Netflix’s cop drama a binge-worthy watch

Fans of Line of Duty, Broadchurch and Criminal Intent should check out Netflix’s audacious new police procedural, Criminal.

It’s spread over 12 episodes in four different countries, and each instalment of Jim Field Smith (Episodes, The Wrong Mans) and George Kay’s (The Hour, Killing Eve) crafty creation focuses on one particular crime.

Set entirely in the interrogation and observation rooms and the surrounding corridors of police stations in Germany, France, Spain and the UK, they all showcase the cat and mouse games that go on between those being held for questioning and those whose job it is to ‘‘find the perpetrator of a crime’’.

In such a claustrophobic environment, each ‘‘dance’’ takes centrestage. Both sides try to use deceit and manipulation to get the upper hand, which will either result in formal charges being laid or those under suspicion walking away.

That knife edge of tension is never more apparent than in the opening UK episode.

Dr Edgar Fallon (a steely, compelling and unsettling David Tennant) is the prime suspect in the brutal murder of a 14-yearold girl, his stepdaughter Nicky.

However, after almost 23 hours of questioning, time is running out for the detectives to be able to keep their man.

As every query and supposition is met with monotoned ‘‘no comment’’, their concerns rise.

Those observing the action though, believe cracks in his stonewall defence may be beginning to appear.

After he becomes visibly upset by a suggestion that he was having a sexual relationship with Nicky, Fallon’s lawyer asks for a break.

Regrouping, the interview team decide to send in a fresh face. Detective Inspector Paul Ottager (Nicholas Pinnock) immediately starts by trying to unnerve his adversary, staring him down and intimating that they already have enough for a prosecution.

‘‘Keep shtum and you’ll get life,’’ he chides. ‘‘Be 14 years, which of course isn’t life – unless you’re Nicky.’’

That’s when Fallon ignores his counsel’s advice and decides to tell his version of events, one that offers an alternative killer and a potential alibi.

And that’s one of the masterstrokes of the more successful episodes of Criminal.

Smith and Kay do a superb job of swinging the audience’s sympathies back and forth as the 40-minute drama plays out.

The other two British tales involve Hayley Atwell’s (Agent Carter) talkative potential rat poisoner and Youssef Kerkour’s lorry driver, whose load may have included illegal immigrants.

Both offer moments of riveting tension, if not quite to the same consistency or heights as the opening episode.

Helping anchor these tales as feature-length trilogies are character arcs for the members of the interview squad.

We learn that the British team have been together only a short time and not all of them are being entirely honest with one another.

While some of the tension there is perhaps a little telegraphed and obvious, it does allow Lee Ingleby (Line of Duty) and Katherine Kelly (Strike Back) a chance to stake their claims as the real stars of the show.

Binge-worthy and highly accessible, Criminal’s one-act play-esque format will definitely leave you hungry for more.

I’d suggest starting with the Brits to ease you in, before trying out the German, Spanish and French, the latter of which has developed a reputation over the past two decades for producing truly compelling cinematic crime dramas (as anyone who has seen Les Miserables, A Prophet or 36 Quai des Orfevres can testify).

The race for the 2020 Emmys may just have started here.

Criminal is streaming now.