Written by Peter Moffat, each five-episode series follows the journey of an individual through the justice system and was first broadcast over five successive nights on BBC One.

In 2009, the second series featured Maxine Peake as troubled housewife Juliet Miller whose husband was stabbed in their bed.

The first season has been re-made into an HBO miniseries The Night Of, starring John Turturro and Riz Ahmed.

As well as Whishaw, the show starred Pete Postlethwaite, Con O'Neill, Lindsay Duncan, David Westhead, Ruth Negga and Bill Paterson.

Ben's expensive new barrister persuades him to plead self-defence despite his misgivings, he then takes to the witness box before returning to prison and getting into a brawl.

[2] However, the series received complaints from lawyers and solicitors over the way they were portrayed over the five episodes[citation needed] – the character of Stone (played by Con O'Neill) being particularly controversial for his attitude, saying that, in the criminal justice system, "the truth can go to hell".

The series follows Juliet as she struggles to lead a normal life and, after stabbing her abusive husband, following her trial through the criminal justice system.

Other cast members include Sophie Okonedo, Denis Lawson, Steven MacKintosh, Eddie Marsan, Zoe Telford and Kate Hardie.

She calls the emergency services but leaves the house and her daughter finds Joe seriously injured and removes the knife, before being instructed not to.

Ella goes into emergency care but soon moves in with her best friend's family, suffering nightmares about the way she found Joe.

John Preston of The Telegraph praised the first episode for successfully ratcheting up the tension with "Hitchcockian precision", and how writer Peter Moffat allowed "the weight of the character's dilemmas to drive the narrative forward".

[5] In The Independent Brian Viner hailed the serial as a "well written" and "superbly acted" drama, and noted Moffat's script as "particularly clever" in how it "manipulated [audience] sympathies".

It is directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and Vishal Furia starring Jackie Shroff, Pankaj Tripathi, Vikrant Massey, Anupriya Goenka and Mita Vashist in lead roles.

The description accompanying the trailer reads, “A one night stand turns into a nightmare for Aditya when he wakes up with blood on his hands.

"[17] On January 5, 2021, it was announced that Studio M, Chorokbaem Media and Gold Medalist will co-produce a South Korean adaptation of Criminal Justice.

[18] Kim Soo-hyun and Cha Seung-won are set to star, Kwon Soon-kyu will write the project, and Lee Myung-woo will direct.

A six-episode adaptation titled Une Si Longue Nuit (literally A Really Long Night) starring among others Mathilde Seigner and Jean-Pierre Darroussin was released on French streaming service Salto on 20 December 2021, preceding a TV broadcast on La Une in Belgium starting on 2 January 2022 and on TF1 in France starting on 20 January 2022.