In a bustling south London pizza shop, manager Laurie takes an order for a large pizza with the ‘special topping’ over the phone.
Once it’s ready, the unassuming pizza box sits on the counter waiting to be delivered.
Mikey, one of dozens of delivery drivers, grabs it, his headphones still in. But it’s not his turn, Laurie says.
Abdullah is new, she says. He hasn’t had many deliveries yet tonight.
After he drops the pizza off to a woman with a crying baby on her hip, Abdullah is shot dead at point-blank range on the street. The silver coins in his hand scatter to the ground.
But why would anyone kill a pizza delivery guy?
It’s this question that forced me to binge the Netflix crime mini-series Collateral in just one afternoon.
Watch the Collateral trailer below. Post continues after video.
The British procedural crime drama follows Detective Kip Glaspie (Carey Mulligan), a pregnant and newly promoted detective as she works to find out the answer.
From the start, it never makes sense as a random murder. And it’s not.
Set in a post-Brexit London, once Kip and her team trace their victim back to Iraqi asylum seekers, the case becomes everyone’s problem from local police and government, MI5, national security and immigration enforcement.
And although you find out early on who-dunnit, the way this one event has a domino effect of collateral damage on the people within the community soon becomes the focus.
If you devoured shows like Homeland or Manhunt: Unabomber, you’ll finish Collateral just as quickly as I did and then wish it could go on forever.
Just four one-hour episodes long, this mini-series still manages to not only cover, but explore themes like illegal immigration, racial prejudice, human trafficking and systematic abuse, as well as the lives of several key characters.
We deep dive on new Netflix show The Sinner, from Jessica Biel’s acting to the major plot hole, on our pop culture podcast. Post continues after audio.
Rather than creating additional episodes to fill out a full season, Collateral is quick and dirty. It gets to the point and everything you see serves a purpose.
If anything, it could be longer. Not because the plot was rushed or skimmed over, but because you get a sense the characters have so many more stories they could tell.
Particularly Mulligan’s Kip, whose past as a pole vaulter who became a viral video is only brushed upon. And former Doctor Who star Billie Piper’s performance as the addict single mother who placed the fateful pizza order.
If you’re forever saying you don’t have enough time to get invested in a Netflix series, commit to Collateral. Even if it takes you a week or two to finish, it won’t be time wasted.
You can watch all four episodes of Collateral on Netflix now.
Have you watched Collateral? Did you enjoy it, or do you have crime show fatigue?