# Criminal Justice (2008)

> A British thriller that follows a man accused of murder through the challenges and politics of the criminal justice system.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/6942

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 10
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Peter Moffat
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Juliet Aubrey, Ben Whishaw, Lindsay Duncan, Bill Paterson, Maxine Peake, David Harewood, Denis Lawson, Charlie Creed-Miles
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1188927/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, measured, bleak, sobering, intimate

## What critics say

Critics broadly praised the series as a tense, well-acted and morally serious study of the criminal justice system, with strong writing and performances.

## Synopsis

Criminal Justice (2008-2009) is a British crime drama series created by Peter Moffat for BBC One. Across two seasons of five hour-long episodes each, the story follows Ben Coulter (Ben Whishaw), a young man accused of murder, and his family, including Mary Coulter (Juliet Aubrey), as he moves through police custody, the courts and the prison system. The engine of the series is the gap between what the accused knows about his own innocence and what the machinery of police, lawyers and judges is willing to accept. Each season shifts focus to a new stage of the process, with defence barristers, prosecutors and officials such as Harry Box (Bill Paterson) and Judge Ira (Richenda Carey) shaping the outcome. The tone is measured and tense, with a restrained, procedural realism that avoids courtroom theatrics and instead dwells on waiting rooms, interviews and quiet family conversations. Its concerns are the politics of the justice system and the human cost of institutional decisions. Fans of Silk, Line of Duty and The Night Of will find resonance in its British legal grit and moral ambiguity.

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