Thandiwe Newton in a police station in Line of Duty
By
Ben Sherlock
Published 3 minutes ago
Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.
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Every fan of crime dramas needs to check out the British TV masterpiece Line of Duty before its long-awaited seventh season finally comes to screens. There are certain TV crime dramas that everyone agrees are a must-watch. The Wire, The Sopranos, and Breaking Bad are frequently ranked as the greatest TV shows ever made, and they’re all crime stories.
But there are some underrated crime shows that deserve to be included on that list. The Shield’s frank depiction of Rampart-style police corruption made it one of the most groundbreaking cop shows ever made; The Night Of is a masterfully crafted murder mystery building to a shocking conclusion; and Line of Duty is the UK’s greatest crime procedural.
Line Of Duty Is A Critically Acclaimed But Underrated Police Procedural
A still from the crime drama Line of Duty
Line of Duty is one of the best police procedurals out there. It’s been widely praised by critics and it’s hugely popular in its native Britain (just about everyone I know is a massive fan), but it hasn’t broken out and found an international audience like Sherlock or Fleabag — and it deserves to be as big as those shows.
It revolves around Anti-Corruption Unit 12 (AC-12 for short), a team within a fictional police department whose job is “policing the police.” The series is noted for its intense interrogation scenes, which sometimes take up huge chunks of an episode. Line of Duty is essentially the UK’s answer to The Wire.
In six seasons, the only time the critical acclaim has faltered is when the show finally identified the mysterious “H,” which received mixed reviews. But it’s always tough for a TV series to wrap up a long-running mystery in a satisfying way. It’s a minor flaw to overlook in an otherwise flawless show. The first three seasons are perfect television.
One of the most interesting gimmicks in Line of Duty is that every season revolves around a different guest lead. The Walking Dead’s Lennie James got the series off to a strong start in season 1, and subsequent seasons have featured icons like Thandiwe Newton and Stephen Graham. The regular cast members are incredible, too, from Martin Compston to Vicky McClure.
Line Of Duty Has Finally Been Renewed For Season 7 After 4 Years
Mark Bonnar as DCC Mike Dryden in Line of Duty
Line of Duty hasn’t aired new episodes since season 6 ended in 2021, but there have been discussions of a seventh season. On November 18, the BBC finally confirmed that Line of Duty season 7, consisting of six episodes, is in the works for a possible 2026 release. So, it’s the perfect time to catch up on the first six seasons.
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Line of Duty
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