Well, blow me down — Line of Duty’s making a comeback. After keeping fans dangling like suspects in one of AC-12’s infamous interrogation rooms, Britain’s most-watched police drama is finally getting back on the beat. About bloody time, too.
Remember that 2021 finale? The one that pulled in a whopping 13.1 million viewers and left the nation more bewildered than Ted Hastings trying to understand modern slang? Yeah, that one. Since then, we’ve had nothing but rumors and speculation about whether our favorite bent copper hunters would return to our screens.
But here’s the kicker — after three years of scheduling gymnastics that would impress an Olympic coordinator, the dream team’s finally aligned their diaries. Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, and Adrian Dunbar are set to don their waistcoats and serious expressions once more, with filming kicking off in January 2024. Mother of God, indeed.
The show’s journey’s been quite something. Starting life on BBC Two back in 2012 with a modest 4.1 million viewers, it’s grown into the kind of phenomenon that makes other TV shows green with envy. By Series 6, it was pulling numbers that’d make a streaming executive spill their oat milk cappuccino — averaging 9.9 million viewers per episode.
Between seasons, our AC-12 trio haven’t exactly been twiddling their thumbs at the local nick. Compston’s been chasing different sorts of baddies in “Red Eye” and “The Rig,” McClure’s switched from catching corrupt cops to defusing bombs in “Trigger Point,” and Dunbar? Well, he’s been sharing screen time with Danny DeVito, of all people, in “A Sudden Case of Christmas.” Talk about range.
This revival’s timing feels particularly significant. In an age where most of us can’t even agree on what to watch for movie night, Line of Duty’s managed something remarkable — getting millions of Brits to park themselves in front of the telly at the same time, collectively shouting “bent coppers” at their screens. It’s proper old-school appointment viewing, that.
For those poor souls who’ve somehow missed out (and seriously, where’ve you been?), Line of Duty follows AC-12, an anti-corruption unit investigating dodgy police officers. Think less Dixon of Dock Green, more Shakespeare with warrant cards. And yes, there will be dramatic zoom-ins.
The numbers tell their own story. From Series 1’s 4.1 million viewers to Series 3’s 5.1 million, then Series 5’s 7.8 million, culminating in Series 6’s average of 9.9 million per episode — it’s the kind of growth that’d make a statistician weep with joy.
This return isn’t just about giving fans closure — it’s about legacy. When you’ve created the most-watched drama of the millennium (bar a random episode of Heartbeat back in ’01), you don’t want to be remembered for a finale that left viewers scratching their heads like they’d just sat through a particularly cryptic episode of Twin Peaks.
Until the new series hits our screens, newcomers can catch up on the labyrinthine plot through Tubi and PlutoTV (first four seasons) or dive into the complete series on BritBox. Word to the wise? Grab a notebook. And maybe some aspirin. You’ll need both.
Now we’re sucking diesel.
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