Sons of Anarchy premiered almost two decades ago. Yet, it remains one of the most loved and highly quoted crime dramas of the 21st century. While many factors contributed to the show’s success, it was Charlie Hunnam’s performance as Jax Teller that truly made it memorable. Hunnam is also all set to return in a new Sons of Anarchy spin-off series, Legends.
However, before that, he will serve as one of the main leads of a promising crime drama on Prime Video. The upcoming crime drama in question, titled Criminal, could become one of the biggest hits in the genre because it adapts a highly acclaimed comic book series of the same name. It already has a lot going in its favor and even its first teaser looks incredibly promising.
Charlie Hunnam has an incredible range as an actor. However, he truly seems to thrive when he serves as the lead in crime thrillers like Sons of Anarchy and The Gentlemen. Owing to this, it is hard not to be excited about what he will bring to the table with his performance in Criminal. What makes the upcoming series even more exciting is that it has one big advantage over many adaptations out there.
Prime Video’s Criminal Already Has 1 Massive Adaptation Advantage
Many TV adaptations end up drifting away from their source material. The original creators of their stories end up having little to no involvement in their development. Prime Video’s Criminal, however, is taking the completely opposite approach. All installments of the original Criminal comics have been written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Sean Philips.
Ed Brubaker himself serves as the Prime Video adaptation’s co-showrunner alongside novelist Jordan Harper. With Brubaker’s direct involvement with the series as one of its showrunners, Prime Video’s Criminal is bound to succeed.
Like the original Criminal comics, the Prime Video series will gradually uncover a massive shared underworld where generations of criminal families are interconnected through heists and never-ending cycles of violence. In the series, Charlie Hunnam is set to play a clever but extremely careful thief who avoids resorting to any kind of violence during his heists.
The Prime Video show will adapt two major arcs from the comics in season 1: Coward and Lawless. While Coward will be about a heist gone wrong, Lawless will feature Luke Evans and Emilia Clarke as leads, following a man’s efforts to save his brother. Since Ed Brubaker is the series’ showrunner, he will likely ensure that its story closely follows his award-winning comics.
Prime Video’s Criminal Looks Incredibly Promising In First Trailer
The first look of Prime Video’s Criminal is already out. While it may be too soon to draw any conclusions, the series already looks incredibly promising. It features high-stakes robbery scenes that remind one of some of the most compelling heist thrillers, like Money Heist. Meanwhile, the violence and hinted betrayals portrayed in the trailer make it reminiscent of Sons of Anarchy‘s R-rated crime drama.
Even the show’s cast includes many big names, like Adria Arjona, Michael Mando, Richard Jenkins, and John Hawkes, along with Charlie Hunnam and Emilia Clarke. Criminal already comes off as a prestige crime thriller, and its source material has enough content for at least three full seasons.
If all goes well for the Prime Video series, it could find its place among the streaming service’s best small-screen offerings. Since Ed Brubaker serves as one of its showrunners, Criminal could even extend far beyond its source material and match the legacy of shows like Sons of Anarchy.
