Accused (2023 TV series)

Accused is an American crime drama television series developed by Howard Gordon that is based on the 2010 British series of the same name, created by Jimmy McGovern. The series premiered on Fox on January 22, 2023. In March 2023, the series was renewed for a second season is set to premiere on October 1, 2024.

Premise
The series chronicles ordinary people, wherein each episode opens in a courtroom introducing the accused without knowing their crime or how they ended up on trial. The audience is then told the events that lead them there from the defendant's point of view.

Production
In May 2021, it was announced Fox had given a straight-to-series order to Accused produced by Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa and David Shore based on the 2010 BBC One series of the name. In November 2022, it was announced Accused would air as part of Fox's midseason schedule on January 22, 2023. In March 2023, Fox renewed the series for a second season. The second season is scheduled to premiere in October 1, 2024.

Ratings
The premiere episode had more than 11.3 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among the 18-49 demographic in the three days after its premiere on multi-platforms. It is the highest-rated and most-watched debut on Fox in 3 years.

Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 61% approval rating with an average rating of 7.3/10, based on 18 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "While Accused is yet another variation on a very familiar theme, its anthology structure offers enough flexibility and star power for some compelling courtroom stories." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 60 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Max Gao of The A.V. Club gave the series a B and said, "Offers a fresh take on the typical legal procedural." The Hollywood Reporter Angie Han wrote, "Without much insight to share, catharsis to offer or even a particularly interesting tone or style to grab us, Accused becomes just another so-so crime drama in an ocean teeming with them." Writing for The Wall Street Journal, John Anderson stated, "Accused may be out to provoke, but it scores more hits than misses. And its sins of indulgence are ultimately well-intended."