Criminal season 2 streams on Netflix from 16th September

The UK crime procedural drama Criminal is back for a second season on 16th September, with season one stars Katherine Kelly (Liar), Lee Ingleby (Broadchurch) and Rochenda Sandall (Line of Duty) again suited up and ready to break some villains in the interrogation room.

Season one of Criminal was critically well-received and a hit with viewers in 2019 and the wired setting of the interrogation room and tense drama attracted A List guest stars including David Tennant and Hayley Atwell.

Netflix wasn't announcing season two's guest stars yet, but said in a statement the new Criminal would feature "four new cases, four new suspects and one room that changes everything. Prepare for bold stories, some surprises, and a completely innovative take on the police procedural".

Criminal season one was remarkable for the way it created four international versions of the anthology series, set in the UK, Spain, German and France. Each episode was a standalone story which took place entirely in a police interrogation room, as the detectives attempted to get a confession out of a suspect.

Former Doctor Who star Tennant played Dr Edgar Fallon in one episode, a man accused of raping and murdering his teenage step-daughter, while Agent Carter star Atwell played Stacey, a woman accused of murder by poisoning.

Many drew the parallel between Criminal and the extended interrogation room scenes in BBC One's Line of Duty.

Kelly compared filming the dialogue-heavy scenes in season one with cramming for A Levels. "I knew that script from start to finish, because Jim (Field Smith, the director) said he also might shoot on you from the start of the 45 minutes to the end, so everybody was word perfect,” she told the Evening Standard.

She added that it was important all five of the core cast had a background in theatre, because there was so much dialogue, unlike most television shows. "The big difference is that in theatre you get four weeks rehearsal and we didn’t have any rehearsal."

Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best TV series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide.