Line of Duty

Line of duty was previously aired on BBC One and when looking they don’t seem to have certain demographic, they are said to be the most popular mixed-genre television service that offers a wide variety of high content (BBC Trust, 2014). This offers BBC one to play a wide option of content and feel that Line of Duty fits well here because it is something that is different and experimental. It was that popular that Netflix and Amazon both now have it for people to watch.

This show isnt just a typical crime drama of someone dying and then the police finding out who and how they have done it and flipped it on its head, we get to see the other side of it, what it’s like if one of the police officers were being inspected for varies crimes. After just watching one episode I can see why it has been so popular, they aren’t just moving onto their 5th series, during their last show aired they count an amazing 7.5 million viewers (The Guardian, 2017). I feel that they have topped such a high viewing rate because it is so different, people are so used to the normal crime drama that when they watched this talking about the corruption of the police force they need to know the end. In one article I read they talk about so much happening in one episode they can’t help but watch the rest ( Independent, 2017). The tone of the program comes across as very dark and mysterious which every good crime drama needs, however, they do need to be careful because just in the first episode they do go into subjects like sexism and racism which is touchy in any program.

Looking for a crime drama that is similar to Line of Duty is next to impossible, there are plenty of crime dramas out there but this is different. So I started looking at a series called White Chapel this was aired on ITV however it does follow the idea of looking at a crime drama in a different way. In each episode, there is a different murder, however, the style of murder would be similar to someone from the past, for example in one episode someone followed the style of Jack the Ripper. This enticed the audience because they could know what was going to happen before it was going to happen.

Reference

BBC. (2018). Line of Duty – BBC One. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00yzlr0 [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].

Downloads.bbc.co.uk. (2018). Cite a Website – Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/regulatory_framework/service_licences/service_reviews/television_services/audience_research.pdf [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].

Stolworthy, J. (2018). Why BBC series Line of Duty is the decade’s best British drama. [online] The Independent. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/line-of-duty-series-4-is-the-saviour-of-british-tv-bbc-thandie-newton-jed-mercurio-martin-compston-a7648506.html [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].

JOE.co.uk. (2018). Line of Duty creators have a gripping new thriller that’s coming to Sky | JOE.co.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.joe.co.uk/entertainment/line-duty-sky-save-me-163808 [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].

Wilson, B. (2018). Jed Mercurio: Lies have been the making of Line of Duty. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/04/27/jed-mercurio-line-of-duty-interview/ [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].

the Guardian. (2018). Line of Duty season four finale cops 7.5 million viewers. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/may/01/line-of-duty-season-four-finale-7-point-5-million-viewers-bbc2 [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].