Two families, two timelines and eight episodes divided into separate chapters. Criminal is bringing Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ acclaimed comic-book universe to Prime Video, but its release strategy is just as interesting as the crimes at the heart of the story. Instead of a traditional weekly rollout, viewers will receive two complete four-episode installments in January 2027.
Prime Video unveiled the first teaser and official images on November 5, 2026, confirming a cast led by Charlie Hunnam, Adria Arjona, Luke Evans and Emilia Clarke. However, the most revealing detail is how the adaptation separates its interconnected stories. One chapter follows the consequences of a troubled childhood, while another explores a violent family history from a different point in time.
Criminal arrives on Prime Video in two complete four-episode parts
Criminal premieres exclusively on Prime Video on January 13, 2027, with the first four episodes arriving together. The remaining four follow exactly two weeks later, on January 27. Consequently, audiences can watch each chapter without waiting for individual weekly releases.
According to the official announcement from Amazon MGM Studios, the series will be available in more than 240 countries and territories. Its eight episodes are organized around two distinct stories rather than a single uninterrupted release.
The confirmed Criminal release schedule is:
- Part One – Coward: January 13, 2027. Episodes 1–4 arrive together.
- Part Two – Lawless: January 27, 2027. Episodes 5–8 arrive together.
- Total: Eight episodes across two four-episode parts.
- Streaming platform: Prime Video, exclusively.
- International availability: More than 240 countries and territories.
This format creates an unusual middle ground between binge-watching and weekly television. Each storyline can be experienced as a complete four-episode block, although viewers must wait fourteen days to discover the other half of the adaptation.
Interestingly, Prime Video is taking a different approach with Blade Runner 2099 and its complete eight-episode premiere. Both productions have eight episodes, yet their distribution plans give audiences different ways to experience their stories.
Criminal connects a failed heist with twenty years of family history
The central attraction isn’t simply another collection of robberies and dangerous criminals. Based on the multi-Eisner Award-winning graphic novels by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, the adaptation explores an interconnected world where personal decisions carry consequences across generations.
At its center are Leo Patterson and Ricky Lawless, childhood friends who have developed opposing attitudes toward their shared upbringing. Leo wants to leave the criminal world behind. Ricky, meanwhile, is drawn toward the outlaw lifestyle associated with his father. Their different ambitions create a conflict rooted in a past neither can easily escape.
Part One, Coward, focuses on Leo and Ricky as buried family secrets begin resurfacing. A childhood murder and a failed heist continue to haunt them, suggesting that their present troubles cannot be separated from what happened years earlier.
Part Two, Lawless, shifts attention toward Ricky’s older brother, Tracy. Twenty years earlier, he chose military service instead of prison. However, Ricky’s involvement with dangerous people eventually forces Tracy to confront the criminal life he abandoned.
That division matters because it gives each installment a different emotional starting point. Coward examines the lasting damage of shared childhood experiences, whereas Lawless approaches the family’s troubles through someone who once managed to escape them.
Gunfights, heists and romance are all part of the promised narrative. Nevertheless, the relationship between these characters could prove more important than any individual robbery. The adaptation’s central question is whether people can genuinely distance themselves from the choices and loyalties that shaped their lives.
Charlie Hunnam and Luke Evans lead a cast divided by loyalty
The ensemble brings together performers whose characters occupy different positions within this criminal network. Rather than presenting everyone as part of a single investigation, the confirmed roles establish relationships that connect the two chapters.
The principal Criminal cast and characters include:
- Charlie Hunnam as Leo Patterson: A man attempting to escape the criminal environment in which he grew up.
- Gus Halper as Ricky Lawless: Leo’s childhood friend, determined to follow his outlaw father’s example.
- Luke Evans as Tracy Lawless: Ricky’s older brother, who joined the Army rather than go to prison twenty years earlier.
- Adria Arjona as Greta: A car thief connected to Leo’s past.
- Emilia Clarke as Mallory: Ricky’s girlfriend.
Richard Jenkins, Kadeem Hardison, John Hawkes and Logan Browning are also confirmed as series regulars. Their character details have not been specified in the announcement.
Meanwhile, Michael Mando, Garrett Hedlund, Patrick J. Adams and Chris Diamantopoulos are among the recurring and guest performers. Their presence expands the ensemble, although the precise roles they play in the interconnected stories remain undisclosed.
Hunnam’s Leo and Halper’s Ricky represent the opposing paths at the center of Coward. Evans’ Tracy then introduces another perspective in Lawless. Arjona’s Greta and Clarke’s Mallory also connect directly to the protagonists’ personal lives, giving the adaptation room to explore relationships alongside its criminal conflicts.
The graphic novel adaptation puts family consequences ahead of a single mystery
Crime television frequently builds its stories around solving a murder or uncovering the identity of a culprit. Criminal takes a different starting point. Its announced premise already identifies several important events from the characters’ pasts. The tension comes from understanding how those experiences continue to influence their decisions.
That distinction separates this adaptation from more conventional investigative dramas. For example, Bad Monkey season 2 introduces another dangerous criminal investigation, but its central story follows a detective navigating a new case. Criminal instead places people with complicated histories inside the criminal world itself.
There is also an important creative connection to the original material. Brubaker and Phillips, whose graphic novels provide the foundation, are both executive producers. They are joined by Philipp A. Barnett, Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Jordan Harper, Sarah Carbiener, Dee Rees and Halley Gross.
Amazon MGM Studios and Legendary Television produce the series alongside Basement Gang, Big Indie Pictures and Gowanus Projections.
Two connected chapters give newcomers an easy way into Criminal
For readers familiar with the comics, the two chapter titles provide a recognizable connection to the source material. Newcomers, however, have a simpler entry point: two related stories about childhood friendships, family obligations and the consequences of trying to leave crime behind.
The teaser and first-look images mark the beginning of the show’s public introduction, but they don’t establish every detail of its interconnected narrative. In particular, the full extent of the relationships between both chapters remains something audiences will discover when the episodes arrive.
Criminal begins on January 13, 2027, and completes its eight-episode release on January 27. Its biggest opportunity lies in making the two-part structure feel like an essential element of the storytelling rather than merely a distribution decision. Whether viewers arrive for the cast, the comics or the promise of a dark crime drama, the Lawless family’s history will be difficult to ignore.
Creator of the website, Pokemon trainer by nature. Trying to report on everything related to the world of video games, series and movies. Yu-Gi-Oh is my weakness, collecting cards since the dawn of time.
