Edgy crime drama Criminal Record debuts on Apple TV Plus January 10. Set in London, it is the story of two detectives — an older white man near the end of his career and a Black woman just starting on hers. Peter Capaldi plays Daniel Hegarty and Cush Jumbo is June Lenker.
An anonymous phone call offers a tip on an old murder case. Lenker suspects the wrong man may be in prison and Hegarty is keen to keep his legacy intact — and leave the case alone.
“The story lends itself to looking at the world of London from two very different lenses,” executive producer Paul Rutman said. “Their different world views drew us into drilling into issues and questions about gender and institutional racism. We hold a magnifying glass up to what it feels like to be in those moments.”
Executive producer Elaine Collins said Capaldi injects Hegarty with a sense of mystery. “He brings a lot of intelligence to the role — the intellect is clear when you watch him play the part,” she said.
Rutman said Jumbo, who played Lucca in The Good Wife and The Good Fight, shines as the underdog. “There’s something very, very honest and real and unguarded about the way she acts,” he said. “She’s very good for those small moments.”
True Detective: Night Country premieres on HBO Sunday, January 14. Jodie Foster and Kali Reis play a couple of detectives trying to figure out why eight men at a research station in Alaska have disappeared. They confront the darkness of winter in Alaska and the darkness within themselves.
Issa Lopez is the showrunner, writer and director of all the episodes, and executive produces as well. From Mexico City, Lopez has a background in horror, including directing the 2017 film Tigers Are Not Afraid. She described the new season as a “modern Western” and said it pushed her way out of her comfort zone.
“Why not make the thing that scares you the most?” López said at an HBO event in New York that saw her interviewed by Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO & Max Content.
An anthology crime series, True Detective debuted in 2014. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson were the detectives in the first season, set in Louisiana. Season two, in 2015, had Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Vince Vaughn in the cast and was set in California. Season three, from 2019, featured Mahershala Ali, Carmen Ejogo and Stephen Dorff and was set in the Ozarks.
True Detective: Night Country has plenty of scares. López hinted at “something incredibly sinister hiding in the shadows that goes deeper than human understanding.”
