Philly D.A.

The Philadelphia District Attorney at the heart of this ​​Independent Lens docuseries is Larry Krasner. Elected to his role in 2017, the criminal justice reform-minded lawyer approached his role as a chance to rethink how the city of Philadelphia understood criminality. Tracking both his election and his first term in office, Philly D.A. offers a window into the internecine ways of local politics. As Krasner ushers in a new era in the D.A office, facing blowback both from career staffers and local officials (including the increasingly combative police department), Krasner’s story becomes emblematic of the challenges those intent on restructuring a broken system face. A study in local politics and the ways in which ideals and practicality clash on a daily basis, the series makes bureaucratic problems feel wholly engrossing, whether dealing with issues of prison abolition, police reform, or the decriminalization of sex work. At every turn, the hopeful rhetoric of Krasner-as-candidate comes face-to-face with the reality of a necessarily more pragmatic approach. For crafting a thrilling series that’s both broad and intimate about a man and a movement, capturing what happens when incrementalists meet their match in Big Idea thinkers who want to be doers, Philly D.A. wins a Peabody Award.