By George & Josh Bate
In a landscape of television filled to the brim with more options for viewers than ever before, it is increasingly difficult for shows to stand apart from the seemingly countless other choices available to audiences. But when it premiered on Apple TV in early 2024, Criminal Record did exactly that. The crime thriller series that has been described as “Mindhunter meets True Detective” impressed with a winding, sophisticated mystery and scintillating pairing of dueling detectives brought to life by two powerhouse performances. This week, the series from BAFTA Award nominee Paul Rutman returns for a second season that ramps up the stakes considerably with a narrative that fuses timely themes with propulsive tension.
Following the events of last season, which saw rival police officers June Lenker (Cush Jumbo) and Daniel Hegarty (Peter Capaldi) clash over an old murder case, Season 2 finds the ambitious detective and seasoned veteran forge an uneasy alliance following the stabbing of a young man at a political rally. June and Hegarty’s hunt for the murderer soon escalates into a conflict broader and more dangerous than anticipated, one that positions June in the center of an undercover operation to thwart a far-right extremist group’s terrorist agenda.
The HoloFiles recently had the opportunity to speak with Criminal Record stars Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo about the upcoming season, its disturbingly topical subject matter, the ongoing cat-and-mouse struggle between their characters, and more.
With a second season unfolding against the backdrop of a contemporary London marred by rising extremist groups, Season 2 of Criminal Record does not shy away from themes that hold relevance far beyond a television series. Misinformation in the digital age, the allure of far-right influencers, homegrown radicalization, and the utility of novel technologies are just some of the ideas that the latest season weaves into a narrative with the tension of a thriller and nuanced character work of a sophisticated drama.
Capaldi discussed why he thinks the show’s embrace of such themes has fostered a new season viewers will connect with. “I think [the season] is clearly an echo of the way the world is at the moment,” Capaldi reflected. “I think if you’re trying to make a mature drama, you have to confront some of the realities. The world is a pretty strange and frightening place at the moment. How do you negotiate, and especially if you’re a police officer, how do you negotiate a world in which truth is so devalued? I think it’s right that we reflect that and also right that we’re able to show people that there are some who won’t take that lying down.”
For Jumbo, having a story that integrated divisive and thought-provoking topics from real life imbued the new season with greater urgency and realism. “I think when you’re reflecting real things that really happen, even though it’s fictional, because you’re trying not to lean into these tropes of goodies versus baddies, the unpredictability of it makes it more realistic,” Jumbo remarked.
While Criminal Record is one of many detective thrillers hitting streaming services these days, Capaldi believes using an established genre as the foundation for a pertinent story allows them to create a series that feels both familiar and innovative. “I think one of the fascinating things about thrillers, about the cop and detective genre, is that it has a very satisfying structure,” Capaldi remarked. “The audience knows it’s going to get car chases and SWAT teams and all that kind of thing. But at the same time, you can explore quite edgy and modern ideas and themes within a very satisfying, if you like, traditional format.”
Season 2 picks up as a tense back-and-forth between warring police officers Hegarty and Lenker (seemingly) came to an end following the resolution of an old investigation. Although aspects of Hegarty’s background, including his opiate-addicted daughter and involvement with the renegade police group The Sixty-Twos, were revealed in Season 1, Capaldi’s character remains very much shrouded in mystery.
The Scottish actor discussed the challenges of playing such an elusive lead character. “It’s quite hard,” Capaldi said. “The word I use is veiled. You can’t really see what he’s thinking, but as an actor you can’t, you have to have something operating inside, and obviously you’re trying not to show what that is. So I know what’s going on inside. I have a storyline that I can follow, but I don’t share that with anyone. It’s fair to say that most of the characters I’ve played in my life have been fairly over the top and fairly easy to read. But this one, I will be sweating at the end of the day from doing nothing, from the effort it takes to do as little as possible.”
Reluctantly aligning herself with Hegarty is DS June Lenker, whose perseverance and willingness to push back against her superior’s way of doing things eventually led to the exoneration of a wrongfully convicted man and the detainment of a vicious murderer. Given June’s clashes with Hegarty last season, the creative team had to find a logical way to unite the bitter rivals in the new season.
“I suppose my biggest conversations with [series creator] Paul Rutland, who was looking at our scenes at the time, was that it has to make sense that she would work with him again, considering what’s happened,” Jumbo acknowledged. “She just does not trust him. She’s never going to trust him. But what can the bigger driving force be? This turns out to be this awful murder of Rohan in the first episode, that she feels so responsible for, and she chooses to kind of funnel her whole life, her whole existence at that point, into getting justice for him, even if it means working with Hegarty again. So it was like understanding that certain values may have to be compromised in order to get what she wants.”
In Season 1, June struggled with a personal life involving a dismissive husband (played by Stephen Campbell Moore) and cognitively impaired mother (played by Zoë Wanamaker). Unfortunately for Jumbo’s character, things don’t get easier in this department in Season 2. “At the same time, running parallel to [the investigation], is that her personal life is breaking down,” Jumbo revealed. “She’s kind of on the brink of burnout. Strangely, she’s not in a stronger place personally as she was at the beginning of season one, but she’s more knowledgeable in the job. There’s those two things working together at the same time. “
For as intriguing and enthralling as the mystery of Season 1 proved to be, the highlights of Criminal Record come in the form of June and Haggerty “having a go at each other,” as Capaldi puts it. Fans will be delighted to hear that the second season affords Capaldi and Jumbo even more opportunities to clash, albeit in a different manner now that they are united to achieve a common goal. Jumbo revealed that the tension of June and Hegarty’s scenes, in part, can be attributed to her never knowing exactly how Capaldi will deliver lines of dialogue or what he will do in a given scene. “I often don’t know what Peter’s going to do or how he’s going to do it, particularly in our dialogue scenes, because we don’t rehearse together,” Jumbo stated. “And it helps keep it alive for me. I don’t know where it’s going.”
Capaldi also employed a rather flexible understanding of Hegarty, a decision that taught him a way to embody the characters he plays more deeply. “I think what I’ve learned is to not to have a brittle concept of the character,” reflected Capaldi. “Because the character doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. The character doesn’t know what happens at the end of the show, or even at the end of the scene. It’s a great lesson in trying to keep things alive. Because specifically with my character, you can’t really see what’s going on.”
Jumbo, meanwhile, developed an appreciation for the unique demands placed on professionals in service or caring professions from her 16 episodes of playing June Lenker. “I’ve played a police officer before, when I was much younger, in a much more procedural show Vera,” Jumbo said. “And I’ve played different kinds of professionals. But it really wasn’t until we got into the second season of the show that I had a deeper understanding of the idea that we’re playing somebody who, when they have the largest, most epic day, traumatic day, they are not allowed to talk about it when they get home. There are real people doing that every day, where there’s not really anyone to offload to.”
This is a struggle known intimately to June, who finds herself more isolated than ever in the new season. “There are less women around for her to bounce off of than there was in Season 1, which is done on purpose,” said Jumbo. “It means that a lot of her emotions and emotional processes are held below the surface a lot. And I think that had a knock-on effect that was pretty good in the end for the season, because I think there were lots of scenes where… I didn’t even realize until I watched it that you could see things bubbling [u[] for her, because she’s had to hold them in. Because she doesn’t even get to offload about them or drill down on them. These aren’t her team [members], these aren’t her people. And then when she gets home, she can’t tell anything. I thought, ‘Gosh, to carry a job around like that every day.’”
Much like other acclaimed crime thrillers such as True Detective and Mindhunter, Criminal Record excels in respecting, rather than underestimating, its viewers’ intelligence. As a result, Capaldi and Jumbo create a show that challenges, not only in the sophistication of its mystery but in the themes it proves so unafraid to explore. If you’re a sucker for crime thriller shows and are hunting for your next televised addiction, look no further than Criminal Record.