Line Of Duty Season 2 Episode 1
Chrystal Dueno
At the risk of sounding like an interrogation, I ask: where were you on 26th June 2012? I was celebrating my 15th birthday by doing not very much at all (it was a school night), yet the idea of dedicating an hour to a gritty cop drama seemed unfathomably grown-up. As such, Line of Duty's big launch completely passed me by and when the show became a national institution with its move to BBC One in 2017, I felt I had definitively missed the boat.
Fortunately, an organic opportunity to jump onboard has just arrived, as BBC One prepares to repeat the first series starting from tonight (Monday 3rd August). It's finally time to learn the story of those three stern police officials, who angrily glare at me in every promo photo for this show. It's the kind of resentful look you might fire at a noisy group of people in the cinema, although the team at AC-12 keep it bottled up for crooked cops.
It's not hard to see why Line of Duty quickly garnered attention. The series kicks off with an intense police raid that goes horrifyingly wrong, establishing an aversion to skirting the issues and a tendency to shock from the very beginning. After that botched operation, a \"snot-nosed\" DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) gets transferred to Anti-Corruption Unit 12, working under hardened Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), who has a tough reputation and an attitude to match.
The target? Detective Chief Inspector Antony Gates (Lennie James), an officer celebrated among peers for his exceptionally high crime figures, but suspected by AC-12 of using dodgy tactics to fudge the numbers. One thing I had wondered about Line of Duty is just how overtly villainous the questionable officer is in each series. So far, James is walking the tightrope well as our arrogant \"officer of the year\".
His glory-chasing tactics and nasty elitist comments are certainly condemnable, while his decision to help mistress Jackie (Gina McKee), who is clearly a danger to the public, can only end in disaster. That said, there's no denying that he's done some good, racing to defend a mother and her newborn from armed attackers in a scene of genuine heroism. It's unclear whether his dubious actions torture him for their immorality or merely the risk they pose to his personal livelihood, but at present he appears neither evil nor irredeemable.
It's hard to predict how his story will progress in the episodes to come, as Line of Duty has already peppered some surprising reveals throughout its first chapter. A couple have proved worrying enough to provoke a little twinge in the chest region that leaves you wanting for more. Unlike the saps watching in 2012, we don't have to wait a week for answers. BBC One has lined up episode two for tomorrow night, with the option to binge far ahead via iPlayer.
Any lingering reservations? Well, I wonder just how endearing the team at AC-12 can realistically hope to be. So far, their first impression in the aforementioned photo shoot has been more or less accurate. There's little indication of who these people are outside of their seemingly all-encompassing jobs, best exemplified in a particularly dour exchange between Martin Compston and Vicky McClure on one bleak London night. Will I grow to care for these no-nonsense individuals? Only time will tell.
Nevertheless, this is an undoubtedly strong opener that has aged well and should have no trouble winning over new fans. Its unflinching look at police corruption only seems more timely in today's climate and the twists in this episode alone have me strapped in for more. Here's hoping I don't stumble upon any eight-year-old spoilers.
Line of Duty is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and Netflix. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best TV series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide.
It's not hard to see why Line of Duty quickly garnered attention. The series kicks off with an intense police raid that goes horrifyingly wrong, establishing an aversion to skirting the issues and a tendency to shock from the very beginning. After that botched operation, a "snot-nosed" DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) gets transferred to Anti-Corruption Unit 12, working under hardened Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), who has a tough reputation and an attitude to match.
The target? Detective Chief Inspector Antony Gates (Lennie James), an officer celebrated among peers for his exceptionally high crime figures, but suspected by AC-12 of using dodgy tactics to fudge the numbers. One thing I had wondered about Line of Duty is just how overtly villainous the questionable officer is in each series. So far, James is walking the tightrope well as our arrogant "officer of the year".
But given Line of Duty's status as one of the BBC's most popular shows of all time, and our inability to just let things die, talk immediately rumbled on about future seasons, with no one from the show's team quite able to shut down the possibility. And now, over a year on, the wheels are finally turning on an actual seventh outing for our beloved bent-copper-sniffer-outers with multiple members of the cast giving their two cents on how a new series could shape up.
We know that Mercurio, Adrian Dunbar, Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Line of Duty producer Simon Heath got together for dinner not long ago, where they likely discussed the show's next moves. We also know that the BBC were never gonna just let this show end, given its wild fanbase, if the cast and crew did indeed want to get back in the saddle.
Would one last outing for Line of Duty really undo the damage done at the tail end of seasons five and six? It's hard to imagine, what with all the shonky plotlines embedded into the fabric of the show now. But in truth, we'd be pretty happy to see one of the most exhilarating and unifying dramas on TV (12.8m viewers watched the finale on BBC1 in May 2021) come back for one final swing at greatness. Just do the right thing Jed, and kill off one of AC-12 once and for all. Put little Steve Arnott out of his misery.
WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE LATEST EPISODE OF LINE OF DUTY, SEASON SIX, EPISODE SEVEN, AS WELL AS PREVIOUS SEASONS. DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Boyle said: "We'd had the first four scripts and started filming some of series six when we had to stop due to the first lockdown. When we were about to resume filming, Jed sent me a text saying, 'Are you free for a chat at some point today? Don't worry it's not that call...'
"He called me and said, 'The scripts for the next episodes are going to be sent out imminently and so it's time to tell you the secret that I've been keeping, you're going to be revealed as someone rather significant..."
An average of 12.8 million people watched as Buckells was unveiled as "the fourth man" - an individual commanding a network of corrupt officers behind the murder of journalist Gail Vella - during the season six finale.
On finding out his true identify, Boyle said: "I was buzzing with excitement! I never suspected it because I know how Jed leads people down the garden path with really good red herrings, so I didn't really pay too much attention to things like Buckells' golf clubs etc, but clearly I should have done!
7fc3f7cf58