In the heart of London, an anonymous phone call draws two brilliant detectives—a young woman in the early stages of her career and a well-connected man determined to protect his legacy—into a fight to correct an old miscarriage of justice.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.8/10
IMDb: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Metacritic: 74
TMDB: 6.9/10
Production
Tod Productions, STV Studios
Cast
Peter Capaldi, Cush Jumbo, Shaun Dooley, Stephen Campbell Moore, Luther Ford, Dustin Demri-Burns, Luke Pasqualino
Where to watch
Apple TV Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A polished London crime drama with strong performances, especially from Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo, but it is more interested in institutional rot and moral compromise than in procedural thrills. The first season is the essential watch; it’s tense, thoughtful, and often gripping, though its pace can be deliberately slow and its plotting a bit familiar. If you like character-driven investigations with a political edge, it’s worth your time.
Best for
Viewers who like prestige British crime dramas
Fans of morally tangled detective stories
People who enjoy slow-burn investigations and institutional critique
Audiences drawn to strong two-hander performances
Skip if
You want a fast, case-of-the-week procedural
You prefer lighter or more purely action-driven crime shows
You get impatient with deliberate pacing and ambiguity
You want a fully original mystery rather than a familiar corruption thriller
Overview
Criminal Record is a sleek, well-acted London thriller that leans on atmosphere, performance, and ethical unease more than on twisty mechanics. The setup is strong: an old conviction is reopened, and the investigation becomes a clash between a rising detective and a senior officer determined to preserve his standing. That tension gives the series real bite, and the show gets considerable mileage from its sense of civic decay and buried wrongdoing.
Worth noting
Peter Capaldi is especially effective as a man whose authority feels both formidable and compromised, while Cush Jumbo brings intelligence and urgency to the younger detective trying to force the truth into the open. The series is at its best when it lets their conflict expose the machinery of policing, class, and institutional self-protection. It can feel familiar in shape, though, and some viewers may find the pacing more dutiful than propulsive.
Bottom line
As a season-one recommendation, it lands as a solid, adult crime drama rather than a must-see breakout. If you enjoy serious British television that values mood, performance, and social critique, it’s an easy fit. If you want a sharper mystery engine or more surprise, it may feel a little restrained.
2012 · Curator 9.3/10 (80.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Acorn TV, BritBox, Spectrum On Demand, Acorn TV Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads, Tubi TV
Sharper and more procedural, but similarly obsessed with police corruption and institutional self-protection.