|
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
|
Positive:
7
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
|
Critic Reviews
Sep 17, 2019
Season 1 Review:
[Law & Order] combined satisfying stand-alone storytelling with interesting character arcs, the television equivalent of comfort food. Criminal scratches that itch, but also brings with it some important innovations and tweaks that elevate it into a truly interesting narrative experiment.
Read full review
The IndependentJan 3, 2020
Season 1 Review:
Criminal uses its small canvas to ask big questions. The focus on these intricate dances means that after a while we begin to question the idea of objective truth, as well as the facts at hand. I have no idea if it is a realistic depiction of detective work, but it makes for gripping drama.
Read full review
The TelegraphJan 3, 2020
Season 1 Review:
Attempts to create a running thread by fleshing out the police team’s relationships – office politics, post-work socialising, workplace affairs, unrequited crushes and competitive jostling to advance their careers – fall a little flat. You find yourself impatient to get back to the main battle of wits. Despite such flaws, though, Criminal grips, beguiles and keeps you guessing.
Read full review
The GuardianDec 3, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Every episode is a spare, precision-engineered hour without a wasted shot or beat. If it feels occasionally just slightly too slick or the writing slightly too clever, these are very much forgivable flaws. Overall it feels like Law & Order: Terence Rattigan Unit and I love it, even if I never thought I’d see the day.
Read full review
IndieWireSep 16, 2020
Season 2 Review:
From his lengthy opening monologue through his emotional final scene, Harington is the addition to this season’s cast that’s giving a performance that seems more suited to the rhythms of the stage. The remaining three find better ways in Season 2 to take full advantage of the subtleties that Jim Field Smith’s direction can afford.
Read full review
The GuardianSep 16, 2020
ColliderSep 13, 2019
Season 1 Review:
All told, Criminal plays well for a specific group. Fans of crime dramas will have fun sinking their teeth into every episode as they get a feel for the different kinds of procedures deployed to take down a suspect depending on the country they’re in. But be warned: This is not a bingeable show. Spend too much time with Criminal and you risk getting bored stiff.
Read full review
Sep 19, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Sometimes the idea for a series is better than the execution. ... The repetition of the will-the-suspect-break idea begins to nag. Worse, and perhaps this is an American-based red flag, the legal counsel in all four countries leaves a lot to be desired. ... Criminal is an interesting if not necessarily original idea, and you can see the appeal for Netflix, but viewers are likely to want something more expansive.
Read full review
Sep 19, 2019
Sep 20, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Criminal’s two sides, interrogator and interrogatee, simply don’t have the characterization or passion to keep its hyper-realistic war waging. The actors do their best with their scripts, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-esque twists answer each too-subtle premise. A tactical disconnect hamstrings a competent cast and makes each case’s resolution feel as transparent as the right side of the one-way glass.
Read full review
The Daily BeastSep 23, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Refusing to deviate from its formula except in minor ways, it’s a cat-and-mouse game that never lets the latter escape the clutches of the former—a situation that, in the final tally, results in monotony, and winds up squandering a host of great individual performances from David Tennant, Haley Atwell, Jérémie Renier and the incomparable Nina Hoss.
Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score