First look at Prime Video’s crime anthology 'Criminal' sparks fan buzz for Hunnam, Arjona
A first look at Prime Video’s Criminal has fans buzzing — and the two leads behind the uproar are exactly who you’re hoping to see.
The first footage wastes no time setting the stakes: Leo Patterson (played by Charlie Hunnam) is a meticulous thief trying to shed the life he grew up in, while his old friend Ricky Lawless (Halper) barrels toward danger chasing his father’s outlaw legend. Tensions spike when Ricky’s brother, Tracy (Luke Evans), comes home from military service, pulling old wounds to the surface. Their mess pulls in sharp-witted car thief Greta (Adria Arjona) and Mallory (Emilia Clarke ), Ricky’s girlfriend, who’s rattled by how far he’s willing to go.
Prime Video paired the teaser with new first-look photos, giving a clearer sense of the show’s bruised, neon- soaked world and the interlocking stories at its center.
Two-part January rollout
Adapting Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ acclaimed graphic novels, Criminal is structured as an anthology and will launch in two drops on Prime Video in January 2027 :
- Criminal Part One: Coward — four episodes, streaming January 13
- Criminal Part Two: Lawless — four episodes, streaming January 27
Both arcs arrive as complete four-episode blocks, for a total of eight episodes.
Stacked cast
The ensemble mixes marquee names with cult favorites. Here’s who’s who in the core story:
- Charlie Hunnam — Leo Patterson
- Halper — Ricky Lawless
- Luke Evans — Tracy (Ricky’s brother)
- Adria Arjona — Greta (car thief)
- Emilia Clarke — Mallory (Ricky’s girlfriend)
- Richard Jenkins
- Kadeem Hardison
- John Hawkes
- Logan Browning
Recurring and guest players span a wide range:
- Michael Mando
- Garrett Hedlund
- Patrick J. Adams
- Pat Healy
- Taylor Selé
- Aliyah Camacho
- Marvin Jones III
- Michael Xavier
- Dominic Burgess
- Chris Diamantopoulos
- Lawrence Kao
- Katie Stevens
- John Pyper-Ferguson
- Robert Lee Hart
- Aina Brei’yon
- Kyle Davis
Fans zero in on the pairings
Early reaction to the teaser has zeroed in on the mix-and-match casting — especially Hunnam with Arjona, and Evans opposite Clarke — and how the anthology split might shape the storytelling.
“hunnam as leo, a thief who won’t carry a gun and always knows the exit. good pick.”
“Hunnam, Arjona, Clarke, Evans — Criminal just stacked the January calendar.”
“charlie hunnam, adria arjona, emilia clarke and luke evans sharing a screen is a very good reason to clear some space on my watchlist. splitting it into two parts has me curious about how this story unfolds.”
Brubaker and Phillips onboard
Creators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are executive producers on the series, joined by a writers-and-directors bench that includes Philipp A. Barnett, Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Jordan Harper, Sarah Carbiener, Dee Rees, and Halley Gross, with Cortney Norris and Minhal Baig as co-executive producers.
Criminal Part One: Coward premieres January 13, 2027 on Prime Video, with Part Two: Lawless following on January 27.