Line of Duty


Line of Duty is a British BBC police procedural television series created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions. The first series premiered on 26 June 2012 and became BBC Two's best-performing drama series in ten years with a consolidated audience of 4.1 million viewers. The second series broadcast began on 12 February 2014; its widespread public and critical acclaim led to the BBC commissioning a further two series. The third series broadcast began on 24 March 2016, and the fourth on 26 March 2017 on BBC One. The fifth series was completed at the end of 2018 and broadcast began on BBC One on 31 March 2019. In May 2017, the BBC commissioned a sixth series. COVID-19 has caused filming to cease.
It is the most popular drama series broadcast on BBC Two in the multi-channel era and is a winner of the Royal Television Society Award and Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Drama Series. Line of Duty was included in a list of the Top 50 BBC Two shows of all-time and in a list of the 80 best BBC shows of all time. It ranked eighth in The Independent's list of the twenty greatest police shows of all time and third in a Radio Times poll of the best British crime dramas of all time.

Synopsis

Line of Duty follows D.S. Steve Arnott, an authorised firearms officer, transferred to Anti-Corruption Unit 12 after refusing to agree to cover-up an unlawful shooting by his own team. At AC-12 Arnott is partnered with D.C. Kate Fleming, a highly-commended undercover officer with a keen investigative instinct. She is swiftly promoted to D.S. in series 4 and D.I. in series 5. They work under the supervision of Superintendent Ted Hastings, who is one of several Senior Investigating Officers responsible for uncovering corruption within the police force. Throughout the series, AC-12 investigate seemingly disparate cases involving seemingly-corrupt police officers such as D.C.I. Tony Gates, D.I. Lindsay Denton, Sergeant Danny Waldron, D.C.I. Roseanne Huntley and undercover officer D.S. John Corbett. AC-12 realise the pervasive nature of corruption and the police's deep-rooted links to an organised crime group.

Cast

Production

Line of Duty was created and written by Jed Mercurio. The first two series were produced by World Productions, on behalf of BBC Two. David Caffrey and Douglas Mackinnon directed series one. Mackinnon directed the first three episodes of series two and Daniel Nettheim directed the remaining three episodes. Mercurio produced series one and acted as executive producer for series two, with Peter Norris taking over as producer for series two.

Inspiration

Although the police refused to co-operate with the programme's producers, the production team was advised anonymously by serving officers and by retired police officers. Use was made of anonymous police blogs.

Locations

Series one was filmed in Birmingham, including pub interiors in the Queen's Arms. Series two, three, four and five were made in Northern Ireland by BBC Northern Ireland. The exact location is never mentioned, although maps of Birmingham appear on walls and telephone numbers use an 0121 area code, again indicating Birmingham. The fictional 01632 phone code is also seen. Various postcodes seen on paper and screen have the Birmingham 'B' or Milton Keynes 'MK' prefix. The police forces referred to are the fictional Central Constabulary and the fictional East Midlands Constabulary. A photo gallery of exterior scenes from series two shows the 4th Street Station on Ormeau Avenue in Belfast.

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryNomineeResult
20122012 Royal Television Society AwardsActor Lennie James
20122012 Royal Television Society AwardsDrama SeriesLine of Duty 1
20122012 Royal Television Society AwardsWriter – DramaJed Mercurio
20122012 Royal Television Society Midlands AwardsBest Drama/Fictional ProgrammeLine of Duty 1
20122012 Royal Television Society Midlands AwardsBest Acting Performance Lennie James
20122012 Royal Television Society Midlands AwardsBest Acting NewcomerGregory Piper
20122012 Crime Thriller AwardsThe TV DaggerLine of Duty 1
20132013 Broadcast AwardsBest Drama Series or SerialLine of Duty 1
20132013 South Bank Sky Arts AwardsTV DramaLine of Duty 1
2013Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest TV DramaLine of Duty 1
20142014 Freesat AwardsBest TV DramaLine of Duty 2
20142014 Crime Thriller AwardsThe TV DaggerLine of Duty 2
20142014 Crime Thriller AwardsBest Actress DaggerKeeley Hawes
20142014 Crime Thriller AwardsBest Supporting Actress DaggerVicky McClure
2014BAFTA ScotlandBest Actor – TelevisionMark Bonnar
20142014 Royal Television Society Craft & Design AwardsBest Editing – DramaAndrew McClelland
2015Writers' Guild of Great BritainTV Drama – Long FormJed Mercurio
20152015 Broadcast AwardsBest Drama Series or SerialLine of Duty 2
20152015 Broadcast AwardsInternational Programme SalesLine of Duty 2
2015Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest Drama SeriesLine of Duty 2
2015Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest Drama WriterJed Mercurio
20152015 Royal Television Society AwardsBest Drama SeriesLine of Duty 2
2015BAFTA Television Craft AwardsWriter - DramaJed Mercurio
2015BAFTA Television AwardsLeading ActressKeeley Hawes
2015BAFTA Television AwardsSupporting ActressVicky McClure
2015BAFTA Television AwardsDrama SeriesLine of Duty 2
20152015 South Bank Sky Arts AwardsTV DramaLine of Duty 2
2015Royal Television Society Northern Ireland AwardsBest DramaLine of Duty 2
2016TV Choice AwardsBest Drama SeriesLine of Duty 3
2016BAFTA ScotlandBest Director – TelevisionMichael Keillor
2016Royal Television Society Northern IrelandBest DramaLine of Duty 3
2017Broadcast AwardsBest Drama Series or SerialLine of Duty 3
2017Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest TV Drama SeriesLine of Duty 3
2017Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest ActressKeeley Hawes
20172017 Royal Television Society AwardsDrama SeriesLine of Duty 3
20172017 Royal Television Society AwardsWriter – DramaJed Mercurio
2017BAFTA Television AwardsSupporting ActorDaniel Mays
2017BAFTA Television AwardsVirgin TV's Must-See MomentUrgent Exit Required
2017Celtic Media FestivalBest Drama SeriesLine of Duty 3
2017Diversity in Media AwardsTV Programme of the YearLine of Duty 3
2017Diversity in Media AwardsTV Moment of the YearUrgent Exit Required
2017Diversity in Media AwardsTV Moment of the YearDCI Roz Huntley Interview
2017TV Choice AwardsBest DramaLine of Duty 4
2017British Screenwriters' AwardsBest Crime Writing on TelevisionJed Mercurio
2017Royal Television Society Northern IrelandBest DramaLine of Duty 4
2018Writers' Guild of Great BritainTV Drama – Long FormJed Mercurio
2018National Television AwardsCrime DramaLine of Duty 4
2018Irish Film and Television AcademyDramaLine of Duty 4
2018Irish Film and Television AcademyActor in a Leading Role - DramaAdrian Dunbar
2018Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest Drama SeriesLine of Duty 4
2018Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest ActressThandie Newton
2018Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsWriter's AwardJed Mercurio
2018Royal Television SocietyActor Thandie Newton
2018Voice of the Listener & Viewer Awards for Excellence in BroadcastingBest TV Drama ProgrammeLine of Duty 4
2018BAFTA Television Craft AwardsEditing: FictionAndrew McClelland
2018BAFTA Television AwardsLeading ActressThandie Newton
2018BAFTA Television AwardsSupporting ActorAdrian Dunbar
2018BAFTA Television AwardsDrama SeriesLine of Duty 4
2018BAFTA Television AwardsVirgin TV's Must-See MomentHuntley's Narrow Escape
2018Televisual Bulldog AwardsBest Drama SeriesLine of Duty 4
2018South Bank Sky Arts AwardsTV DramaLine of Duty 4
2018Edinburgh TV AwardsBest UK DramaLine of Duty 4

Home media

Home media releases

Kew Media handles international distribution of the series.

Online

;iTunes releases for Line of Duty
;Blinkbox releases for Line of Duty
;BBC Store releases for Line of Duty

DVD

releases for Line of Duty

Blu-ray

releases for Line of Duty

United States release

In the United States, the first series was released on Hulu in August 2012 as an exclusive series, until Acorn TV picked up the streaming rights for its platform in 2018, which included the existing series and exclusive access to series five and later additions. The first three series began airing on AMC starting 4 April 2020.