Critical Incident’s series creator and writer Sarah Bassiuoni wants viewers to know that the new Stan original series is “not a cop show, not an organised crime show, but a drama about when things go wrong on the job.”
Filmed in Blacktown, Granville, Parramatta, and Greenacre, Critical Incident depicts life in the Western suburbs of Sydney and delves into the complex world of policing and the consequences on those most vulnerable.
Bassiuoni told Mediaweek that as a writer, the setting is “always a character and if you can’t make it a character, you might as well shoot it in a studio.”
“As someone who used to work as a civil litigation lawyer who specialised in police issues, Western Sydney is the epicentre of a lot of the issues and cases I dealt with, so in our show, it’s its own character,” she said.
“A lot of the cases I dealt with really touched my soul, so when I switched careers, I had to figure out how to make an entertaining story that deals with the issues that I’m passionate about, and I hope that’s what we’ve done with Critical Incident.”
Critical Incident follows Senior Constable Zilficar ‘Zil’ Ahmed, who, while on patrol for a teenage suspect, pursues Dalia, and in the chaos of the pursuit, a bystander is critically injured. Zil then discovers that Dalia was, in fact, not the perpetrator he was looking for.
The guilt over the bystander’s injuries, coupled with the pressure of the critical incident investigation and the public scrutiny, creates an unbearable burden for Zil.
Encouraged by his colleagues in blue, Zil becomes obsessed with pinning something on Dalia.
Executive producer at Matchbox Pictures Sheila Jayadev also has a background in law, and told Mediaweek she has first-hand experience of the interaction of young people with the police.
“I’ve been trying to make a series that drew on the stories that I saw unfolding in the children’s court day to day,” she said.
“[And] finally, this was the opportunity to do that with a creator who has deep, first-hand experience and knowledge of when things go really bad, what happens, and also holding police to account.”
The team wants to evoke a lot of questions for viewers in the new series, but at the same time, they don’t want the show to provide all the answers necessarily.
“I think people can draw their own conclusions, and we try not to come down on any of our characters with judgement,” Jayadev said.
“We set out to create a really thrilling and engaging piece of entertainment, but we also want to provoke conversations and discussion with audiences about the big issues presented in the series,” Bassiuoni added.
“What is the stake of the relationships between police and vulnerable, young, people of colour? How do we begin to tackle the systemic issues that we’re facing globally?
“If those questions are provoked, then I think we’ve achieved something that not only entertains but has the power to potentially not make change overnight but at least start that conversation.”
Critical Incident is streaming now on Stan.