‘Criminal’ First Look Drops Charlie Hunnam Into a Ruthless Prime Video Crime Saga, and the Release Date Is Locked

Few comic book series have earned the loyalty that ‘Criminal‘ has among crime fiction fans. Created by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, the noir series launched in 2006 and has since collected multiple Eisner Awards. Its stories of thieves, killers and con artists trapped by family and old mistakes have long felt tailor-made for the screen.

After years of development, that screen version is finally close. Amazon officially ordered the series in January 2024, with Brubaker writing the pilot and serving as co-showrunner alongside crime author Jordan Harper. Phillips is also an executive producer, which means one of the comic’s original architects is involved in the adaptation.

Prime Video has now announced the first teaser and a set of first-look images for ‘Criminal’, alongside the official premiere plan. Part One, titled ‘Coward’, arrives with all 4 episodes on January 13, 2027. Part Two, titled ‘Lawless’, follows with all 4 episodes on January 27, 2027, and the series will stream in more than 240 countries and territories.

The teaser runs a little over a minute and leans into the genre’s trademark mood. Neon-streaked night scenes, tense car interiors and flashes of violence set the tone, with Charlie Hunnam seen behind the wheel in the footage.

First look at ‘CRIMINAL’ starring Charlie Hunnam, Adria Arjona, Emilia Clarke and Luke Evans. Part one premieres January 13, part two premieres January 27 on Prime Video. https://t.co/nRzneHmpcP

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) November 5, 2026

Hunnam leads as Leo Patterson, a man trying to fight his way out of the world of crime he was raised in. His best friend Ricky Lawless, played by Gus Halper, wants the opposite and is desperate to follow in the footsteps of his father, a legendary outlaw. Their tragic family history returns when Ricky’s older brother Tracy, played by Luke Evans, comes home from the Army.

Adria Arjona plays Greta, a sharp-tongued car thief from Leo’s past, while Emilia Clarke plays Mallory, Ricky’s girlfriend, who fears what he will do to get by. The series also stars Richard Jenkins, Kadeem Hardison, John Hawkes and Logan Browning, with Michael Mando, Garrett Hedlund and Patrick J. Adams in recurring or guest roles.

Clarke is best known for ‘Game of Thrones’, and Arjona has appeared in ‘Andor’ and ‘Hit Man’. Hunnam, meanwhile, arrives fresh from a busy stretch in crime television. He led the third season of Netflix’s ‘Monster’ as Ed Gein and returned for the fourth as Andrew Borden.

Part One follows Leo and Ricky as they are haunted by a murder from their childhood and a heist that goes wrong, forcing them to face a past they cannot outrun. Part Two turns to Tracy, who chose the Army over prison 20 years ago and never looked back. The official synopsis promises gunfights, heists and tragic romance, and it asks whether anyone will make it out alive.

The season adapts the first two story arcs of the comic, ‘Criminal, Volume One: Coward’ and ‘Criminal, Volume Two: Lawless’. The part titles match those books, and Prime Video describes the project as an interlocking universe of crime stories, a nod to how the comic’s characters and families overlap.

Filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, known for ‘Mississippi Grind’ and ‘Captain Marvel’, direct the first 4 episodes. Dee Rees directs the final 4 episodes, according to reports. With Brubaker deeply involved as both writer and showrunner, the adaptation has the kind of creative continuity that comic fans rarely get.

Phillips has also shared an encouraging assessment of the finished series, pushing back on speculation that the long wait for a premiere date signaled trouble. With the release plan now official, those worries should fade.

For a franchise that stayed in development for years, the first footage finally answers the biggest question fans had: what will it look and feel like? The teaser points toward a violent, character-driven crime drama, and it gives Hunnam another role that fits comfortably alongside his earlier crime work.

Releasing the series in 2 parts, 2 weeks apart, also gives viewers time to talk about the first half before the second arrives.

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