There are plenty of fans of crime series such as Peaky Blinders, Breaking Bad, and the recent Mob Land. Next year, a new classic could easily join their ranks. Aired on Prime Video, the series Criminal promises to be a thrilling addition.

The series Criminal is created by co-showrunners Ed Brubaker and Jordan Harper. It is an adaptation of the critically acclaimed comic book series of the same name, originally penned by Brubaker himself and illustrated by Sean Phillips.

Criminal

The original comics are a revered noir series. Each story is self-contained, but all characters reside in Center City, sharing a dark history of two generations of crime. The storyline of the first season will be based on the first two volumes of the comic: Coward and Lawless.

The series Criminal also follows the multiple generations of criminal families and the murders that bind their pasts together. It dives into the life of a criminal mastermind, a former thief suffering from dementia, and a driver who cannot escape a life of crime.

Big Names

The main cast includes Charlie Hunnam as the criminal mastermind Leo and Richard Jenkins as the dementia-stricken ex-thief Ivan. Additionally, Adria Arjona (Greta), Emilia Clarke (Mallory), and Luke Evans (Tracy Lawless) play significant roles.



The crime series, already filmed in 2024, will premiere in 2026 on Prime Video. The first season will consist of eight episodes. At least the first four episodes are directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, known for Captain Marvel (2019) and Freaky Tales (2024).

As of yesterday, a new season of one of Netflix's biggest fantasy series is available. The series returns with new adventures and a new lead actor, which is The Witcher. The reception of the fourth season has proven to be rather poor, bordering on limited positive feedback.

In The Witcher season 4, currently sitting at 56 percent on the Tomatometer, the story revolves around Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer as each seeks their own path. Geralt gets a new face; alliances shift, and enemies approach the Continent.

Complete Nonsense

"No sword fight full of fantasy or inventive monster design can prevent The Witcher from becoming what all sword-and-sorcery epics can worst become: pure nonsense," says Nick Hilton of Independent.

"Perhaps it's fitting that after this season we will only need to toss a coin to our Witcher one last time," comments Clint Worthington (RogerEbert.com), who is also not convinced.

Less Heroic

"Where his predecessor Geralt I gave a grim charm, Geralt II is less 'brave giant with heavy tasks' and more 'stick with a wig,'" remarks Sarah Dempster of The Guardian, critically viewing the new portrayal of the hero.

"[Liam Hemsworth's] whimsical performance fits well in a series that harkens back to a time before fantasy was cool and manages (just) on sheer absurdity," states the more positive Ed Power (Daily Telegraph), who ultimately gives it a passing grade.

Sharper And Action-Packed

"In a sharper and less convoluted season than the previous one, season 4 is filled with action and features wonderful characters, both old and new." That’s the view of Aramide Tinubu (Variety), who particularly praises the tighter focus and pacing.

It is not uncommon for film studios to announce grand-scale productions that subsequently never see the light of day. A prime example of this is the video game adaptation Bioshock. This project was announced in 2008, but it has (yet) to be realized.

The renowned franchise was set to be adapted into a film, but that never happened. Nevertheless, there is still hope.

Bioshock

The Bioshock series consists of three games: Bioshock, Bioshock 2, and Bioshock Infinite. Together, these games sold 43 million copies, making it one of the most successful game franchises ever.

The games take place in a retro-futuristic America. In the first game, you play as Jack, the sole survivor of a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. He discovers the forgotten underwater city of Rapture. Now trapped in a strange and dangerous dystopia, where only a mysterious man named Atlas helps him, Jack has no choice but to fight for survival against the mutated and monstrous inhabitants of Rapture.

Gore Verbinski

Developer Take-Two Interactive announced in 2008 that they were partnering with Universal Pictures to bring Bioshock to the big screen. The project was set to be massive. Universal recruited Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) to direct and was willing to invest $200 million in production.



Eight weeks before filming was scheduled to start, Universal began to have doubts about the budget. This led to creative disagreements between Verbinski and the studio, causing the project to be halted. Efforts to revive the project with another director were made, but Take-Two felt that this director was not a good fit. Thus, a final decision was made to cancel it altogether.

Netflix

In early 2022, Netflix unexpectedly announced that they are working on a new Bioshock film. Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games series) was appointed as director and Michael Green as writer. This new adaptation has also taken some time to come to fruition, but it seems that this will be Lawrence's next project after The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.



Earlier that year, Lawrence expressed that the film is in active development. You can see in the interview above what he had to say about it.

HBO has another megahit on its hands. The premiere of IT: Welcome to Derry attracted a remarkable 5.7 million viewers in the first three days after its release. This makes the series the third largest launch in HBO's history, following House of the Dragon and The Last of Us.

The prequel to Stephen King's IT begins with a strong showing, although the reviews are somewhat more measured compared to those earlier successes. On Metacritic, the series holds a score of 60/100, compared to 69/100 for House of the Dragon and 84/100 for The Last of Us. Nevertheless, the figures primarily showcase the continued hunger for new horror content on the platform. On IMDb, the reception is notably positive, with an impressive rating of 8.0!

A Streaming Audience, Not Linear Viewers

334,000 watched the premiere live on HBO television in America. Over 94 percent of the audience viewed through HBO Max or later broadcasts. This once again confirms the shift from linear television to streaming. Analysts expect viewership numbers to rise in the coming weeks, partly due to the strong international reception.

The opening episode has already sparked a lot of discussion. The disturbing scenes made it clear that Welcome to Derry does not intend to be a mild series and is quite frightening. Pennywise himself remained off-screen, yet his presence was felt in every scene.

Third Largest Start Ever For HBO

With these numbers, the series ranks among the three biggest successes of the network. House of the Dragon had already drawn nearly 10 million viewers on its opening night, while The Last of Us started with 4.7 million and quickly built up its audience. If Welcome to Derry is to follow that example, many more viewers will need to start watching soon!