Cush Jumbo, Peter Capaldi shine in crime thriller ‘Criminal Record’

Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi shine in “Criminal Record,” an artful jigsaw puzzle crime thriller. The eight episode series, premiering Jan. 10 on Apple TV+ , posits Jumbo and Capaldi as DS June Lenker and DCI Dan Hegarty, London based detectives linked by a murder committed ten years earlier — with the wrong man imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.

Whether justice will eventually prevail is anyone’s guess. June’s investigation into the murder pits her against the more senior Hegarty, a well connected cop who moonlights as a limo driver and runs with his own crew of colleagues called “The 62s.” He seems to be steering June away from finding the real culprit for reasons involving racial and ethical issues … and deep seated police corruption.

The action starts with an anonymous phone call to police from a hysterical woman claiming that her ultra violent boyfriend (who she doesn’t name) is going to kill her — with the same knife he used to kill a woman named Adelaide Burrows in 2012 while her 6 year old son, Patrick, cowered in the next room.

The woman claims that Errol Mathis, who’s serving 24 years in prison for Adelaide’s murder — they were lovers — was wrongfully convicted of the crime, for which he confessed and then recanted, and that the real killer (her boyfriend) is still roaming the streets and even boasting to her about the murder.

June plunges headlong into the case, trying to discover the anonymous phone caller and digging into what really happened in 2012 with Adelaide Burrows. Still, Hegarty is not pleased — he arrested Errol Mathis and doesn’t want June sniffing around the case (what’s he hiding?). Suddenly, June is the target of an interdepartmental investigation into her conduct (unauthorized database searches on her mother’s behalf), and members of Hegarty’s crew are ratting her out to their boss as she doggedly pursues the Errol Mathis case and tries to find the anonymous caller who triggered her re investigation into Adelaide Burrows’ murder.

As the series progresses, there are a few red herrings thrown into our path and also some startling and unexpected twists: Adelaide’s son, Patrick (Rasaq Kukoyi), now 17, is in touch with Hegarty and is in a relationship with Hegarty’s daughter, Lisa (Maisie Ayers) which Dad does not know about.

June, meanwhile, unearths a key witness whose testimony could turn the Mathis case on its head. All the while, June continues to be harassed on the job by an invisible hand — her car is set on fire, and she’s accused of being a workplace bully — as we learn more about Hegarty’s dark past as the all consuming motives and suspicions between June and Hegarty deepen … just as the anonymous caller is finally identified — but won’t come forward because she’s terrified of Hegarty.

The series, from BAFTA nominee Paul Rutman (“Vera”), boasts atmospheric cinematography and strong performances from Jumbo and Capaldi, both “Criminal Record” executive producers. They’re ably supported by Dionne Brown (DC Chloe Summers), veteran actress Zoe Wanamaker (who plays June’s mother, Maureen), and Tom Moutchi as Errol Mathis.

Check it out..