Criminal (TV series)
The first season will cover the first two story arcs of the comic book series, Criminal, Volume One: Coward and Criminal, Volume Two: Lawless.[1] Co-showrunners Ed Brubaker and Jordan Harper are creating an upcoming American crime drama television series that adapts the Marvel/Image comic book of the same name by Brubaker and Sean Phillips.[2]
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Crime drama
- Creator
- Ed Brubaker
- Based on
- Criminal
- Ed Brubaker
- Sean Phillips
- Showrunner
- Ed Brubaker, Jordan Harper
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Making and release
In May 2024, Richard Jenkins, Adria Arjona, Kadeem Hardison, and Charlie Hunnam were the first cast members announced.[3] Brubaker revealed Criminal added new scenes and flashbacks in additional photography to deepen Leo and Ricky’s story.[4] Sean Phillips created a ton of new Criminal artwork for the series, including art featured in the title sequence.[4] Back in 2019, Legendary Television began initial development on a TV adaptation of the Criminal comic series, with Brubaker writing the screen adaptation of his own work.[5]
Amazon Studios gave the project a further development order in February 2023, with Brubaker serving as an executive producer.[5] Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were assigned to direct the initial four episodes in April 2024, while Dee Rees handled direction for the final four episodes.[5] Emilia Clarke and Luke Evans were announced as additional lead cast members in July 2024.[3]
What the cited sources add
The Image Comics press release states that the first season will cover Criminal, Volume One: Coward and Criminal, Volume Two: Lawless.[1] The press release describes Volume One as introducing Leo, a world-class pickpocket pressed into helping the cops pull off a heist.[1] The press release describes Volume Two as a story of brotherly love and hate, as Tracy Lawless returns home to find out who murdered his kid brother.[1] Brubaker confirmed on a podcast that Prime Video is positioning the series for "a big Emmy push"[4]
The Deadline article from February 2023 notes that Brubaker explained the series as "the interweaving saga of several generations of families tied together by the crimes and murders of the past"[6] The same article states that a writers room for the potential series was up and running.[6]
References
- "NEW PRINTINGS OF ED BRUBAKER & SEAN PHILLIPS' CRIMINAL WILL HIT SHELVES AHEAD OF ALL-STAR TV ADAPTATION", Image Comics, 15 January 2025. facts only, no text reused. imagecomics.com
- Wikipedia, "Criminal (TV series)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Flook, "Criminal Series Set for 2026; Phillips "Did a Ton of Art": Brubaker", bleedingcool.com, July 8, 2026 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Criminal (TV series)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Otterson, "Richard Jenkins Joins Amazon Series Adaptation of Ed Brubaker Graphic Novel Criminal", Penske Media Corporation, May 22, 2024; Otterson, "Hit Man Star Adria Arjona Joins Criminal Series at Amazon", Penske Media Corporation, May 28, 2024; Cordero, "Kadeem Hardison Joins Ed Brubaker's Prime Video Series Criminal as Series Regular", Deadline Hollywood, May 29, 2024; Goldberg, "Charlie Hunnam to Star in Ed Brubaker's Criminal for Amazon", Penske Media Corporation, May 31, 2024; Cordero, "Dear White People s Logan Browning Se en.wikipedia.org
- Flook, "Criminal Series Set for 2026; Phillips "Did a Ton of Art": Brubaker", bleedingcool.com, July 8, 2026. facts only, no text reused. bleedingcool.com
- Wikipedia, "Criminal (TV series)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Andreeva, "Criminal Series Based on Ed Brubaker's Comic Books in Works at Amazon Studios", Deadline Hollywood, February 2, 2023; Goldberg, "Ed Brubaker's Criminal Picked Up to Series at Amazon", Penske Media Corporation, January 8, 2024; Cordero, "Captain Marvel s Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden Set to Direct Prime Video's Criminal", Deadline Hollywood, April 2, 2024; "Criminal: Open Casting", SMH Casting, 8 May 2024 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Andreeva, "Criminal Series Based on Ed Brubaker's Comic Books in Works at Amazon Studios", Deadline Hollywood, February 2, 2023. facts only, no text reused. deadline.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Criminal (TV series) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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