Charlie Hunnam‘s upcoming crime thriller comes off as the perfect follow-up to both Sons of Anarchy and Justified. In an acting career spanning over two decades, Charlie Hunnam has played a diverse set of roles both on the big and small screens. While he is known for his performances in quite a few movies and shows, one role still defines his acting career: Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy.
For more than five years and seven seasons, Charlie Hunnam completely immersed himself in the role, delivering one of television’s most memorable outlaw protagonists. While he has played similar morally complex characters in other shows and movies like The Gentlemen and Shantaram, Jax Teller remains almost synonymous with his career.
This, however, might soon change as Charlie Hunnam is set to lead one of the most anticipated upcoming crime thrillers. Based on Ed Brubaker’s Criminal comics, Prime Video’s Criminal has the potential to become one of the best modern offerings of the genre. If all goes well, Criminal will not only give Hunnam a new small-screen hit but also potentially become Justified‘s perfect replacement.
Prime Video’s Criminal Comics Adaptation Will Be Perfect For Justified’s Fans
In terms of the overarching tone, Ed Brubaker’s Criminal comics are far more gritty and noir than Elmore Leonard’s Justified. However, the creative vision behind both seems very similar.
What makes Justified incredibly compelling is that even its antagonists, like Boyd Crowder, Mags Bennett, and Dickie Bennett, seem deeply human. Criminal takes a similar approach where it primarily focuses on the lives of outlaws who hail from generational crime families, pickpockets, heist planners, and compromised cops.
Almost all the story beats in Criminal‘s season 1 will potentially remind viewers of Boyd Crowder’s journey in Justified and how he weaved illegal schemes to survive his own mistakes.
Similar to Justified, Criminal is also packed with sharp dialogue that ensures its drama feels realistic. There are no witty one-liners or forced speeches, which ensures its drama feels grounded and immersive. Just like Justified gradually builds generational lore surrounding Harlan County’s blood disputes and local legends, Criminal, too, walks through multiple timelines to reveal the rippling effects of crimes.
With so many intriguing parallels between Criminal and Justified, it is hard not to see how the upcoming Prime Video show could become the perfect Justified replacement.
Criminal Has The Potential To Be As Big As Justified & Sons Of Anarchy
Criminal‘s original comic book series has already earned immense worldwide acclaim, which highlights the strength of the source material. The source material’s established success proves that if executed well, the Prime Video show could have immense potential.
Interestingly, the show’s odds of succeeding already seem incredibly high because the comics’ author, Ed Brubaker, is serving as its co-showrunner, writer, and executive producer. This ensures that the show will remain true to the source material and only introduce changes that are absolutely necessary.
Similar to acclaimed crime thrillers like Sons of Anarchy and Justified, Criminal‘s roster is also packed with many well-known names, like Charlie Hunnam, Emilia Clarke, Luke Evans, Richard Jenkins, and John Hawkes, among others. With so many talented actors associated with the upcoming character-driven crime thriller series, it is hard not to believe that it could become Prime Video’s next big prestige crime thriller.
While only time will tell whether the Charlie Hunnam show will last as long as Sons of Anarchy or Justified, its source material seems to have enough content for at least four seasons. If all goes well, Criminal could at least have a solid four-season run on Prime Video.
