Criminal (franchise)

Criminal is a series of four Netflix police procedural anthology TV series set in four countries. The four series are Criminal: France, Criminal: Germany, Criminal: Spain, and Criminal: UK. The series was devised by its showrunners George Kay and Jim Field Smith,[1] and produced by their company Idiotlamp Productions.[2] Although the showrunners are based in the UK, each of the local three-part series is written and performed in that country's native language by native actors,[3][4] but all four individual local series were shot on the same set in Madrid, Spain.[5] All four series were released simultaneously in September 2019.[6] A second series of Criminal: UK, consisting of four episodes, was released on 16 September 2020.[7]

Each episode is a stand-alone psychological drama, consisting of the interrogation of an individual by a team of police investigators. Every scene is confined to just three areas in a single location; a police interrogation room, a darkened viewing room that looks into the interrogation room through a one-way mirror, and the hallway and stairwell outside the rooms.[5]

  1. ^ Romano, Nick (4 September 2019). "Hayley Atwell, David Tennant face tense interrogation in Netflix's 'Criminal' teaser trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  2. ^ Creamer, Jon (28 November 2018). "George Kay, Jim Field Smith to showrun Netflix crime drama". www.televisual.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  3. ^ "'Criminal': Netflix Sets Premiere Date For Nicholas Pinnock & Hayley Atwell Police Interrogation Drama". Deadline. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  4. ^ "When is Criminal released on Netflix? Who's in the cast and what's it about?". Radio Times. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Netflix's interrogation drama Criminal is both an intriguing and claustrophobic experiment in intensity". The Independent. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  6. ^ "When is Criminal released on Netflix? Who's in the cast and what's it about?". Radio Times. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  7. ^ Seddon, Dan (19 August 2020). "Line of Duty and Cheat-fronted Netflix show Criminal confirms season 2 return date". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 August 2020.