Criminal: UK (TV Series) Jay (2019) User Reviews

Signs off with another excellent episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 25 September 2019]

The first two stories, you could argue relied on a big name, we had David Tennant and Hayley Atwell, both were amazing, and of course stole the show, both stories were impressive. It isn't the case here that we have a big name, no offence to Youssef Kerkour, I'd never heard of him, but he was excellent.

Mark Stanley shone through in this episode as as Hugo, he was awesome, a much better role for him then the one he's currently got in Sanditon.

Possibly the best story of the three, but possibly the delivery wasn't as good as the other two episodes.

Please Netflix let's have more of these, it's time to watch those from Germany, Spain and France.

A Little Strained, but Quite Engaging

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 13 November 2019]

A truck driver sits across from the interrogation team. He has been accused of leaving a truck trailer full of immigrants being smuggled into the country. It is winter and the danger of freezing is a huge factor. The guy is filled with fear that he will spend time in jail if he gives up the location of the trailer. The problem is, he is potentially putting all those lives in danger by admitting it is his truck and his decision to drive it off the road.

Season One Review.

[southdavid · 7/10 · 24 September 2019]

"Criminal UK" is a shortform miniseries - released on Netflix that tells the story of three unconnected police interrogations - though there is some narrative stretched over the top of the episodes related to the lives of the interrogation team. I understand that there are similar variations of the show set in Spain, France and Germany, each using the same sets but with different stories. I haven't got to any of those yet, but I'd like to at some point.

I feel like this season was fine, if never quite hitting the heights again of the first episode, which is what it needs to be. Shorn of anything too flashy, given their only allowed three sets, the show feels like a play... and in that case, what it really needs is an acting masterclass from the suspect (or the suspect's lawyer) up against the regular cast. All of whom are fine and well established actors in their own right, such as Lee Ingleby or Katherine Kelly. This though is only really is the case in the first episode, where David Tennent is mesmerising as he both stonewalls and then offers an explanation for what happened to his murdered stepdaughter. In the second one, Hayley Atwell (whose a fantastic actress) was, I felt, a little miscast as a council estate woman and in the final one, Kevin Eldon does well as the solicitor and Youssef Kerkour is fine, but they're overshadowed by that first episode.

There's real potential here but I do think it needs to up its hit rate with the casting of the suspects to become memorable. Though I enjoyed this... I can't see me remembering what it was in six months time.