Amazon's huge new crime show looks like it's doing something very different
Criminal comes from the world of graphic novels
Amazon just unveiled a new show coming to the streaming service in January 2027, and it looks like it could be one of the most interesting launches it's queued up in ages. Shows about crime are enduringly popular, after all, and focusing on the psychology and personal journeys of criminals can always draw in a crowd.
So, the title of Criminal makes perfect sense – but even more so when you realise that it's based on a series of acclaimed graphic novels of the same name. The series is opening by adapting the first two volumes of the run, and that also means it's coming in two bursts of episodes.
The first story is called Coward, and it'll star Charlie Hunnam and Adria Arjona, both of whom are no strangers to the genre. They look like a modern Bonnie and Clyde-style couple pulling off heists and jobs, but things will doubtless go wrong when the people chasing them start to get closer. This one will drop on 13 January 2027.
Then, a couple of weeks later, on 27 January, the next story will arrive: Lawless. It kicks of the story of a bit of a crime family, and stars Emilia Clarke and Luke Evans, with a little more ambiguity in the trailer about just what sort of structure it'll follow. What's for sure, though, is that if the show were to prove a hit it would have loads more material to adapt.
The graphic novels are long-running, after all, with seven numbered entries and a fair few spinoffs and one-offs. Apparently they involve multiple generations of some families like the Lawlesses, and vary quite widely in the time period they're set in, so Amazon might be sniffing something of a franchise here.
I hope it goes well, too; we need more stylish series like this, ideally with plots that have been thought out properly long before they start shooting. When a show is based on great material like this one, you have to feel optimistic about how it might land. We won't really know until early 2027, of course, so here's hoping.
