Every Episode Of Criminal Record Season 1, Ranked

2024 was an amazing year for Apple TV+ shows with the release of Criminal Record, which has an impressive 90% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. It's surprisingly good, and within days of the last episode airing on the OTT platform, there were discussions among fans about the future of Criminal Recordsand its potential renewal. While there have been better seasons of television in recent years, few crime thrillers pique viewers' interests like Criminal Records does.

Despite the producers and the network taking some reasonable time, within a little over six months of the airing of the final episode of Season 1, Criminal Records Season 2 was officially confirmed by Apple TV+. The high-stakes thriller with dark characters and unexpected twists will be back to entertain viewers in 2025 as well. The power dynamic between the corrupt senior detective and the careful young one who brings new perspectives and a fresh pair of legs to the case at hand makes the show such a must-watch affair in the crime thriller/neo-noir genre.

8 Protected

Episode 4

It is hard to stay invested in a show that seems less interested in developing interesting premises that would get viewers asking more questions and more interested in creating a sinister atmosphere of distrust around Hegarty. Hegarty clearly has a lot to hide. He doesn't even want June looking into Errol's arrest, but how long will that piece of information be enough for an audience? Surely it's important to progress the plot on both sides, instead of just following June around as she gathers whatever minimal evidence she can.

"Protected" is hurt by the absence of a compelling case. While there are some compelling scenes, like when Hegarty goes on an ego trip and forces June to notice that he doesn't make rash arrests just because someone has confessed, Criminal Record clearly relies on Peter Capaldi's brilliant acting skills to keep viewers hooked. The plot is progressing too slowly, the characters and their behavior are reminiscent of other British crime dramas, and if one were to judge based solely on "Protected", Criminal Records barely has anything fresh to offer.

7 Kid in the Park

Episode 3

While Criminal Records felt like a dark show from the start, the weight of the material increases almost too rapidly in "Kid in the Park" after a kid is shot down during a gang altercation. While it's a good premise that sets up June and Hegarty working in proximity, the show would have been better off taking things slower, and building up the resentment between the two of them.

Pitting the two main characters so openly against each other, especially by showing Hegarty nearly letting June get killed, might have been a bit too bold of a choice. While it's necessary to explore the kinds of people the protagonists are, creating shocking scenarios so early in the game ups the ante too much and takes the wind out of the sails of the slower episodes to follow.

The best part of "Kid in the Park" isthe backstory provided for June as viewers get to know her better and understand her living situation. Some of the scenes even explain why she's willing to break the rules as a black female cop despite understanding the consequences.

6 The Sixty-Twos

Episode 7

The trend of making a backstory episode in flashback for the penultimate episode of a season continues in Criminal Record. With flashbacks from 2011, Hegarty's actions are explained and exposed. The mystery behind his creepy and suspicious demeanor is solved. Hegarty was a heartbroken mess after his wife passed away very suddenly, leaving him behind to take care of their devastated daughter alone.

Unfortunately, Errol's arrest is so timed that he only has a day to pin evidence on him, and this makes Hegarty reckless. It's surprising to see Dan so by-the-book following the proper procedure, but it also seems a bit convenient that he'd give up on his morals just to get a collar.

Hegarty is much too detail-oriented and well-intentioned to entertain, let alone orchestrate such a scheme to force a confession out of a man who he's not even sure is guilty to begin with. As a setup for the final episode, "The Sixty-Twos" creates the ideal amount of tension with its final reveal, but the backstory, despite answering most questions, feels unsatisfactory.

5 Beehive

Episode 6

While June and her husband still struggle to communicate since their fight from the previous episode, Hegarty also ends up fighting with a family member. His daughter Lisa says something incredibly mean before storming off, and this gives the show the premise it finally needs to explore Hegarty's vulnerable and humane side.

He goes to extreme lengths, visiting every known drug dealer's haunts and hospital, until he finds Lisa unconscious. But, the strength of the show's drama lies in complicating Hegarty's character further in Beehive. The past recording of Hegarty breaking protocol with Errol when arresting him and taking him back to the crime scene opens up more questions about his character and intentions.

At the end of the episode, he reluctantly agrees to answer June's questions, but no one can be sure. "Beehive" slows the pace down, but while that allows more time for dramatic scenes, viewers naturally miss the action from the earlier episodes. The fact that the most action-heavy moment was the accidental murder of Errol's mother by the racist and misogynist Tony is a saving grace, as it highlights the issue.

4 Emergency Caller

Episode 1

While shows like Broadchurch and Suspicion have carved out a name for bringing the edgy psychological police procedural genre into the modern era, there's always demand for more of their kind. Criminal Records has that similar sinister vibe to it and plays into the modern sensibilities of today's viewers, by including storylines and characters who voice concerns about corrupt policing.

June Lenker is a fierce character who will do whatever she needs to for justice, even if it includes tracking down and working with a man whose methods she doesn't trust. Meanwhile, in Daniel Hegarty, there's a jaded police character who's clearly been made cynical by years on the job.

Even when he's working as a chauffeur, his mind is thinking like a detective's, but it doesn't help that he possibly harbors racial prejudices. Peter Capaldi brings an uncaring and freakish vibe to the character who one can't fully trust. The show seems less interested in creating action set pieces and instead possiblywants to focus on the cerebral aspect of the mind gamesthat Hegarty can play on Juno.

3 Possession With Intent

Episode 5

Things boil over in "Possession with Intent" and the show takes on a more concretely sinister tone. While the racial theme has been brought up multiple times in previous episodes, it comes to a head when June's son is stopped and frisked by the men working under Hegarty. June has held back in her interactions with Hegarty, but there's a heated confrontation finally, which seems long overdue.

The working chemistry between Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo infuses every scene that Hegarty and June share with an intensity that's similar to a ticking bomb. The superior acting on display in Criminal Record is seen best in episodes like "Possession with Intent" where the dramatic tension drives the story forward instead of the action.

That's how viewers get to see the passionate argument staged by Jumbo and Stephen Campbell Moore as June and her husband Leo. The argument about the couple also touches on important issues like racism and mental health. The writing of "Possession with Intent" makes it one of the best in the show.

2 Two Calls

Episode 2

The second part of the two-episode premiere is definitely the better of the two. The fast-paced fight scene, shot handheld in close-up, puts viewers right in the middle of the action, feeling every blow land on each other and experiencing the full extent of June's visceral suffocation at the hands of the tall man in the elevator.

June's two encounters establish her as a daring, but somewhat reckless cop who will risk her personal safety for the job because her ambition can take over and betray her at times. Meanwhile, "Two Calls" also establishes Hegarty as a shady character who's clearly hiding things and holds prejudiced and racist views about people.

Peter Capaldi's performancemakes Hegarty creepy and disturbing, making it easy to distrust and suspect the character's motivations and intentions. But, "Two Calls" is mostly focused on creating the sinister sensation that Hegarty isn't just problematic, but might be an actual problem, and June, while a force of nature, needs to take care of herself if she's to ever find justice for Adelaide.

1 Carla

Episode 8

The season finale is arguably the best episode of the show, and anyone who sees the closing shot knows that there's more to come. The dramatic tension that's been building up since the very first episode comes to a head in "Carla" as the conclusion starts taking shape and June and Dan finally know for sure who killed Adelaide.

While the killer turns out to be someone barely mentioned in a previous episode instead of one of the suspects being set up over the course of the last few episodes, the thrill of the chase still makes it an exciting episode to watch. Despite the narrative mess of the episode, which is a consequence of the many plot twists and the clunky pacing, the adrenaline rush from the action adds to the thrill of watching "Carla".

The revelations add a sinister layer to Hegarty's problematic persona, and that scandalizing final shot of Peter Capaldi looking at the cameraperfectly invokes anticipation and curiosity in viewers who want more of the character and his complicated dynamic with June Lenker.

Criminal Record

TV-MA

Crime

Drama

Thriller

Release Date

January 10, 2024

Showrunner

Paul Rutman

Directors

Jim Loach, Shaun James Grant

Criminal Record is a 2024 crime drama-thriller television series created for Apple TV+ by Paul Rutman. Two detectives are brought together to ruminate over a cold case. As they contend with two very different worlds, detectives Daniel Hegarty and June Lenker battle over legacy and duty in an increasingly polarized world.

Cast

Peter Capaldi, Cush Jumbo, Stephen Campbell Moore, Charlie Creed-Miles, Shaun Dooley, Dionne Brown

Writers

Paul Rutman

Creator(s)

Paul Rutman

Main Genre

Crime

Seasons

1

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