{"id":251129,"date":"2021-05-16T22:00:11","date_gmt":"2021-05-16T19:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/new-characters-more-corruption-and-invisible-covid\/"},"modified":"2021-05-16T22:00:11","modified_gmt":"2021-05-16T19:00:11","slug":"new-characters-more-corruption-and-invisible-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/new-characters-more-corruption-and-invisible-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"#New Characters, More Corruption and ‘Invisible’ COVID"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#New Characters, More Corruption and ‘Invisible’ COVID<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

Live TV viewership numbers may be down, but in the United Kingdom, Line of Duty<\/em> was app<\/a>ointment TV this spring. When the electrifying police drama\u2019s sixth-season finale aired in May, it became the most-watched, non-soap drama episode over there in 20 years, attracting 12.8 million viewers and a whopping 56.2 percent of the TV audience for the BBC.<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s creator and writer, Jed Mercurio, has hit ratings highs before. An episode of his edge-of-your-seat thriller Bodyguard<\/em> (which aired on Netflix in the U.S. and earned Mercurio an Emmy nomination) drew 10.4 million viewers in the U.K. in 2018.<\/p>\n

Although Line of Duty<\/em> hasn\u2019t exploded with the same velocity in this country, past seasons have become a bingeable pleasure on numerous streaming sites (Prime Video, Hulu, Acorn, BritBox), and beginning Tuesday, May 18, BritBox will release Season 6 in weekly installments.<\/p>\n

The seven new episodes are set 18 months after the anti-corruption detectives of AC-12 uncovered yet another senior police official engaged in criminal activity at the end of Season 5. Despite that success, one core member of the team, Detective Inspector Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure), has left, and morale is low at the unit, which hasn\u2019t recovered from allegations of misconduct against department head Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar).<\/p>\n

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DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and DCI Joanne Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) (Photographer: Steffan Hill)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very hard for them to shake it off,\u201d explains Mercurio in an April Zoom interview. \u201cParticularly if you\u2019ve got a character like Hastings who doesn\u2019t kowtow to authority. That\u2019s earned him some enemies. Kate feels that anti-corruption has become tainted and she needs to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now she\u2019s working murder with Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson, played by this season\u2019s guest star, Emmy-winning Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald. But Jo may not be thoroughly investigating a journalist\u2019s murder. That prompts Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), Kate\u2019s former anti-corruption colleague, to come a-calling.<\/p>\n

Jo\u2019s motives, however, don\u2019t seem as clear-cut as those of some of AC-12\u2019s previous adversaries. According to Mercurio, that\u2019s by design. \u201cWe built much more mystery around Kelly Macdonald\u2019s character than we ever have for [an antagonist],\u201d he says, adding that he felt Macdonald has \u201ca sympathetic quality which would add to the enigmatic features of the character.\u201d<\/p>\n

And AC-12 is still in pursuit of that elusive fourth corrupt senior police officer \u2014 part of the quartet known as \u201cH\u201d \u2014 who\u2019s been colluding with organized crime. Making their job even tougher than it already is: Top police brass in the unnamed English city where Line of Duty<\/em> is set want to keep a lid on any institutional corruption.<\/p>\n

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DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) (Photographer: Steffan Hill)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As the show\u2019s sole writer, Mercurio, a former doctor, has strewn together elaborate plots, intriguing characters, and pulse-pounding action sequences over 36 episodes. But as the seasons build upon each other, audience expectation increases, and fans aren\u2019t shy about sharing their feelings on social media<\/a>. Does that make it easier or harder to write Line of Duty<\/em> now?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think any showrunner will tell you there are pros and cons,\u201d Mercurio reflects. \u201cObviously you\u2019re in a very fortunate and privileged position, because if you\u2019re six seasons in, you\u2019re working on a hit, and that helps. The other thing is, the world is well-established. You have almost an encyclopedia of relationships and settings that you can turn to if you need a new development.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut yes, audience expectation rises season on season,\u201d he adds. \u201cThe last few seasons we\u2019ve had explosive opening episodes, particularly towards the end. We felt it was really hard to do that again in a way the audience would find surprising, so we set up a first episode that was more mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a while, the biggest mystery facing Line of Duty<\/em> was when the cast and crew would be able to finish this round. Production was halted in March 2020 after four weeks of filming. But even though Season 6 is set in 2020, there\u2019s no mention of COVID. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t really afford to go back and reshoot,\u201d Mercurio says. \u201cWe had to make the pandemic invisible within the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) \u2013 (Photographer: Steffan Hill)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It wasn\u2019t invisible on set, however. When filming resumed in Northern Ireland later in the year, some scenes were moved outside or to bigger locations for better ventilation and social distancing. Even the show\u2019s famous interrogations were affected. \u201cWhen we had actors interviewing each other across a table,\u201d Mercurio says, \u201cthe tables were bigger than in previous seasons, so they were further apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether this season of Line of Duty<\/em> will catch fire in the U.S. remains to be seen, but the show has been finding an audience in the States. Mercurio was jazzed when Henry Winkler tweeted his admiration<\/a> for the show. \u201cThat\u2019s a great moment for someone who grew up watching Happy Days<\/em> and idolizing Henry Winkler,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd the fact is, as we do more seasons, it feels like American viewers are more likely to invest in the show because they know that investment\u2019s going to be rewarded with lots of episodes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does that mean there\u2019s a seventh season on the horizon? \u201cWe\u2019re just kind of circling it at the moment,\u201d Mercurio says. \u201cIt\u2019s really about where the characters go next. I need to have a think about who the guest lead will be and then have a conversation with any of the regular cast who are fortunate enough to have survived Season 6.\u201d<\/p>\n

Line of Duty<\/em>, Season 6 Premiere, Tuesday, May 18, BritBox<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n