Why are there so many versions of "Criminal:[country]"?
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Netflix recently advertised a new criminal series called "Criminal: United Kingdom". The series is really minimalist - shot in two rooms (and a bit of corridor)*, 50 minutes long episodes - that show efforts of the police investigators to get the truth out of suspects.
To my surprise, very soon after I've found "Criminal: Germany", "Criminal: France" and "Criminal: Spain"
Edit: the French trailer shows fragments from all versions:
Each of the series is really short and contains (currently) only 3 episodes. But why would Netflix ask 4 different production groups from 4 different countries to make the same series?
Usually, when someone decides to make a remake, it is made quite some time after the original movie/series, here we have something more akin to an Internet challenge: "Make a short series about interrogation!".
Why did Netflix decide to produce 4 (so far) same series in 4 different countries?
To clarify: Those are not the same cases, but it is still the same series, even while it is advertised as 4 different ones. It has been even filmed at the same location!
I find it a highly unusual and weird move because
- Not everyone likes to watch undubbed movies with subtitles, so it is quite possible that they will stick only to the version in his/her native language, making 3/4 of the production a bit of a waste.
- One country series is very short - it is just three episodes. You barely getting used to characters and start liking them when it's over and you have to switch to a different people speaking a different language.
So what made Netflix make such an unusual production?
Just to clarify:
- The premise of the story is the same in every version, which gives (currently) 3 x 4 = 12 different criminal cases.
- I honestly doubt this is a "CSI [your place]" effect since there is almost nothing story-wise that is explicit to a given country (one notable exception is the cold case involving East-West Germany relations). If the title wouldn't display it, I honestly wouldn't know that we are in a given country (and no, the action never leaves the building, always the same building).
- I honestly don't believe that this was the "we just sell service so let's make something cheap to fill the gap" case of Netflix - this series was quite advertised when it appeared.
*Actually, according to Wikipedia they are THE SAME rooms - every version was filmed at the same location.
Best Answer
Because its different.
The following article gives some insights into why the format of the show is so different from your typical procedural crime drama. Its basically because the show creators were inspired for a different type of format and Netflix picked it up and made the added decision to make it a 4-part international series. The reason for making it international is not specifically mentioned, so we can only speculate, but the most logical reason is to make it unique and to appeal to larger audiences.
Simply put, the format of the show is meant to be non-traditional and unique so that it will stand out from the typical procedural drama.
Drama Quarterly interview with George Kay
Criminal is overseen by British showrunners George Kay and Jim Field Smith, who wrote and directed the UK episodes, respectively, while also supervising the other countries’ creative teams.
Kay developed the concept after enjoying the constraints of writing a monologue called Double Lesson for Channel 4’s First Cut strand, while also taking inspiration from an interview he watched with a man accused of killing his stepdaughter.
“During the interview, I changed my mind [about whether he was guilty] about three or four times,” he recalls. “Jim and I have worked together since school and we’ve always loved police stuff, true crime and crime drama, and then the show kind of built out of that.”
Kay then wrote an initial script, but the premise – which goes against the grain by being extremely intimate rather than high-concept or lavish – meant it was tricky to find a home for the show. That’s where Netflix came in, with the streamer taking the potential scale of the show in a different direction by turning it into an international format.
“Initially, we were trepidatious,” Field Smith admits. “But it’s been the most amazing adventure.”
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Is Criminal UK criminal France Same?
Netflix series Criminal consists of 4 separate 3 episode sets of stories. They are Criminal: UK , Criminal: Germany , Criminal: Spain , and Criminal: France . Each of the episodes uses the same sets, but the cops and the languages change. Every episode is about an interrogation.How many versions of Criminal are there?
There are four separate Criminal series on Netflix, each set in a different country and originally show in a different language.Is every episode of Criminal UK different?
Created by George Kay and Jim Field Smith, the first season of the series was released in 2019, consisting of a total of 12 episodes, three episodes each set in four different countries: France, Spain, Germany, and the U.K. The second season only has four episodes, all only taking place in the U.K. this time.Which country Criminal is best?
Crime Index by Country 2022RankCountryCrime Index1Venezuela83.582Papua New Guinea81.193Afghanistan77.014South Africa76.06138 more rowsWhy America is NOT the greatest country in the world, anymore.
More answers regarding why are there so many versions of "Criminal:[country]"?
Answer 2
Because, well, money. You make CSI: New York and you have 12 millions of people who would watch that show just because they live in New York (or there everyday). Far more than if you make CSI: Wyoming.
People are just more willingly to subscribe to Netflix because they have a show in their own language, that are somehow connected to them locally and have a country tag in the title.
It is unusual because you are thinking in the old tv corporations style. Netflix don't care about that. They don't care to glue you to their channel at certain time with certain top show. Because you can watch all series at once at any, chosen by you, time. But you pay for a whole month of watching. So they need something that will make you pay for another one. Hence made for cheap easy in production "bait".
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