‘Criminal Record’ On Apple TV+: Cush Jumbo Gives A Sensational Performance Alongside The Brilliant Peter Capaldi

When Apple TV+ named Academy Award winner Peter Capaldi as a lead in Paul Rutman’s riveting new crime thriller, Criminal Record, there was no doubt in my mind that the Doctor Who star would nail the role of Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty. As anticipated, the Scottish actor expertly embodied the enigmatic DCI; a man with a mysterious past and an accomplished career on the line. But after devouring all eight screeners for the series (which premiered on Apple TV+ January 10) it’s clear that Criminal Record would be nothing without the brilliant Cush Jumbo as Hegarty’s relentlessly curious colleague Detective Sergeant (DS) June Lenker.

Before Criminal Record, I’d never had the pleasure of watching Jumbo steal scenes in projects like The Good Wife, its sequel series The Good Fight, Vera, and more. But Criminal Record’s pitch-perfect casting puts the 38-year-old British actor’s incredible range, passion, and depth on full display as a green detective on a dangerous quest for truth.

After a domestic violence call triggers doubts surrounding the decade-old murder of Adelaide Burrowes and the 24-year conviction of her boyfriend Errol Mathis (Tom Moutchi), Jumbo’s DS Lenker challenges the legacy of Capaldi’s seasoned DCI, who led the original investigation. Over the course of Criminal Record’s run, Hegarty harnesses professional power as a shield, maintaining stone-faced composure in an effort to conceal any signs of dysfunction or malice. Withering stares, quick comebacks, and an unshakable air of intrigue quickly establish his compelling character, but as pressure mounts and Lenker chips away at his past, that calm, cool, carefully-calculated demeanor starts to crumble.

Attempting to unravel a case as complex as Criminal Record’s requires more than razor-sharp determination and a driving abhorrence of injustice. Empathy and anger, intellect and intuition, and a refusal to give way to intimidation are essential qualities seen throughout Lenker’s daily roles as mother, daughter, detective, and human being. Whether she’s illegally running license plates to give her worried mother peace of mind or digging into a historic murder investigation against the advise of her superiors, the DS follows her moral compass at almost any cost; a tall task for an actor, but Jumbo’s more than up to the test.

As the season progresses, she ramps up the emotion accordingly, using remarkable facial expressions and her wide, soulful eyes to help convey Lenker’s innermost thoughts and feelings. The detective is visibly lighter around friends and family, but Jumbo skillfully, subtly reminds viewers that her character is never fully unburdened by the weighty responsibility of cracking the case. Jumbo masters the demanding physicality of a police detective in the field as Lenker fights for her life on numerous occasions and internalizes bits of her victims’ trauma. The fear, the pain, and fury fuel her — as does her compelling cat and mouse dynamic with Hegarty.

“As the season progresses, Cush Jumbo ramps up the emotion accordingly, using remarkable facial expressions and her wide, soulful eyes to help convey Lenker’s innermost thoughts and feelings. The detective is visibly lighter around friends and family, but Jumbo skillfully, subtly reminds viewers that her character is never fully unburdened by the weighty responsibility of cracking the case.”

As Criminal Record explores issues of racism, institutional corruption, and failures within the criminal justice system, Lenker — a Black woman — and Hegarty — a white man high on the professional chain of command —encounter added layers of conflict. But from the start, the two are effortlessly engaged in heated back-and-forths, a testament to Jumbo and Capaldi’s on-screen chemistry. Their shared scenes give viewers a front-row seat to verbal, intellectual, and emotional duels ripe with manipulation, self-doubt, and paranoia.

As both characters and actors, the duo inspires each other to bring their best game forward. Capaldi was a spot-on choice to play the icy, perpetually conflicted DCI, but Jumbo completely disappears into the role of June Lenker, proving herself a formidable opponent and a crucial component of Criminal Record’s appeal.

Criminal Record is now streaming on Apple TV+ with new episodes premiering weekly on Wednesdays.