Line of Duty

Line of Duty
Genre	British police drama crime Detective fiction thriller
Created by	Jed Mercurio
Written by	Jed Mercurio
Directed by	David Caffrey Douglas Mackinnon Daniel Nettheim Michael Keillor John Strickland
Starring	Martin Compston Vicky McClure Adrian Dunbar Craig Parkinson Keeley Hawes Neil Morrisey
Theme music composer	Carly Paradis
Ending theme	"Line Of Duty End Theme"
Composer(s)	Carly Paradis
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	17 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Stephen Wright (BBC) Simon Heath (World Productions) Jed Mercurio (Series 2–3)
Producer(s)	Jed Mercurio (Series 1) Peter Norris (Series 2–3)
Location(s)	Birmingham (Series 1) Belfast (Series 2–3)
Cinematography	Ruairi O'Brien(Series 1–2) Peter Robertson(Series 3)
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	World Productions
Distributor	Content Media
Release
Original network	BBC Two (2012-16) BBC One (2017–)
Picture format	16:9 1080i
Audio format	Dolby Digital
Original release	26 June 2012 (2012-06-26) – present
External links
BBC Two website
Production website

Line of Duty is a British police procedural television series created by Jed Mercurio that premiered on 26 June 2012. It is the most popular drama series broadcast on BBC Two in the multichannel era^[1] and is a winner of the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series.^[2] Line of Duty was included in a list of the Top 50 BBC Two shows of all-time,^[3] in a list of the 80 best BBC shows of all time^[4] and was the highest ranked current series in a list of the best cop shows of all time.^[5]

The first series was BBC Two's best-performing drama series in 10 years, with a consolidated audience of 4.1 million viewers.^[6] The drama was recommissioned for a second series and the first episode was broadcast on 12 February 2014.^[7] The second series achieved widespread public and critical acclaim,^[8] and on 8 April 2014, the BBC commissioned two more series.^[9]

In an interview on 28 April 2016, creator Jed Mercurio said that a fourth series would begin filming in the autumn and that "it will be delivered for 2017".^[10]

In the United States, the first series was aired on Hulu in August 2012 as an exclusive series.^[11]

Main cast and characters

• Martin Compston as Steve Arnott (17 episodes); Arnott is a Detective Sergeant assigned to AC-12, one of twelve anti-corruption units that operate within the West Midlands Police Force. Steve Arnott first appeared as an anti-terrorism officer who refused to collude with his fellow colleagues following the shooting death of an innocent man. During series three, Arnott is accused of being a gangland informant known as The Caddy, framed for the murder of DI Lindsay Denton, and is later arrested. He is cleared of all charges.
• Vicky McClure as Kate Fleming (17 episodes); Fleming is a Detective Constable and an undercover specialist. A consummate professional, Kate is willing to investigate officers both within, and outside of, AC-12. In series two, Kate begins investigating DI Lindsay Denton. She is promoted to Sergeant at the end of series three. Kate has children, though her ex-husband retains custody.
• Adrian Dunbar as Ted Hastings (17 episodes); Hastings, a police Superintendent, is the Senior Investigating Officer of AC-12. He personally recruited Arnott, Fleming, and Cottan, and has a black-and-white view of the law. In series three, it is revealed that Hastings is a Mason, which causes both Arnott and Fleming to doubt his commitment to AC-12.
• Craig Parkinson as Matthew "Dot" Cottan (15 episodes); Cottan first appears as a Sergeant working with DCI Tony Gates. Promoted to Inspector and recruited to AC-12 at the end of series two. It is revealed that Cottan is the corrupt officer known as The Caddy. He murders Lindsay Denton and is shot dead later.
• Keeley Hawes as Lindsay Denton (11 episodes); Denton is a Detective Inspector. The sole survivor of the ambush of a witness protection convoy, Denton is accused of being complicit in the murders of her fellow officers, and is arrested and charged shortly thereafter. In series three, Denton is granted an appeal trial, and is acquitted on the basis of an improper sexual relationship with Arnott. After refusing to accept a bribe, she is murdered by DI Matthew Cottan. Prior to her death, Lindsay discovered crucial evidence pertaining to the Danny Waldron murder investigation and historic child sex abuse.
• Neil Morrissey as Nigel Morton (9 episodes); Morton is a Detective Constable originally assigned to Tony Gates' team, working alongside DI Matthew Cottan. In series two and three he is seen infrequently before retiring on full pension and disability benefits.

Supporting cast and characters

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Production

Series one and two were created and written by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions, on behalf of BBC Two. David Caffrey and Douglas Mackinnon directed series one. Mackinnon was retained as Director for series two's first three episodes, whilst Daniel Nettheim directed series two's last 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

The police refused to co-operate with the programme's producers. Consequently, the production team was advised both by retired police officers and anonymously by serving officers; production also made use of anonymous police blogs.^[12]

Locations

Series one was filmed in Birmingham (including pub interiors in the Queens Arms)^[13] and series two and three in Belfast by BBC Northern Ireland, per the end credits, though the city is not identified in the script in either series – set dressings and props indicate that the unnamed city is Birmingham (maps of Birmingham appear on walls, and telephone numbers use an 0121 area code). A photo gallery of exterior scenes from series two shows the 4th Street Station on Ormeau Avenue in Belfast.^[14]

Series overview

Episodes

Awards and nominations

Censure by Ofcom

Following the complaint of one viewer, the media regulator Ofcom found the BBC guilty of a "serious lapse" in its duty of care for a 13-year-old actor, Gregory Piper, who had appeared in scenes which were "of a particularly violent nature and included sexually explicit language" by breaching broadcasting rules requiring that "due care must be taken over the physical and emotional welfare and the dignity of people under 18".^[15] In its full report, Ofcom cited the programme's failure to involve an independent expert, such as a child psychiatrist, to determine the actor's intellectual and emotional capacity to participate in the controversial scenes; however, the regulator found that there was no actual harm, distress or anxiety caused to the child actor.^[16]

Home media releases

Online

iTunes releases for Line of Duty

Blinkbox releases for Line of Duty

BBC Store releases for Line of Duty

DVD

DVD releases for Line of Duty

References

External links

• Line of Duty at BBC Programmes
  
• Line of Duty at Hulu
• Line of Duty at the Internet Movie Database