Millie Bobby Brown, Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman are leading an important shift

Women are taking back crime solving, one iconic character at a time. Millie Bobby Brown, Sarah Gilman and Sarah Jeffery are leading the way.

Last year, the mystery genre got a revitalized boost thanks to Murder on the Orient Express. Kenneth Branagh played the famous Hercule Poirot, one of the most beloved detectives of all time. He’s in good ranks alongside characters like Sherlock Holmes and the hilarious Inspector Clouseau.

With TV, there’s no shortage of crime-solving shows, some serious, some funny. But they tend to have one thing in common. It’s perfectly exemplified in Brooklyn Nine-Nine — a show where there’s really only three female characters.

It’s sad but not surprising; the world of solving crimes and mysteries has, like so many genres before it, become a bit of a boys’ club.

Let’s look back on ABC’s hit Castle. The lead detective was badass Kate Beckett, and she did most of the heavy lifting. But, the show was called Castle, and as such, focused on how he was central to her story. Don’t get me wrong, the two of them completing each other’s sentences while piecing clues together was 1000 percent adorable. But could the show have survived if it was called Beckett? Probably not.

There are always exceptions, like Mariska Hargitay prosecuting sexual offenders as Lt. Olivia Benson on NBC’s Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. She started as Detective Benson, and viewers got to watch her rise to Lieutenant Benson.

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT — “Contrapasso” Episode 1903 — Pictured: Mariska Hargitay as Lieutenant Olivia Benson — (Photo by Christopher Saunders/NBC)

Worth noting: Hargitay is the first — and so far the only — regular on any Law & Order series to earn an Emmy for her role. SVU is also currently the longest running scripted non-animated U.S. primetime TV series.

In film, the number of female detectives is even smaller. We had Emma Roberts as Nancy Drew … in 2007. We got the return of the ultimate female detective in 2014 with the Veronica Mars movie. But for the most part, the stories have been few and far between.

The good news is that change is coming. It’s happening thanks to some of Hollywood’s youngest stars.

Scooby-Doo Spinoff

In November, it was announced that a Scooby-Doo spinoff is in the works, produced by Blondie Girl Productions. The project will focus on Daphne and Velma, giving the teen sleuths an origin story. According to Variety,

"“Daphne and Velma” tells the story of Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley before they team up with Scooby and the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang. The mystery-solving teens are best friends but have only met online — until Daphne transfers to Velma’s school, Ridge Valley High, stocked with high-tech gadgetry by the school’s benefactor, tech billionaire Tobias Bloom. While their peers vie for a coveted internship at Bloom’s company, Daphne and Velma try to uncover the reason why the school’s brightest students are disappearing — only to emerge again in a zombie-fied state."

Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman will play Daphne and Velma respectively. The question now is how will the two be characterized?

Fans will remember that Daphne has always, always, always been portrayed as the damsel in distress. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s portrayal outright called it out in the live-action Scooby-Doo movies — both of them.

Meanwhile, Velma has been the shy genius, always having the credit for her hard work taken by Fred. But based on Gilman’s latest tweets, both of these characters might look different from what fans have come to know, in the best way.

Blondie Girl Productions, run by Jennifer and Ashley Tisdale, “is committed to telling stories from a female perspective.” And it’s possible they’ll just be the start of the wave.

The Next Holmes

Now, adding another much needed female perspective to the detective genre is Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – JANUARY 07: Actor Millie Bobby Brown attends The 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

First reported by Deadline, the teen breakout is set to star as Enola Holmes, Sherlock’s little sister, in a film series from Legendary Films, based on books written by Nancy Springer.

Deadline describes the youngest Holmes as someone who “proves to be a highly capable detective in her own right.” In addition to starring in the films, Brown will also produce them through her PCMA Productions banner. The book series has six installments, so Brown could feasibly have a mega-franchise on her hands.

Predictably, the argument against it so far is, “But Sherlock never had a sister!” Cool, and?

This won’t be the first time a major Sherlock role is given to a woman. CBS’ television series Elementary gave the role of Watson to Lucy Liu.

Sherlock Holmes is the detective icon. Putting Millie Bobby Brown in the driver’s seat marks a huge shift in the genre, and if it lives up to its potential, a clear path will officially be paved.

If 2017 taught us anything, it’s that female-led films work. Wonder Woman. Lady Bird. Star Wars: The Last Jedi. We want more. We need more.

The mystery genre is particularly important. It’s all about intelligence and wit, solving big problems using little pieces. It combines moral strength, mental prowess and often physical strength. (Whether it’s running away from an unsavory character, or chasing a suspect, it’s more of a workout than at first glance.)

More often than not, STEM subjects come into play throughout the story. After all, there’s a reason Watson’s experience as a doctor is helpful. Like Nancy Drew, these films have the power to pull young girls toward these subjects, and maybe even this profession.

Next: 21 pop culture moments in 2017 that spoke to the zeitgeist

It’s the potential for a heroine that can truly exist off-screen. At the very least, it’ll put more empowering moments on screen.