# Culprits
**Culprits** is a British heist thriller television series created, written, and directed by J Blakeson, in which the crew of a major London robbery, living under new identities years later, is hunted one by one by a masked assassin. It was ordered by Disney+ in 2021 as part of the streamer's first slate of UK scripted originals, premiered on 8 November 2023 in the UK and Ireland, and debuted on Hulu in the United States on 8 December 2023.[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/disney-orders-first-uk-scripted-projects-including-j-blakeson-heist-thriller/5158881.article) • [2](https://press.disney.co.uk/news/disney%2B-reveals-official-trailer-for-new-original-series-culprits-created-by-j-blakeson) • [3](https://www.avclub.com/CULPRITS-REVIEW-TV-HULU-DISNEY-PLUS-1851070335)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Eight episodes of about 55 minutes, released all at once; a Character 7 production[2](https://press.disney.co.uk/news/disney%2B-reveals-official-trailer-for-new-original-series-culprits-created-by-j-blakeson) |
| Creator | J Blakeson (*I Care a Lot*, *The Disappearance of Alice Creed*), who directs with Claire Oakley[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/disney-orders-first-uk-scripted-projects-including-j-blakeson-heist-thriller/5158881.article) • [4](https://www.claireoakley.com/copy-of-make-up) |
| Lead cast | Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Joe/David, Gemma Arterton as Dianne Harewood, with Niamh Algar, Kirby, Ned Dennehy, and Eddie Izzard[2](https://press.disney.co.uk/news/disney%2B-reveals-official-trailer-for-new-original-series-culprits-created-by-j-blakeson) |
| Premise | Three years after a £30 million vault robbery in London, a masked killer hunts the dispersed crew[5](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/08/culprits-review-gemma-arterton-is-fantastic-in-this-uber-slick-tv-heist) |
| Structure | Three timelines labeled BEFORE, THEN, and NOW on screen in yellow capitals[5](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/08/culprits-review-gemma-arterton-is-fantastic-in-this-uber-slick-tv-heist) |
| Reception | 79% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes (24 reviews); Metascore 56 on Metacritic[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/culprits/s01) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/culprits/critic-reviews/) |
| Status | One season; listed as canceled/ended[8](https://epguides.com/Culprits/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and structure
The series begins where most crime stories end. The story follows a band of skilled crooks who pull off a risky robbery, split up, and attempt to put their former lives behind them, only to find that yesterday and today come crashing together once a merciless killer begins hunting them down individually.[9](https://press.hulu.com/shows/culprits/) The central character, Joe Petrus ([Nathan Stewart-Jarrett](https://www.edgepedia.org/nathan-stewart-jarrett)), lives in the United States with his fiancé and step-kids, hiding that he was involved in a mysterious crime three years earlier. When a killer starts eliminating the crew, he returns to London to track down his old gang and find out who is coming after them.[10](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/presscentre/media-packs/culprits-press-pack)
The heist itself sits in the past. In the BEFORE timeline, the London criminal Dianne Harewood ([Gemma Arterton](https://www.edgepedia.org/gemma-arterton)) assembles a team to crack a seemingly impenetrable vault and steal £30 million, telling them the money belongs to "fat cats" who have hidden their wealth; each member is paid to disappear into a new life afterward.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/08/culprits-review-gemma-arterton-is-fantastic-in-this-uber-slick-tv-heist) Crew members know each other only by role-based code names such as Brain, Soldier, Driver, Right Hand, and Muscle, Joe's name; the assassin, whose victims pile up across the NOW timeline, wears a blank-faced mask.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/08/culprits-review-gemma-arterton-is-fantastic-in-this-uber-slick-tv-heist) • [11](https://www.sbs.com.au/whats-on/article/culprits-is-a-slick-heist-thriller-with-a-killer-mystery/rhcp64ykp) The mystery of who is behind the killings, and why, is withheld until the finale.[12](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/culprits-disney-tv-show-review.21543/)
## Production
Disney+ commissioned *Culprits* in April 2021 among its first UK scripted originals, placing it under the adult-focused Star brand.[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/disney-orders-first-uk-scripted-projects-including-j-blakeson-heist-thriller/5158881.article) Blakeson had written the pilot before shooting his 2020 film *I Care a Lot*.[13](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-11/Culprits%20Press%20Pack.pdf) Stephen Garrett (*The Night Manager*, *The Undoing*) executive produced through his company Character 7, with Morenike Williams (*Killing Eve*) producing; Johanna Devereaux executive produced for Disney+ EMEA.[9](https://press.hulu.com/shows/culprits/) Blakeson directed alongside Claire Oakley, who handled episodes 5, 6, and 7.[4](https://www.claireoakley.com/copy-of-make-up)
Filming was international. The heist sequence was shot largely on location in Manchester's Northern Quarter, with the city council granting control of the streets for high-speed car chases and low-altitude FPV drone work, plus volume work at the MARS Volume LED studio in London; other filming took place in Europe and Ontario, Canada, the latter doubling for Washington State.[14](https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/philipp-blaubach-bsc-and-anna-valdez-hanks-culprits/) A Disney programming listing describes the series as based on the story collection *Culprits: The Heist Was Only the Beginning*.[15](https://9c519110712a1cc5ffdf-b1b745d17d9877b298ac94fd86f5428e.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/FeatureArticles-Dec2023.pdf)
## Reception
Critical response was divided. On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 holds a 79% Tomatometer from 24 reviews and a 77% Popcornmeter score; the critics consensus calls it "a stylish caper packed with enough twists to solve a Rubik's Cube".[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/culprits/s01) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 56, labeled mixed or average, from nine critic reviews.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/culprits/critic-reviews/)
**Praise centered on style and cast.** Rebecca Nicholson of *The Guardian* called it "smart, exciting and very, well, slick", singling out Arterton's performance and Stewart-Jarrett's hold on the lead role.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/08/culprits-review-gemma-arterton-is-fantastic-in-this-uber-slick-tv-heist) [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club)'s Meredith Hobbs Coons graded it a B, finding it fast-paced, flashy, and emotionally honest in its two romantic leads.[3](https://www.avclub.com/CULPRITS-REVIEW-TV-HULU-DISNEY-PLUS-1851070335) Radio Times praised Stewart-Jarrett as "the beating heart of this story" while judging the final episodes flat.[16](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/culprits-disney-plus-review/)
**Critics split over the twists.** Ben Travers of IndieWire gave a C-, writing that the show creates twists by withholding information and that many, especially near the end, feel exhausting rather than exhilarating; Daniel Fienberg of *The Hollywood Reporter* found every reveal and double-cross drew a shrug.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/culprits/critic-reviews/) The Telegraph's Ed Power called it a [Reservoir Dogs](https://www.edgepedia.org/reservoir-dogs) tribute that never comes close to sealing the deal.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/culprits/critic-reviews/) Common Sense Media, reviewing it for families, rated it 15+ for frequent gunplay, blood, and gore, and noted the casting puts women and actors of color in non-stereotypical roles, with the central character both a master criminal and a Black, gay father.[17](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/culprits)
## Distribution
All eight episodes streamed on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland from 8 November 2023 and on Hulu in the US from 8 December 2023.[2](https://press.disney.co.uk/news/disney%2B-reveals-official-trailer-for-new-original-series-culprits-created-by-j-blakeson) • [3](https://www.avclub.com/CULPRITS-REVIEW-TV-HULU-DISNEY-PLUS-1851070335) The series later became available on SBS On Demand in Australia[11](https://www.sbs.com.au/whats-on/article/culprits-is-a-slick-heist-thriller-with-a-killer-mystery/rhcp64ykp) and, under a licensing agreement with Disney Entertainment, on ITVX in the UK from 19 December 2024.[10](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/presscentre/media-packs/culprits-press-pack) No second season was made; episode guides list the show as canceled/ended after its single season.[8](https://epguides.com/Culprits/)
## References
1. [Disney+ orders first UK scripted projects including J Blakeson heist thriller, Screen/Broadcast (15 April 2021)](https://www.screendaily.com/news/disney-orders-first-uk-scripted-projects-including-j-blakeson-heist-thriller/5158881.article)
2. [Disney+ reveals official trailer for new original series "Culprits" created by J Blakeson, Disney+ UK Press (24 October 2023)](https://press.disney.co.uk/news/disney%2B-reveals-official-trailer-for-new-original-series-culprits-created-by-j-blakeson)
3. [Culprits review: A caper with class consciousness, The A.V. Club (6 December 2023)](https://www.avclub.com/CULPRITS-REVIEW-TV-HULU-DISNEY-PLUS-1851070335)
4. [CULPRITS, Claire Oakley official site](https://www.claireoakley.com/copy-of-make-up)
5. [Culprits review – Gemma Arterton is fantastic in this uber-slick TV heist, The Guardian (8 November 2023)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/08/culprits-review-gemma-arterton-is-fantastic-in-this-uber-slick-tv-heist)
6. [Culprits: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/culprits/s01)
7. [Culprits critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/culprits/critic-reviews/)
8. [Culprits (a Titles & Air Dates Guide), epguides](https://epguides.com/Culprits/)
9. [Culprits, Hulu Press](https://press.hulu.com/shows/culprits/)
10. [Culprits Press Pack, ITV Press Centre (1 November 2024)](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/presscentre/media-packs/culprits-press-pack)
11. ['Culprits' is a slick heist thriller with a killer mystery, SBS What's On (11 January 2024)](https://www.sbs.com.au/whats-on/article/culprits-is-a-slick-heist-thriller-with-a-killer-mystery/rhcp64ykp)
12. [Culprits (Disney+) TV Show Review, AVForums (10 February 2024)](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/culprits-disney-tv-show-review.21543/)
13. [Culprits Press Pack (PDF), ITV Press Centre](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-11/Culprits%20Press%20Pack.pdf)
14. [Philipp Blaubach BSC and Anna Valdez Hanks / Culprits, British Cinematographer](https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/philipp-blaubach-bsc-and-anna-valdez-hanks-culprits/)
15. [Disney+ / Hulu programming page, December 2023 (PDF)](https://9c519110712a1cc5ffdf-b1b745d17d9877b298ac94fd86f5428e.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/FeatureArticles-Dec2023.pdf)
16. [Culprits review: Disney Plus heist series doesn't quite get the job done, Radio Times](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/culprits-disney-plus-review/)
17. [Culprits – Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/culprits)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Crime and thriller series › Organized crime and heist series*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license