Criminal Code

Criminal Code is a Gordican police procedural and legal drama television series set in Sangpei, Bohamo depicting the inner workings of fictionalized version of the Major Crimes Division of the Sangpei Police Department (SPD) and the Sangpei Public Attorney Office (SPAO). The series was created by Kenton Fong and is produced by NBT Entertainment. It premiered on NBT on July 6, 2005 and has since run for 19 seasons and surpassed 300 episodes, making it the longest-running scripted series on Gordican television.

Most episodes open with the SPD's investigation into the crime, while the remainder of the episode is about the prosecution of the defendant by the SCPAO. Criminal Code is noted by critics for its unflattering depiction of Gordican society, thoroughly exploring and commenting on, , , and , among other topics. The series' mature depictions of these issues and its unflinching violence caused controversy in Gordica.

Gordon Huang led the cast as Detective Richard Cheng until he left the show after ten seasons, and Serena Chong has since starred as Captain (originally Detective) Lorene Hong. She is the longest-staying main cast member, only slightly ahead of Shane Ferrera as Drake Lopez, who first appeared as a recurring character in season 1 and has been a main character since season 2. Other long-term members of the main cast include Santiago Quiambao (Det. David Galang, seasons 1–13), Winona Kong (Det. Janice Yang, season 7–present), Joanna Hang (Det. Cassie Thai, seasons 6–18), and Damian Gomez (Capt. Arturo Dizon, seasons 1–14).

Among the most watched Gordican scripted television shows of all time, Criminal Code has drawn in high ratings since its 2005 premiere, with episodic viewer numbers peaking as high as 30 million. It won the GTPO Award for Best Scripted Program three times during the 2010s, and Chong won Best Actress twice in 2008 and 2023, respectively. The series is widely regarded as one of the most popular Gordican television shows of all time.

Development
Criminal Code was created by Kenton Fong. Fong conceived the show in 2002 while on the writing staff of the Three Network crime drama series Medicine Club. He noticed that many Gordican television series revolve around either the police or the attorney's office, but not both at the same time. He wanted the genres to "merge", thus forming "a supershow of sorts". He also wanted it to "get down to Earth" and show "the dark side of Gordica".

After Medicine Club was cancelled by Three Network, Fong pitched a "hybrid" police procedural and legal drama series to the network under the title High Crimes. Miguel Wong, the President of Entertainment at Three, said it was a good idea in his personal opinion, but he was unsure if viewers could handle the "disturbing" subject matter. The show was then pitched to NBT as Criminal Code in the 2004, which asked for Fong to produce a pilot episode for the network. The pilot, "Exposed", was filmed in early 2004, after which Wong and Senior Vice President Lorenzo Zhuang were both very pleased. The network ordered a 20-episode first season.

Filming
Criminal Code is mostly shot in Sangpei and Shuichang, Bohamo. Fong originally wanted the entire show to be filmed in Bohamo, but it was proven to be expensive. Scenes set in the police station, attorney's office, courtroom, and other indoor locations are filmed at the Shuichang Beach Studios. The crew also recorded some scenes in Shabai, but it stopped filming there in 2020 because of Governor Fernando Kwan's suspension of film and television tax credits that year.

The house used as Richard Cheng's residence is located at 4688 Avenue 48 West, Kagubatan, Shabai. The house used as Lorene Hong's home is located at 3734 Avenue 87 East, Tepisungai, Bohamo.