Although he’s been a fond favorite on British screens for many decades, thanks in no small part to his iconic role as the foul-mouthed government spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker in Armando Iannucci‘s The Thick of It, Peter Capaldi‘s popularity in the U.S. would finally come when he was cast as the titular Time Lord in the iconic sci-fi series Doctor Who. During his fondly remembered run, Capaldi helped steer the series into more mature and darker territory, in what is now considered a misunderstood period for the show.
Since his time in the TARDIS, Capaldi has been part of some critically acclaimed series, although few have proven quite as popular as Apple TV’s Criminal Record. Paul Rutman‘s British crime thriller scored impressive figures in its first season, including a reported 12.63 million viewers per episode globally, and a second season became quickly inevitable. That second season finally debuted earlier this year, with Cush Jumbo and Capaldi’s Detective Sergeant June Lenker and Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty returning for a more politically charged second installment.
Despite having to go head-to-head with some of Apple TV’s most popular shows, including the beloved comedy-drama Shrinking, a second season of the Jon Hamm-led Your Friends and Neighbors, and the hugely popular new series Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Criminal Record has held its own, regularly finding a place inside the streaming top ten. At the time of writing, the show has hit its best milestone yet, officially passing the 100-day mark on the Apple TV charts in the U.S.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
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🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
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01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
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02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
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03
What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
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04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
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05
You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.
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06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.
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07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?
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08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
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Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
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Arrakis · Dune
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
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You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.
USS Enterprise · Star Trek
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
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You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
The Rebellion · Star Wars
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.
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You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
The Nostromo · Alien
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
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You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.
The Wasteland · Mad Max
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
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You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
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What’s Next for ‘Criminal Record’?
Following the explosive fifth episode this past Wednesday, Criminal Record will return on May 27 for Episode 6, “When the Music Stops.” Directed by Joelle Mae David, the episode is sure to kick the second season into its final gear with just three episodes left. A synopsis for the episode reads, “After the chaos in the woods, Billy goes dark; Operation Samphire hangs by a thread.” But what will happen to the show after the June 10 finale? Although Apple TV hasn’t yet committed to a third season, hope is high that this twisty thriller will return again, with star Jumbo even saying in a recent interview when asked about a third season, “We would love it, but it’s not up to us!”
Criminal Record is available to stream on Apple TV, and continues this Wednesday. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.
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