Entertainment
This 23-Episode Crime Series That Pulled in 11.3M Viewers 3 Years Ago Is Finally Free To Watch
The track record for American remakes of British original series is extremely hit or miss. For every series like The Office, there’s a Viva Laughlin, a dreadful remake of British miniseries Blackpool, that lasted all of two episodes. But 2023’s Accused, developed by Howard Gordon from the BBC One series that ran from 2010 to 2012, was a great series that drew in 11.3 million viewers, but was unfairly brought to an end after only two seasons. Thankfully, it’s free on Tubi.
What Is the Crime Drama ‘Accused’ About?
Premiering on January 22, 2023, the debut of Accused, airing after NFL on Fox, scored a touchdown of its own with 11.3 million viewers over three days, with 8.4 million watching it the same day. Its premise was unique: Accused is a crime drama, but instead of the tried-and-true crime of the week format, solved by the same detectives and police officers every episode, the series is in an anthology format. Every week opens with a whole new set of actors, each with a different story to tell.
The anthology aspect of the series isn’t all that unique unto itself, but the way each episode is structured definitely is. Each episode begins near the end of the story, in or around the courtroom where a defendant stands on trial. However, we have no idea who they are, what they’re on trial for, or, more importantly, how they even got there. Following the introduction, the story goes back to the beginning, tracing the journey from where it started to where it ends up, and only then do we learn their fate. Accused has little interest in the procedure — which serves as the basis for most crime dramas — but instead focuses on the human story behind the accused.
FOX’s ‘Accused’ Challenged Viewers in the Best Way
Accused‘s method of storytelling makes it so that the viewer is no longer passive, but rather is engaged as both judge and jury. As the tale unfolds and more is revealed, those watching get a first-hand view of the circumstances, motivations, and choices that lead to the arrest of the defendant. Does the fact that one understands why the defendant comes to be in court change whether they should be found guilty? It’s a luxury that is rarely afforded to the accused in typical police procedurals, and even if it is, the time devoted to exploring their motivations is secondary to showcasing how the leads put the pieces together to catch them.
In the Accused, these cases are never black and white. These are normal people — schoolteachers, limo drivers, teenagers — who often face contemporary moral dilemmas that make the easy choice difficult. The premiere episode is a perfect example. In it, neurosurgeon Scott Harmon (Michael Chiklis) is seen walking through a throng of people as cries of “Murderer!” ring out. Then, there’s a flashback to Scott’s son being suspended for threatening another student. Scott fears that this might just be the beginning, and is afraid his son may be planning a school shooting after finding a diary riddled with dark thoughts and revenge fantasies. To prevent it, Scott takes his son out for a camping trip, where he seriously considers pushing him off a cliff and staging it as an accident.
FOX’s Most Addictive Crime Thriller Gets First Season 3 Update in Over a Year
Will the network greenlight another season of this crime thriller?
Accused assembled an impressive cast, with names like Rachel Bilson, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Felicity Huffman, and William H. Macy taking on challenging defendant roles. Michael Chiklis, Billy Porter, and Marlee Matlin directed episodes, with Season 1’s “Ava’s Story” serving as Matlin’s directorial debut. But while ratings were high for Season 1, Season 2 didn’t reach the same level of acclaim, and paired with having lost the momentum of that first season due to the writer’s strike of 2023 (forcing a year-and-a-half gap), the series was cancelled.
That cancellation, however, was simply too soon. The second season, which was delayed by a week for the vice-president debate, was only given eight episodes to try and win back its viewers, a tall order for any series after an almost two-year hiatus. Although it’s odd to say for a series that premiered only three years ago, Accused, arguably, was ahead of its time, especially for network television where safe and formulaic rules the roost. However, FOX Television president Michael Thorn did suggest that there could be an opportunity to “eventize a return” down the line. Whether or not that becomes a reality remains to be seen, but thankfully, this unique and powerful series is available to stream for free on Tubi.