Television series

Criminal: UK

Name: Criminal: UK
Genre: Drama, Crime, Mystery
Released: 2019
Cast: Katherine Kelly, Lee Ingleby, Rochenda Sandall, Shubham Saraf, Mark Stanley

A confined British crime drama that traps you in a single interrogation room across three cases. Each episode is a tense psychological duel between detectives and suspect, with no cuts away to corroborate stories or establish scenes. It's for people who like dialogue-heavy procedurals and can stay gripped by conversation alone.

TVMaze rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like tightly boxed procedural puzzles where the whole story unfolds through talk, and you enjoy watching detectives and suspects spar for every inch of ground.

Skip it if you need propulsive action or a sense of the wider city, since nearly every scene happens in one grim room, and the claustrophobia is the point.

What it asks of you: Seven episodes of about forty-five minutes each, built from tight, quiet questioning, so it rewards staying locked in and reading faces rather than waiting for set pieces.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Line of Duty2012

The gold standard for British police procedurals. Obsessively plotted, morally complicated, features interrogation scenes that will make you hold your breath. Proper whodunit momentum.

But Six seasons is a lot to commit to, and the final reveal divides people. Some find the later plot twists implausible or overstretched.

Unforgiven2009

Two-part Ruth Rendell adaptation with Suranne Jones as an ex-con forced back into crime. Tense, superbly acted, morally murky. The kind of British crime drama that sticks with you.

But Only two episodes and quite bleak. If you need scale and ongoing mystery, this is too intimate and resolved too quickly.

Luther2010

Idris Elba as a brilliant but unhinged detective. Intense cat-and-mouse games, stylish direction, genuinely thrilling cat-and-mouse dynamics between detective and killer.

But After the first season it gets increasingly preposterous. The stakes keep escalating past credibility, and later seasons lose the procedural grounding.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Criminal: UK

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Killing Eve2018

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But Becomes increasingly interested in style over logic. Later seasons prioritize chaos and shock over the taut psychology that made it work.

Happy Valley2014

Sarah Lancashire playing a fierce rural detective. Yorkshire grit, sharp writing, and genuine emotional weight beneath the crime plotting. Every episode does real narrative work.

But Deals with child abuse as a central theme. Bleak in ways that aren't just for effect, and demanding to watch.

Broadchurch2013

The British small-town murder mystery template. David Tennant and Olivia Colman in a locked-room mystery stretched across a whole community. Masterful tension and ensemble drama.

But The second and third seasons lose the elegance of the first. Many people find repeating the premise in different locations diminishes the concept.

Marcella2016

Anna Friel as a detective with fractured memory returning to the force. Ambitious plotlines, high-stakes cases, and psychological complications that feel genuinely destabilizing.

But Stretches credibility regularly and develops a messier mythology than it can support. Some plot turns feel arbitrary rather than earned.

Thirteen2016

Jodie Comer as a woman freed after thirteen years in captivity, the investigation into her kidnapping. Disturbing, gripping, and genuinely interested in psychological aftermath rather than just the crime.

But Only thirteen episodes total and deeply uncomfortable viewing. If you need closure or lighter tones to balance the darkness, look elsewhere.

The Fall2013

Stella Gibson hunting a Belfast serial killer. Jamie Dornan's performance is genuinely unsettling, and the dialogue crackles. Stylish and psychologically precise.

But Three seasons feel like enough is dragged to five. The gender politics get murky in ways that may feel dated or uncomfortable now.

Flesh and Bone2015

Gritty procedural about homicide detectives in a struggling American city. Ground-level, unglamorous, anchored by strong character work and real forensic detail.

But Cancelled after two seasons on a cliffhanger. If unresolved stories frustrate you, the payoff never comes.

In a Dark, Dark Wood

A single room, a crime without witnesses, and the question of whether you can trust what someone is telling you about themselves.

Haydn Gwynne in a confined psychological thriller. Woman wakes in hospital unable to remember a crime she may have committed. Built on unreliable narration and the slow unraveling of what actually happened in a room.

But A proper thriller rather than procedural—the investigation serves the twist rather than the story serving police work. Divisive ending.

Detour2017

Sustained psychological pressure from interrogation of motive and character. Neither interrogator nor suspect quite trustworthy. Guilt becomes a matter of perspective.

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But Very indie, deliberately ugly visual aesthetic. Minimal plot and lots of philosophical spiralling—if you need narrative momentum you'll be frustrated.