''Interrogation'' is an American
true crime
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events.
The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
television series, created by Anders Weidemann and
John Mankiewicz
John Mankiewicz (born February 18, 1954) is an American television and film executive producer and screenwriter. He was co-executive producer for '' House of Cards'' and ''Bosch'', he co-created the television series ''The Street'' and has writt ...
, that premiered on
CBS All Access
Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...
on February 6, 2020. In November 2020, the series was canceled after one season.
The season was inspired by the
Bruce Lisker conviction for the murder of his mother, when he was age 17.
Premise
''Interrogation'' is described as "an original concept based on a true story that spanned more than 30 years, in which a young man was charged and convicted of brutally murdering his mother. Each episode is structured around an interrogation taken directly from the real police case files, with the goal of turning the viewer into a detective. The first nine episodes of the series are available to watch in any order, and the conclusive season finale was released later."
All ten episodes have been released.
Cast
Main
*
Peter Sarsgaard
John Peter Sarsgaard (; born March 7, 1971) is an American actor. His first feature role was in '' Dead Man Walking'' in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films '' Another Day in Paradise'' and ''Desert Blue''. That same year, Sarsg ...
as Det. David Russell
*
Kyle Gallner
Kyle Steven Gallner (born October 22, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas in the television series ''Veronica Mars'', superhero Bart Allen in the drama series ''Smallville'' and Reed Garrett ...
as Eric Fisher
*
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn (; born January 26, 1949) is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has often portrayed historical figures such as Edward R. Murrow, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William H. Seward, and John D ...
as Henry Fisher
*
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Kodi Smit-McPhee (born 13 June 1996) is an Australian actor. He gained recognition as a child actor for his leading roles in ''The Road'' (2009) and '' Let Me In'' (2010). In 2021, Smit-McPhee garnered critical acclaim for his performance as Pe ...
as Chris Keller
Recurring
*
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
His roles include Private Leonar ...
as Sgt. Ian Lynch
*
Joanna Going
Joanna Catherine Going (born July 22, 1963) is an American actress known for the television series '' Kingdom'', '' House of Cards'', ''Mad Men'' and the movie ''Wyatt Earp''.
Early life
Going was born in Washington, DC, the eldest of six child ...
as Mary Fisher
*
Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (born March 19, 1977) is an American actor best known for playing the role of David Lieberman in '' The Punisher'' and Desi Harperin in ''Girls''. Since 2022, Moss-Bachrach has played Richard "Richie" Jerimovich in the drama ...
as Trey Carano
*
Andre Royo
Andre Royo (born July 18, 1968) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins on the HBO crime drama series ''The Wire'', and his appearances on '' Fringe'', '' Party Down'', '' How to Ma ...
as Charlie Shannon
*
Chad Coleman
Chad L. Coleman (born September 6, 1967) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Dennis "Cutty" Wise on the HBO series ''The Wire'' (2004–08), Tyreese on the AMC series '' The Walking Dead'' (2012–15), Mingo on '' Roots' ...
*
Frank Whaley
Frank Joseph Whaley (born July 20, 1963) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and comedian. His roles include Brett in ''Pulp Fiction'', Robby Krieger in ''The Doors'', young Archie "Moonlight" Graham in '' Field of Dreams'', and Guy ...
*
Pat Healy Patrick Healy, Pat Healy, Patrick Healey or Pat Healey may refer to:
* Felix Healy (Patrick Joseph Healy, born 1955), former Northern Irish football player and manager
* Pat Healy (actor) (born 1971), American actor, writer, and director
* Pat H ...
*
Melinda McGraw
Melinda McGraw (born October 25, 1968) is an American actress. She has starred in movies such as ''The Dark Knight'' (2008), '' Wrongfully Accused'' (1998), and '' Skateland'' (2010), and is also known for her television performances on ''Mad Men ...
*
Michael Harney
Michael John Harney is an American actor of film, television, and theater. He is best known for starring on the Netflix original series '' Orange Is the New Black'' as Corrections Officer Sam Healy. In 2019, he had a recurring role in the Apple ...
*
Vinessa Antoine
Vinessa Lynn Antoine (born July 21, 1983) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Judith Winters in the CBC comedy-drama '' Being Erica'' (2009-2011), Jordan Ashford in the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' (2014-18), and ...
*Autry Haydon-Wilson
Episodes
Production
Development
On November 12, 2018, it was announced that
CBS All Access
Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...
had given the production a straight-to-series order for first season consisting of ten episodes. The series was created by Anders Weidemann and
John Mankiewicz
John Mankiewicz (born February 18, 1954) is an American television and film executive producer and screenwriter. He was co-executive producer for '' House of Cards'' and ''Bosch'', he co-created the television series ''The Street'' and has writt ...
who were also expected to executive produce alongside Henrik Bastin and Melissa Aouate. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Fabrik Entertainment and
CBS Television Studios
CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...
. While the series is based on a real-life criminal case, CBS All Access was not revealing the case in question at the time of the announcement. Furthermore, at that point, scripts for the series featured the real names of the people involved in the case, and it had not been decided yet whether they would be changed. At the time the events originally occurred, the case did not make national news but was reportedly well known to people living in the area where it happened.
On December 12, 2019, key art was released, revealing a February 6, 2020 premiere date. In February 2020, it was reported that the show was based on the case of
Bruce Lisker. On November 4, 2020, CBS All Access canceled the series after one season.
In January 2023, the series was removed from
Paramount+
Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Med ...
.
Casting
In January 2019, it was announced that
Peter Sarsgaard
John Peter Sarsgaard (; born March 7, 1971) is an American actor. His first feature role was in '' Dead Man Walking'' in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films '' Another Day in Paradise'' and ''Desert Blue''. That same year, Sarsg ...
and
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn (; born January 26, 1949) is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has often portrayed historical figures such as Edward R. Murrow, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William H. Seward, and John D ...
had been cast in starring roles. On February 7, 2019, it was reported that
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Kodi Smit-McPhee (born 13 June 1996) is an Australian actor. He gained recognition as a child actor for his leading roles in ''The Road'' (2009) and '' Let Me In'' (2010). In 2021, Smit-McPhee garnered critical acclaim for his performance as Pe ...
had joined the main cast. On March 11, 2019, it was announced that
Frank Whaley
Frank Joseph Whaley (born July 20, 1963) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and comedian. His roles include Brett in ''Pulp Fiction'', Robby Krieger in ''The Doors'', young Archie "Moonlight" Graham in '' Field of Dreams'', and Guy ...
had been cast in a recurring role. On March 28, 2019, it was reported that
Pat Healy Patrick Healy, Pat Healy, Patrick Healey or Pat Healey may refer to:
* Felix Healy (Patrick Joseph Healy, born 1955), former Northern Irish football player and manager
* Pat Healy (actor) (born 1971), American actor, writer, and director
* Pat H ...
,
Melinda McGraw
Melinda McGraw (born October 25, 1968) is an American actress. She has starred in movies such as ''The Dark Knight'' (2008), '' Wrongfully Accused'' (1998), and '' Skateland'' (2010), and is also known for her television performances on ''Mad Men ...
, and
Michael Harney
Michael John Harney is an American actor of film, television, and theater. He is best known for starring on the Netflix original series '' Orange Is the New Black'' as Corrections Officer Sam Healy. In 2019, he had a recurring role in the Apple ...
has been cast in recurring roles. On April 3, 2019, it was announced that
Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (born March 19, 1977) is an American actor best known for playing the role of David Lieberman in '' The Punisher'' and Desi Harperin in ''Girls''. Since 2022, Moss-Bachrach has played Richard "Richie" Jerimovich in the drama ...
had been cast in a recurring capacity. On April 8, 2019, it was reported that
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
His roles include Private Leonar ...
had been cast in a recurring role. On May 8, 2019, it was announced that
Vinessa Antoine
Vinessa Lynn Antoine (born July 21, 1983) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Judith Winters in the CBC comedy-drama '' Being Erica'' (2009-2011), Jordan Ashford in the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' (2014-18), and ...
had joined the cast in a recurring capacity.
Reception
The
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
reported a 57% approval rating for the series with an average rating of 6.21/10, based on 14 reviews. The website's critical consensus states, "Interrogation's "interactive" qualities are interesting, but ultimately get in the way of what could be a satisfying dramatic experience." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, it has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interrogation (TV series)
2020 American television series debuts
2020 American television series endings
2020s American crime drama television series
English-language television shows
True crime television series
Paramount+ original programming
Television series by CBS Studios
Interactive television