Netflix has a new twisty crime drama hit on its hands
Need a crime fix? Netflix's new sleeper hit show can help out
Some Netflix hits you can see coming a mile off, but a few — like this latest one — slip under the radar.
Crooks has worked its way up the charts and is now the second most popular Netflix show globally, according to Flixpatrol.
It has been a relatively slow burning entry, though, as Crooks first came to Netflix more than a week ago on April 4.
What is Crooks? "One Heist, Two Crooks, Three Cities,” is the official tagline. It’s a crime drama in which a safecracker signs up for one last job, but finds himself on the run from a whole series of gangs and gangsters when a valuable and rare coin falls into his lap.
A twisty crime drama is a dead-cert watch for many, but some may have passed Crooks by because it’s a German language production.
Heck, according to Flixpatrol, Crooks hasn’t even cracked the top 10 in the UK yet and is currently only number 10 in the US. Some of us English language natives need to broaden our horizons a bit.
The show is not a straight crime drama. There’s a lot of comedy to Crooks, and the actual heist part is over and done in the first episode.
As more of a sleeper hit, Crooks hasn’t has quite as many critic reviews as other Netflix shows we cover. But here’s what the publications that tend to dig a little deeper think:
Decider gave Crooks a thumbs-up “stream it” verdict, even if its review wasn’t effervescent with praise. “Crooks has potential to rise above the usual crime drama tropes, thanks to the unlikely friendship at its core. But aside from that, the show is nothing we haven’t seen before,” it says.
Ready Steady Cut had a similar opinion. It gave Crooks a roundly positive write-up, while highlighting its pervasive familiarity. “Crooks burns all of Charly and Joseph’s chemistry for fuel across multiple European cities in a slew of chases and turns that are easy to predict but enjoyable to watch,” the review reads.
Film Fugitives was much less complimentary, “Crooks would have been an interesting watch if the makers were not trying to do too many things at a time. It is a classic case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.”
Not put off? All right episodes of the first season of Crooks are available to stream on Netflix now.
