--- name: "Paul Rutman" canonical: "https://film.one/person/paul-rutman" fi1m_id: "paul-rutman" imdb_id: "nm0752107" tmdb_id: 1463191 wikidata_id: "Q23771257" roles: ["Writer","Producer"] born: "1 January 1901" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 76 average_as: "writer" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-10-07T14:21:54.542723+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Paul Rutman ## Identity Paul Rutman - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/paul-rutman - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** paul-rutman - **IMDb ID:** nm0752107 - **TMDB ID:** 1463191 - **Wikidata ID:** Q23771257 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rutman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23771257, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0752107/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1463191 Writer and producer. Born 1 January 1901. ## Details - **Work:** Writer, Producer - **Born:** 1 January 1901 - **Active:** 2006–present - **Titles on Fi1m:** 3: 2 writing, 1 producing - **Frequently works with:** [Cush Jumbo](https://film.one/person/cush-jumbo.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as writer, over 2 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 78 (1), 2010s 72 (1), 2020s 81 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rutman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23771257, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0752107/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1463191 ## Streaming the US now - **Apple TV:** [*Criminal Record*](https://film.one/tv/criminal-record.md) (81), [*Vera*](https://film.one/tv/vera.md) (72) - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Virgin Queen*](https://film.one/tv/the-virgin-queen.md) (78) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Paul Rutman > Paul Rutman’s crime writing is strongest when an investigation exposes the detectives’ own assumptions. We recommend *Criminal Record* for its uneasy encounters, while *Vera* reminds us that even good company needs a persuasive case. In *Criminal Record* (2024), race and gender affect how detectives treat each other and how much confidence we have in the people investigating the crime. Lenker offers some reassurance, but the writing is careful about how far that should go. We found Hegarty unsettling, because Peter Capaldi makes him compelling without settling our doubts about him. The series is strongest when those doubts extend to the police organisation, giving us something to consider beyond the trustworthiness of the officer immediately in front of us. Rutman wrote for established crime programmes including *Inspector Lewis* (2008–2009) and *Vera* (2011–2014). Creating *Indian Summers* (2015–2016) took him into historical drama, before the thriller *Next of Kin* (2018). With *Criminal Record*, he returned to detectives, this time as the series’ creator. We find his writing particularly persuasive here because institutional racism affects our judgement of the officers and their dealings with each other, rather than being a subject the programme raises and then sets aside. Our reservations about *Vera* (2011) are more straightforward. Brenda Blethyn’s awkward detective is company worth keeping, but the investigations can drag, and the opening murder story demands more belief than its plotting earns. That is a reservation about the programme, not a charge we can lay at Rutman’s door: Gaby Chiappe is also among the credited writers, and the credits do not tell us who made each decision. We recommend it for Blethyn, with patience for the cases and some frustration that the supporting cast gets too little to do. The praise needs sharing on *Criminal Record*, too: Thomas Eccleshare, Natasha Narayan and Ameir Brown are credited alongside Rutman as writers. Capaldi and Cush Jumbo make the central contest tense enough to hold our attention even when secondary stories weaken the pressure, and the writing gives their characters reasons to remain difficult to assess. For an introduction to Rutman, start there, allowing for the detours. ## Biography Paul Rutman is a British television writer and producer. He created and wrote the historical drama series *Indian Summers* (2015–2016) and the crime thriller *Criminal Record* (2024), the latter starring Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo. Rutman has written multiple episodes of the ITV crime series *Vera* (2011–2014) and contributed scripts to *Agatha Christie's Marple* (2009–2010), *Inspector Lewis* (2008–2009), *New Tricks* (2008) and other series. He co-created the ITV drama *Next of Kin* (2018). He has received BAFTA TV Award nominations, including for the serial *Five Days* (2007). *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.* ## On Fi1m (3) ### Wrote (2) — the average rests on these - *Criminal Record* (2024), Fi1m 81, Creator, Executive Producer, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/criminal-record.md) - *Vera* (2011), Fi1m 72, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/vera.md) ### Produced (1) - *The Virgin Queen* (2006), Fi1m 78, Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-virgin-queen.md) ## Complete filmography (11) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Criminal Record* (2024), series, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/criminal-record.md) - *Next of Kin* (2018), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator - *Indian Summers* (2015), series, Director, Executive Producer - *Vera* (2011), series, Writer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/vera.md) - *The Deep* (2010), series, Writer - *Lewis* (2007), series, Screenplay - *The Virgin Queen* (2006), series, Producer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-virgin-queen.md) - *Mr Harvey Lights a Candle* (2005), Producer - *Agatha Christie's Marple* (2004), series, Writer - *New Tricks* (2004), series, Writer - *The Secret* (2002), series, Producer --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/paul-rutman