Jed Mercurio’s police drama is getting a comeback – which gives it the chance to be TV’s greatest cop show once more. Here’s what it needs to do
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other of God, fella, they’re back at last. In a rare piece of good news for the beleaguered BBC, blockbuster drama Line of Duty is to return for a long-awaited seventh series. So long-awaited, in fact, that many fans feared it would never happen. Luckily, the police still need policing. Even the fictional Central police force.
The last run of creator Jed Mercurio’s corrupt cop thriller was the top-rated TV drama (excluding soaps) since modern records began in 2002, pulling in an average of 16 million viewers and a whopping 17 million for the finale over 28 days. The show’s three stars will now reprise their roles in a six-part comeback that begins filming in Belfast next spring.
As we return, anti-corruption unit AC-12 has been disbanded, rebranded as the Inspectorate of Police Standards. The dream team of Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) are assigned “their most sensitive case so far”.
