Should Line of Duty return?
Adrian Dunbar's hint about a series reboot has some critics worried

"Line of Duty" was a much-loved crime drama, captivating millions of viewers each week during its six-season stint, but after a disappointing finale in 2021, some critics are sceptical about a revival.
Rumours of a series reboot circulated earlier this year when the show's leads, Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston, were seen meeting with creator Jed Mercurio. Now, Dunbar "has let the wee donkey out of the bag", said Ed Power on the i news site. Asked on Times Radio if the show will return, he said "It looks like it."
'Past its sell-by date'
"Line of Duty" certainly "delivered thrills in abundance", said Power, but it came "crashing to Earth three years ago" with its final series. Its "big reveal" turned out to be the "biggest damp squib on television this side of the 'Game of Thrones' finale". Millions of fans who had stuck by the show for nearly a decade came away "baffled and underwhelmed".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The show has "become high on the vapours of its own mythology", and while there's "sure to be huge excitement" about a comeback, nobody has paused to consider if the "return of a series clearly past its sell-by date is a good thing".
By the end, the plot of "Line of Duty" had become "so complex" that it resembled "one of those maths problems that you can fully understand only for about 20 seconds after an hour of solid thought, before it all ebbs away again", said Hugo Rifkind in The Times as the final season aired in 2021. And while it started out with "fantastic interview-room duels" that managed to distil the "essence of every police interview scene you had ever seen", it ended up feeling like a "constipated echo of itself".
'Fresh twists' needed
The show still holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 96% and an audience rating of 94%, said Collider, so there is "no doubting the chokehold" that it had "over the crime genre on British television". Fans across the world have "waited patiently for an update on the series' future" so the latest news "sure is enticing".
"Line of Duty" felt "groundbreaking" at the time, said Love Belfast. "Its high-stakes investigations, layered characters, and unpredictable twists captivated audiences, and AC-12's pursuit of 'bent coppers' quickly became a cultural phenomenon." In the end, a new series will only work if it "builds on past successes while offering fresh twists".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imagination
Feature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?
Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacy
Feature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
How The Summer I Turned Pretty has brought out the worst in its fans
In the Spotlight Amazon’s love-triangle hit ‘driving some of the most bonkers and unhinged online energy in the history of the internet’
-
'The Office' spinoff, a 'Mare of Easttown' follow-up and the Guinness family royalty in September TV
the week recommends This month's new television releases include 'The Paper,' 'Task' and 'House of Guinness'
-
5 of the best platonic TV friendships
the week recommends Maintaining boundaries has proven tricky for all but the most committed of buddies on the small screen
-
'Actual poop': the messy ending of And Just Like That...
Talking Point Reviewers have slammed the 'unfunny and hateful' finale to the Sex and the City reboot
-
The best limited series of all time
the week recommends Trading cliffhangers and endless renewals for narrative closure
-
The return of 'Wednesday,' an 'Alien' prequel and a dramatic retelling of the Amanda Knox trial all happening in August TV
the week recommends This month's new television releases include 'Alien: Earth,' 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox' and a new season of 'Wednesday'
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
The best TV shows based on movies
The Week Recommends A handful of shows avoid derivative storytelling and craft bold narrative expansions