Actor Peter Capaldi is known far and wide thanks to his versatile talents. Part of such notoriety comes from the man’s ability to wield a short temper and foul language with the touch of a champ thanks to his time on Armando Iannucci’s dark comedy series The Thick of It. However, when discussing his series Criminal Record, which recently debuted on the 2024 TV schedule, Capaldi firmly believes that his new Apple TV+ character DCI Daniel Hegarty could easily make mincemeat out of his classic character from that dark comedy.
None other than his previous political operative, the ever memorable Malcolm Tucker, is on the hypothetical hit list in this discussion. That knowledge came from when I sat down for the press day for this new series, which sees Peter also acting as an executive producer alongside co-star Cush Jumbo.
As the both of them were on hand to discuss Criminal Record’s recent debut, both Capaldi and Jumbo had some exciting insights into their opposing figures in this crime drama. Part of that came from a question I had asked about whether or not Capaldi had felt Malcolm creeping in at all during his performance.
In revealing his thoughts on how Malcolm Tucker would be handled by DCI Hegarty to CinemaBlend, Peter Capaldi started with a rather hysterical note. That, in turn, led him to draw this intriguing comparison to the two characters in question:
Well, I’ve got the same face as Malcolm Tucker, and I’ve got the same hair; I’ve still got it. So one is always going to be haunted by that. Not really, no. I mean, actually I think that Hagerty would make mincemeat out of Malcolm Tucker, to be honest. I think Malcolm’s a lot of bluster, and he’s very loud and appears to be angry. I think Hagerty would take him to pieces, but Hagerty has some of Malcolm’s energy, bubbling away there, which he can tap into when he needs.
The central story of Criminal Record is enough to reinforce a viewer’s decision to maintain their Apple TV+ subscription. It all revolves around a fateful emergency call that draws DS June Lenker (Cush Jumbo) into a case closed by Peter Capaldi’s DCI Daniel Hegarty that may not have been as open and shut as he led everyone to believe.
With Lenker trying to get to the bottom of a potentially false murder conviction, Hegarty will stop at nothing to prevent his would-be adversary from overturning his work. Frankly, after reading back that description, it sounds more like Mr. Capaldi is putting his own spin on Michael Chiklis’ Vic Mackey from FX’s The Shield.
Showing an officer of the law playing some shady cards to hide their own misdeeds is absolutely the overlap between these two characters. With that established, I could definitely see DCI Hegarty tearing Malcolm Tucker apart. You probably can too after watching the trailer for Criminal Record, which I’ll now provide for your viewing pleasure:
At the same time, there’s definitely a bit of Tucker energy in this character, and we see it during some procedural wrangling in Episode 2, “Two Calls.” I won’t go into too much detail, save to say that some of June Lenker’s digging leads to a rather unorthodox sitdown with Daniel Hegarty, and the results allow him to use some of the dry cheek that The Thick of It’s sly political boogeyman is best known for exhibiting.
Something tells me that not even Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor would be able to outmaneuver this Criminal Record baddie, and for one single reason: Daniel Hegarty acts as if he has nothing to lose. There’s no limit to what he’ll do, or the rules he’ll bend, to make sure that he isn’t found out. To be playing that sort of character must feel liberating to Capaldi, especially after seemingly leaving The Doctor behind for good for similarly bleak roles like his central performance in Prime Video's The Devil's Hour.
At the same time, it’s not all done out of malice, as in the first two episodes we already see some hints towards his home life being a more tender and dour affair. That’s the sort of complication that keeps Peter’s Criminal Record character in a realm of believable malice, and it makes for even more exciting television.
While not totally a villain in the traditional sense, we can sort of understand what drives this man to do what he does. That sort of nuance is what makes any good detective series worth its salt, especially when trying to explain whether those means are justified in the end. That's something we’ll have to wait and see about as Criminal Record plays out; and it's a factor that could see the show join the ranks of the best Apple TV+ shows to hit the platform.
As someone who’s a huge fan of Apple TV+’s programming, as well as Peter Capaldi, I'm excited to see how this thrilling new obsession plays out. You can see the results for yourself, as Criminal Record has already debuted the first two episodes in its eight-episode run, only on Apple TV+. From that point on, it’s a weekly drop until February 23rd’s finale, so there’s still plenty of time to get caught up, or wait to jump in with an old-fashioned binge.
