June Lenker and Daniel Hegarty are back and proving why patience indeed is a virtue.
Criminal Record returns with a scintillating and prescient sophomore season, and it’s not pulling any punches. If the first season explored the past, this season is a live wire, with a real-time case that makes uneasy partners out of our leads.
It’s something we had the honor of speaking to Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo about ahead of the season.
The sophomore season will have a slightly different vibe to it than the first, but it’s no less compelling.
Structurally, we’ll see Hegarty and Lenker tackling a live case in real time.
“The big difference between season one and season two is season two is a live case. Season one was digging into the past. Season two is an evolving threat that has to be faced down by Hegarty and June,” Capaldi shares.
And, of course, the crux of that delicious tension that made the first season crackle so much is in placing Hegarty and June together on this case.
“They are forced into an uneasy alliance. I mean, they don’t really want to see each other ever again. But the fact is that Hegarty needs her because the threat that they’re facing is more potent.
“And he’s always recognized that she was a good cop, but never really wanted to. He didn’t want to have dinner with her, have her around, or anything. But this time around, he just feels he needs her.”
Of course, Hegarty isn’t the only one who is less than thrilled about their new arrangement.
Since we last saw her, June has been climbing the ranks, so to speak, and there’s still too much distrust and uneasiness with Hegarty to ever want to cross paths with him in a professional setting if she can avoid doing so.
But life has other plans.
“June really does not want to work with Hegarty,” Cush Jumbo admits. “She’s only choosing to work with him because of this awful murder that needs to be, you know, solved from that first episode, where actually she was riding quite high. She moved up the ranks a little bit.”
But like most things, all it takes is something entirely unexpected to send things out of one’s control. And that’s often what Hegarty represents for June: a loss of control.
“She wasn’t having to see him. She felt like she was in control of the situation. And it’s kind of downhill from there. But she, as usual, is just constantly in pursuit of the truth and justice… it forces them back together,” Jumbo shares. “That creates an uncomfortable working scenario.”
The case and this partnership will test both characters, push them to new heights, and even bring out things in them we haven’t seen before.
It’s the timeliness of the subject matter that leans into Criminal Record‘s strengths. The series has the ability to dive into social issues in a really compelling, unflinching way, and the season explores that further.
The series will especially do this by diving into “truth” and how it’s become commonplace to manipulate it. And the second season will have them exploring the rise of alt-right beliefs, social media’s influence, and so much more.
“I think that this whole massive conversation about truth is pushed quite hard in season two. And the fact that the police can’t keep up with the truth, they can’t get ahead of it quickly enough to help people. And that feels very pressured and paced,” Jumbo shares with us.
“It’s also interesting that it’s about how there’s a real-world response to online influencers and social heroes. And often it’s the police who have to deal with the real-life consequences of that stuff. And how do they deal with that?” Capaldi adds.
“How do you operate as a police officer in a world in which the truth is devalued?
“But then the comforting thing, I think, I’m not saying that the show is necessarily comforting, but it does say to us that there are people out there fighting for the truth. That there are people who recognize its true value and will not give up that fight,” Capaldi continues.
The case may have had them on different paths, but now, they’re on a crash collision course, and it’s not easy. It even brings out more layers to the characters we haven’t seen before.
We’ve seen Hegarty as a street cop and how he navigates the criminal underbelly by straddling these two worlds, but the sophomore season digs into the complexities of this character even further in that regard.
“He actually has a deep understanding of the city. London is a place that he’s lived in for 40 years. And he’s been a neighbourhood cop. He retains an understanding that he has a responsibility to the street. But he’s also able to operate in the conference rooms of Scotland Yard and MI5. He knows what it’s like to be on a grim council estate,” Capaldi muses.
“He’s able to move between both those worlds.”
“But seeing him in the conference rooms is a new kind of thing… because of the nature of the threat we’re facing, MI5, etc., get involved and all that stuff, which is what happens with terrorist events. So it’s a whole new level that he’s propelled into.” Capaldi tells us.
If anything, it makes Hegarty feel murkier than usual. Meanwhile, June faces her own challenges this season, and some new revelations about herself, too.
“I mean, this woman cannot catch a break. Can she? I think she’s feeling abandoned in all areas, in a way. I think I discovered even more this season how much of a lone wolf she is,” Jumbo discusses her character.
“Particularly because the thematic stuff we were looking into, in terms of, if you want to call it a manosphere of toxic masculinity, or everything that was going on in terms of these protests and people’s opinions on immigration and all these things.
“She was having to approach these issues without a team that she knew, and with almost no women at all. She doesn’t seem to have anybody to lean on this season, or even to correspond with that sees her as a person,” Jumbo shares.
But the season doesn’t leave June completely devoid of a touchstone, and new character JP will add an extra element to her professional world amid all of the noise and navigating around Hegarty.
“The storyline with JP, with Luca Pasqualino’s character, is so interesting because it’s like a break in the brain from just being another soldier within this thing,” Jumbo teases.
The season aims to push boundaries for June and challenge the moral compass that she always holds so dear.
“I think that she also had been hoping that her complete commitment to her moral compass, which should never move, and should make sure that she goes to the boss to always report Hegarty at every moment, would be something that helped her.
“It’s like the higher she goes and the deeper she goes, the more she realizes that your values will have to be compromised if you want to get something good done.
“And are you willing to compromise them? And who does that make you? So yeah, I’ve got to tell you, it’s not a happy one for her. But it does make for great television.”
You can check out the full interview with these esteemed talents below, as they delve into more detail about what to expect on Criminal Record Season 2.
Criminal Record premieres Wednesday, April 22, on Apple TV.
You can stream new episodes every week, and we’ll have you covered with weekly reviews!
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The post ‘How Do You Police a World Without Truth?’ Peter Capaldi & Cush Jumbo Tease Criminal Record’s Prescient Return appeared first on TV Fanatic.