(Credit: Netflix)

When it comes to binge-watching a show, most people look for the flashy ones, as nothing can beat the adrenaline rush these shows provide. Crime scenes splashed with blood, wide-angled action sequences or plots that reveal a new twist every five minutes. But Criminal: UK does something different, and it does it brilliantly. This Netflix show takes the viewers away from the noise and puts them in a silent interrogation room with a new suspect and a handful of investigators. But most importantly, the room contains an unbearable weight of truth, struggling to get out of Pandora’s box.

And that is it. No car chases, no heavy fight scenes, no gritty back alley pieces, just pure old-school investigation. Surprisingly, you will find yourself glued to your screens more than most crime dramas packed with action and consequent plot twists.

The show is set purely inside a police interrogation room and is claustrophobic in the best way possible. The best part is you don’t need to be updated with the minute details of every single episode all the time, as they are not interlinked.

All the episodes are standalone, and you encounter a new criminal every time. A suspect is brought in for questioning into the interrogation room with the at of each episode, and a team of detectives is tasked with unravelling the truth. What begins as a calm round of questions quickly turns into a game of chess where both suspect and police are cleverly using all the players to dupe the other.

But why is it worth bingeing?

Because the episodes are only 40-45 minutes each and there are just seven across the two seasons, Criminal: UK can be easily knocked out in a weekend. One thing we promise you is that once you start, it feels almost impossible to stop.

Apart from the crisp script, what makes the show amazing is its exceptional cast. The show rotates its guest stars as suspects, and the performances delivered by each one of them feel raw and realistic. Imagine David Tennant as a doctor accused of a horrifying crime, almost silent in the beginning but somehow making every blink feel like a threat. Or Kit Harington, charismatic and infuriating in equal parts, as a man caught in a PR nightmare with a personal cost.

But it won’t be wrong to admit that the real power lies in writing. Every episode plays out like a play, tight, economical, and brimming with tension. You are not spoon-fed anything. There are no dramatic cutaways or evidence montages. You are forced to listen, watch, and figure out where the truth begins and the lies unravel. And guess what, you will be proved wrong quite often in the guessing game.

Another good thing about the detectives in the show is that they do not have a formulaic detective background. Which means they don’t have a broken past or an arch nemesis who got them into the world of justice or a tortured backstory. These are purely professional detectives just doing their jobs. However, there are varieties of them, like some are cold and some are flawed, but it sure feels realistic.

Unlike flashier crime series, Criminal: UK trusts its audience. It does not need gore or screaming matches to hold your attention. It understands that watching someone lie, skilfully, nervously, or arrogantly, is sometimes more thrilling than a chase scene ever could be.

So this weekend, skip the noise. Sit with the tension. And see if you can tell when someone breaks or if they never do.