The Big Picture
- Apple TV+'s Criminal Record stands out from other detective dramas with its stellar performances, mysterious plot, and social commentary.
- The show tackles themes of race, institutional failure, and prejudice within the policing system.
- The dynamic between the characters of Lenker and Hagerty drives the plot, with Lenker facing personal and professional challenges in her pursuit of justice.
If one were to turn away their eyes from the stellar performances put forth by Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi going head-to-head while a dark mystery brews in the background, there’s plenty that still makes Apple TV+’s Criminal Record unlike any other detective drama on streaming. Brimming with mystery, social commentary, and tension natural to its social setting, Criminal Record rises above the expectations of its genre to deliver a plot that keeps thickening despite gradually shedding its layers. Ultimately, Paul Rutman’s Criminal Record is as much about the mystery as it is about the policing system and the veil of prejudice that often blinds it.
Criminal Record
CrimeDramaThrillerFollows two brilliant detectives in a tug of war over a historic murder conviction, dealing with issues of race, institutional failure, and the quest to find common ground in a polarized Britain.
Release Date January 10, 2024 Creator Cast Peter Capaldi , Cush Jumbo , Stephen Campbell Moore , Charlie Creed-Miles , Shaun Dooley , Dionne Brown Main Genre Crime Seasons 1What Is 'Criminal Record' About?
CloseCapaldi’s Daniel Hagerty, a Detective Chief Inspector who also serves as a luxury chauffeur, takes center stage, providing a compelling, brooding figure whose every step remains in the service of pushing the truth further away from the reach of Jumbo’s Detective Sergeant June Lenker. When a mysterious call from a woman pushes Lenker to relook at an old case led and closed by Hagerty, the newbie Lenker is confronted by the veteran Hagerty, who has more friends and influence than what he lets on. Driven by sheer motivation and her rebel spirit, Lenker must navigate a path filled with treachery, corruption, and prejudice in a game of chess where Hagerty seems to be one move ahead, always. By putting Lenker against Hagerty, the stakes are established quite early and the ground for Lenker's battle against the system, personified and effectuated by Hagerty's ominous presence, is prepared.
Within the premise of a compelling detective drama, the show constantly tries to punch above its weight without shying away from addressing the themes hidden within its layer, including police brutality, racism, and misogyny — all forces that lend the world of Criminal Record an unmatched authenticity. Lenker finds herself struggling at multiple levels through her identity as a Black woman in a profession dominated by white men, as well as through the sheer nature of her professional pursuit, which pits her against the tenacity of Hagerty’s cunning brilliance. Moreover, Lenker’s convoluted relationship with the policing system by virtue of her own past makes it a battle far too personal. Lenker’s mother maintains her skeptical view of the police, having witnessed her husband, Lenker’s father, become a victim of the system that her daughter eventually ended up joining in an attempt to potentially reform.
Unlike most shows of its genre, Criminal Record does not try to place its bets behind a whodunit to evoke curiosity and mystery; rather it finds its strength in establishing Hagerty’s position as the one to look out for. Criminal Record allows the audience to deduce quite early that Hagerty leads an attempt to keep an untold mystery hidden under the rug of a system that would rather point the finger toward whom it believes to be guilty than the truly guilty party. During the course of the episodes, Hagerty continues to use his power and influence to prevent Lenker from finding the reason behind his anxiety, which keeps even the aloof senior detective from dropping his guard. Then again, it becomes equally difficult to conclude whether Hagerty is motivated by pure self-interest or if a greater power (or fear) is forcing his hand.
'Criminal Record' Explores Prejudice in its Various Forms
Apart from being a great police procedural, Criminal Record also works as a dissection of the various systems, policing as well as social, that thrive on moral corruption and prejudice lurking within them. The dynamics within Lenker’s relationship with her husband, who is a white man, speaks of a different playground that Lenker must navigate, not to mention her relationship with her mother, who continues to despise the police, whom she views as a symbol of oppression and injustice. The show doesn’t allow either the audience or the characters to take off the oft-prejudiced lens through which they witness the world.
Beyond the barricades of prejudice rooted in race and gender, Criminal Record also highlights other forms of prejudice that have become intrinsic to the social systems within which the characters and audience exist, so much so that to question such a prejudice would amount to questioning the pillars on which society functions. At its most fundamental level, the Apple TV+ series points out repeatedly that there are rules set by those in power to benefit those in power — all in the service of pushing a narrative put forth by those in power — symbolized by the likes of Hagerty. Importantly, the series establishes how it's not only the predator who's culpable, but also the prey who allows itself to be silently victimized.
A character as motivated as Lenker punching up towards the might of a character as brilliantly intimidating as Hagerty makes for a compelling watch. Add to this the individual and collective brilliance of the performances of Jumbo and Capaldi, and you get a match-up that elevates Criminal Record among its peers. While sworn to serve one purpose, Lenker and Hagerty reflect two approaches that collide and collude depending on the necessity of the situation. In its broadest form, Criminal Record is an engaging detective drama that retains the feel of the rest of Apple TV+’s television catalog; in its cellular form, the show provides a case study on how bias can be critically dangerous to those on the receiving end.
All episodes of Criminal Record are available to stream on Apple TV+.
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