Line of Duty

Jed Mercurio created Line of Duty.

Series creator and producer Jed Mercurio stated that he wanted to create something different to other programmes, and viewed the series as a "revisionist commentary on 21st-century policing".[15] The series is produced by World Productions.[16] Mercurio originally pitched it to BBC One, which turned him down, believing it too "problematic for mainstream audiences", and directed him toward BBC Two.[17] A second series was commissioned by the BBC on 25 July 2012.[18] Mercurio became an executive producer from the second series onwards, alongside Simon Heath for World Productions and Stephen Wright for BBC Northern Ireland.[19] A third and fourth series were commissioned in April 2014,[20] followed by a fifth in May 2016.[21] At the time of the fifth series renewal, it was announced that future editions of the programme, including the fourth, would move from BBC Two to BBC One.[22][23] This decision came after the series’s high viewing figures and a restructuring of the networks.[24] Five days after broadcast transmission concluded on the fifth, Line of Duty was commissioned for a sixth series.[25]

Martin Compston

Vicky McClure

Adrian Dunbar

Compston, McClure, and Dunbar are the only cast members to appear in all six series.

Leading the main cast across the six series are Martin Compston and Vicky McClure, who portrayed Steve Arnott and Kate Fleming respectively, two officers in AC-12.[26] Adrian Dunbar also appeared in the first series in a supporting role as Ted Hastings, and was promoted to the main cast beginning with the second series.[27] Each series features an additional actor as part of the main cast who portrays a police officer who is being investigated by AC-12.[28] These roles were performed by Lennie James in series one,[29] Keely Hawes in series two,[30] Daniel Mays in the third series,[31] Thandie Newton in series four,[32] Stephen Graham in series five,[33] and Kelly Macdonald in the sixth and final series.[34] Craig Parkinson also held a supporting role in the first series and joined the main cast for the second and third.[35][36][37] Parkinson originally auditioned for the role of Arnott but ultimately portrayed Matthew Cottan.[38] Mercurio also decided to bring Hawes back for the third series as a result of her character’s positive reception, and made changes to the script.[39] Mercurio killed off both Parkinson's and Hawes's characters at the conclusion of the third series.[39] Despite this, Parkinson filmed new footage for flashback scenes in the fourth and fifth series.[40] Jessica Raine and Jason Watkins each appeared briefly in the second and fourth series, respectively, and were both credited within the main cast.[41][42] Anna Maxwell Martin was also featured as part of the starring cast in the fifth and sixth series, but only appeared in the latter portion of each series.[43]

The Invest NI headquarters in Belfast depicts AC-12's headquarters.

Principal photography for the first series began in August 2011.[44] Five hour-long episodes were directed by David Caffrey and Douglas Mackinnon.[35] It was filmed over 11 weeks in Birmingham and utilised two cameras.[45] The setting was later changed to the Midlands on the advice of the BBC.[46] For the second series, filming moved to Belfast and began in mid-2013.[47] The six episodes were split into two filming blocks with Mackinnon returning to direct the first block of episodes and Daniel Nettheim directing the second.[48] The headquarters of Invest Northern Ireland doubled as Anti-Corruption Unit 12's office building while the exterior of Belfast Central Library served as the police headquarters‘ facade.[49] Filming for the third series began in March 2015.[50][51] Michael Kellior directed the first three episodes while John Strickland directed the final three.[52] Locations included BT Riverside Tower, McHugh's Bar and Belfast City Hall.[53] Fourth series filming took place from 29 August to 16 December 2016.[54] Mercurio directed the first two episodes of the fourth series[54] while Strickland returned to direct the final four.[55]

Over the course of the series Line of Duty has won multiple awards and been nominated for several others. Most notably, the programme picked up nominations for several British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards such as "Best Drama Series" at the 2015 and 2018 award ceremonies. Additionally, cast members McClure, Dunbar, Hawes, Newton, Macdonald, Mays, and Bonnar have all been nominated for acting-related accolades.[65] Three scenes on the programme, "Urgent Exit Required", "Huntley's Narrow Escape", and "John Corbett's Death" received consideration for "Virgin TV's Must-See Moment."[66][67][68] Composer Carly Paradis and director Andrew John McClelland have both been nominated for BAFTA Craft awards for their work on the show.[69] Actors Graham and Compston have won Broadcasting Press Guild and TV Choice Awards.[70][71] Each individual series of the programme has been nominated for "Best Drama Series" at Royal Television Society-related awards Several awards, four of which were won across three series.[lower-alpha 1][72] Mercurio has also received a number of nominations for his writing on the programme securing wins at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and the American Edgar Allen Poe Awards.[73][74]

DVD releases for Line of Duty:

Blu-ray releases for Line of Duty:

Line of Duty got a series six Blu-ray release.[99]

Line of Duty series one to six will be released in a compilation Blu-ray box set.[99]

Kew Media (previously known as Content Media) handled international distribution of the series[100] until its collapse in 2020.[101]

In Australia, as of 2021, the first five series are available across streaming services such as Britbox, Netflix, Acorn TV and Stan, but series six is exclusive to Britbox.[102]

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.[103][104] The first three series began airing on AMC on 4 April 2020.[105][106] However, licence changes in 2021 led to BritBox also obtaining the rights to the series in the United States, along with exclusive rights to series six and any future series.[107][108]