Criminal: UK Season 2 Review: A Fantastic, Confined Game of Cat and Mouse
There’s a nuance to criminal interviews, where it becomes a game of minds, where evidence is the starting point and peeling back the truth gets closer to an end point, if there ever can be one.
With Criminal: UK, the Netflix series created by George Kay and Jim Field Smith returning for its second season, its four episodes build on the great foundation the previous three provided, but also has a lot to say not only about good detective work, but the blurred lines of massaging things to get the desired outcome.
For those new to Criminal, each episode takes place in the confines of the police station where the interview room, the strategy room, and the hallway connecting them is everything we need to tell the story between the police doing the interview and the subject they are trying to squeeze information out of.
It’s a great concept, to focus on the small, intimate distance between law and criminality, and the second season is just as great, but with a broader concept on its side.
The second season catches a lot of success from twisting the law around, where there’s a fine line between wrongful arrest, vigilantism, and making deals for the greater good.
These sorts of areas gives Criminal a chance to not only continue to interrogate its suspects, but also ask bigger questions about the damage that can be done to innocent lives along the way.
The four interview subjects, Sophie Okonedo, Kit Harington, Sharon Horgan, and Kunal Nayyar, are a fantastic showcase, as they each bring a different kind of energy and tactic to their respective episodes.
The second episode with Kit Harington as the interviewee is one of the show’s most gripping and strongest episodes. It dives into the role of police and their impact, where it’s not entirely a straight investigation but a broader indictment on the system as a whole.
Harington plays the part with righteous indignation, which becomes a fascinating battle where our own opinions will make us see it entirely differently.
There’s also Kunal Nayyar, near unrecognizable with his role and creating such a tense, captivating presence with a ticking clock threatening the episode.
This is where Criminal: UK makes strong strides: allowing your own perception to color the criminal interviews. We bring in our own ideas and prejudices, not to mention trying to read each suspect’s motives just as the police are, where the episodes can impact you based on how it affects you personally.
The show usually gives the answers for the most part, but it’s how they get there that leaves an impression. Some things may not always sit right, and that’s where the show’s best moments come from.
The main cast of Katherine Kelly, Lee Ingleby, Shubham Saraf, and Rochenda Sandall return, continuing to build on their characters with the little quirks and interview tactics that remain great tells when they are locked in a heated moment.
They remain the core of the show, its guiding light in the tricky, difficult world of lies, deceit, and deception. Each performer gets a great chance to stand out because of the tight focus of two rooms and the hallway outside, and each give voice to the difference of ideas and opinions that make up its task force.
The writing between creators George Kay and Jim Field Smith leaves you with questions about how you feel about each instance. They are creating engaging stories that make you empathize before starting to make you question that empathy, turning it into a curiosity: do you believe them, or can you see what they are trying to do to throw off their interviewers?
It’s the kind of set-up that goes a long way and leaves you not only wanting more, but thinking about the show long after watching it.
That’s where Criminal: UK exceeds the most: it sticks with you. The writing, when paired with performers at the top of their game on both sides of the table, creates a thrilling interrogation setting where there are layers to uncover. This is one of Netflix’s best hidden gems, and its second season keeps that spirit alive with an even better batch of episodes.
What did you think of Criminal: UK? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Criminal: UK premieres Wednesday, September 16 on Netflix.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.