in a potential third season.
While the prospect of Meghan joining the cast drew headlines, it reflects a broader evolution in television where women are no longer relegated to the sidelines. In The Gentlemen, Kaya Scodelario portrays Susie Glass, the ruthless leader of an underground cannabis empire. Unlike traditional female roles in the genre, Susie operates with total parity to her male counterparts. As Scodelario noted in a 2024 interview, she was drawn to the role because the character is already at the top of the criminal hierarchy, rather than undergoing a typical origin story. She observed that audiences often misjudge Susie as a sidekick or romantic interest, when in reality, she is the one leading the narrative, with Eddie often following her lead.
Susie represents a modern evolution of the genre, functioning as a millennial girlboss who balances high-fashion aesthetics with cold-blooded strategic capability. Her character is a departure from the damsel in distress, utilizing her femininity as a tool rather than a vulnerability. In the season two premiere, the character’s versatility is on full display as she navigates grouse shooting in tweed, spends £16 million on a Botticelli painting at an auction, orchestrates schemes in a lakeside sauna, and engages in high-speed chases to thwart masked thieves.
This trend extends across several other prestige series. In Netflix’s Black Doves, Kathryn Hunter plays the intimidating Lenny Lines, a handler of professional killers, while Tracey Ullman portrays Alex Clark, a powerful crime boss with deep ties to the British government. Similarly, Paramount+’s MobLand, returning for its second season this September, features Helen Mirren as Maeve Harrigan, an Irish matriarch who balances protective instincts with a bloodthirsty approach to managing her family’s criminal interests.
Historically, female characters in these dramas were often confined to two categories: shallow objects of desire or quiet, behind-the-scenes matriarchs like Peaky Blinders’ Polly Gray. However, recent portrayals are breaking these molds. In HBO’s Euphoria, Martha Kelly’s character, Laurie, functions as a drug queenpin who operates independently of traditional family structures, engaging in violent turf wars with other kingpins. Likewise, Youn Yuh-jung’s performance in the second season of Netflix’s Beef offers a fresh take on the corrupt power player archetype.
The production value of The Gentlemen has also evolved, moving toward a prestige aesthetic reminiscent of major hits like The Crown and House of Cards. Within this framework, Susie Glass serves as a hyper-capable strategist who frequently humbles the egos of the men around her. As the series continues, it reinforces a new reality in the Guy Ritchie cinematic universe: while aristocrats may have been the original organized criminals, they are no longer the most effective ones, provided they are operating under the watch of someone like Susie. The report also notes that it marked a departure from Ritchie’s previous work, when The Gentlemen premiered in 2024. The report also notes that “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,” said Scodelario when I interviewed her in 2024. The report also notes that when really the opposite was the case, she told me that people initially assumed Susie would be “the girlfriend or the wife or the sidekick”. 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.
