LINE OF DUTY by armen pandola
TV shows about the police have been a staple of American TV since Dragnet (Joe Friday's (Jack Webb) famous business-like catch phrase, “Just the facts, ma'am.”). As TV evolved from its greeting card screen size and dependence on antennae and commercials to 50"+ screens and see-it-when-you want streaming, police shows changed very little. There were a cast of police officer characters who, weekly, confronted a changing cast of criminals in the fight for justice. Some, like Kojak, attempted to tell more nuanced stories. There were crooked cops and good thieves and even some stories that rose to the heights of real tragedy - like the pilot for Kojak, The Marcus-Nelson Murders.
In our new era of world-wide TV on demand, we have discovered that the police drama is not an exclusively American product. From Sweden's Wallander to England's Prime Suspect, police drama has entered a new phase, making the plots, characters and seasons of these shows more like a 3-D puzzle than a simple 'just the facts, ma'am' drama where the good guys catch the bad guys just in time for the final commercial and a preview of next week's show.
Line of Duty is a British BBC television series created by Jed Mercurio (Bodyguard - not the movie but the British police political-thriller television series). It has become the most watched and most acclaimed British TV series about the police in the contemporary era.
Line of Duty follows D.S. Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), an authorized firearms officer (in England, police don't carry firearms but must receive extra training to become an AFO) who is transferred to an anti-corruption unit (AC-12) after refusing to cover-up an unlawful shooting. Arnott is partnered with D.C. Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure), an undercover officer (again, in England, police are specially trained for certain work, like undercover). They work under the supervision of Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar).
Throughout the series, AC-12 investigates various suspected corrupt cops. Each series is six episodes long (about 60 minutes each) Each series follows AC-12 as it hones in on one suspected officer - series one looks at D.C.I. Tony Gates (the excellent Lennie James) who has just been named police officer of the year, but things start to fall apart when he helps a former lover, Jackie Laverty (played by the versatile Gina Mckee) after she claims to have killed a dog while driving home from a party. She didn't stop because she already has a drunk driving conviction and a second would mean prison . Laverty reports her car as stolen and Gates helps cover up the incident by faking a break-in at her home. When it comes out that she not only hit a person, but her accountant, it is too late for Gates to put the toothpaste back in the tube - he must continue the cover-up as the situation spirals out of his control.
Each season is headed by a main 'guest' character. In season 2, D.I. Lindsay Denton (Keeley Hawes), the only survivor of an ambushed police escort of a witness who is about to squeal on organized crime, is an unlikely anti-corruption suspect. Season 3 looks at the web of lies and deaths that encase a group of child molesters and stars Daniel Mays as Sergeant Daniel Waldron. Season 4 stars Thandie Newton (Westworld) as D.C.I. Roseanne "Roz" Huntley. Now, the complications become more life-like as events from earlier seasons become part of the plot. Everything comes to a head in season 5 which starts Stephen Graham (The Irishman and Boardwalk Empire) as D.S. John Corbett and Rochenda Sandall as Lisa McQueen, two members of an organized crime mob that has the edge on the cops due to having an informer in the higher ups of the police.
And that is where all of this is heading - who is the rat in the police department?
As usual with British TV shows, the supporting cast is as good as the headliners and includes Craig Parkinson, Andrea Irvine and Polly Walker (Rome), each in vital roles that make this a truly ensemble cast of stars.
Do yourself a favor and take a covid-19 'nowhere to go' night to watch the first season and I guarantee that you will be back for the rest - and for more! Season 6 began production earlier this year, but had to suspend because of the pandemic. Word is that production will re-start at the end of the year.
HULU has only seasons 2 & 3 available while all 5 seasons of Line of Duty are available on ACORN TV. This is a show where you need to see all the seasons in turn to get the most out of the show's building drama of finding and apprehending 'bent coppers’ - and there is a free 7 day trial with ACORN TV which shows mostly British TV shows.