Line of Duty: Martin Compston says script is ‘better than ever’
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Line of Duty is the award-winning police procedural television series, created by Bodyguard’s Jed Mercurio. The series first aired in 2012 and filming for the sixth series was underway earlier this year. Will there be another series of Line of Duty? Express.co.uk has everything you need to know about season seven.
Will there be another series of Line of Duty?
There is some good news for fans of British crime drama, Line of Duty.
Show creator Jed Mercurio has suggested there will be a seventh series of the much-loved series.
Speaking to host Mark Billingham on the Albi podcast, A Stab in the Dark, Mercurio discussed the future of Line of Duty.
When asked about the storyline for a seventh series, Mercurio said: “I know the basics of it, yes, but its terms of how we get their episode by episode, that’s something that I leave until we actually get into script development on the given series.”
He explained: “I don’t think very far ahead in terms of actually plotting out, but since series two finished we’ve always had conversations with the BBC about how far ahead they were prepared to commission the series.
“So, series three was commissioned with a series of four already in the bag, which meant we knew that series three didn’t have to be the last and we’ve carried on that way really up until series six, where we always knew there was the possibility that of another series.
“And that’s become increasingly important because of the meta-narrative, the overall arc where there are so many loose ends, what we don’t want to do is have a loyal audience left hanging and frustrated because the series doesn’t get re- commissioned and there are lots of unanswered questions, which we’ve never had the opportunity to address.”
The BBC has not yet officially confirmed the seventh series of Line of Duty.
In a separate interview last year, Mercurio revealed his plans for a seventh series.
Speaking at the BFI and Radio Times Television Festival, Jed said: “Once series five has finished airing we’ll have a conversation with the BBC, with a view to whether there’s a possibility to series seven being commissioned.
“But we definitely know we’ve got series six.”
Usually, Line of Duty takes a two-year hiatus before returning to screens.
The sixth series intended to break with this tradition and air later this year, but due to the current coronavirus outbreak, filming for the upcoming series was postponed.
Mercurio told Shot in the Dark, he was hoping to finish filming for season six later this year if circumstances allowed.
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He said: “We shot for four weeks before we were forced to reach the conclusion that it wasn’t safe to carry on.
“We shut down nine days before the government lockdown and
we’re having talks currently with the BBC and the production company to determine when we might be able to resume.
“There are a number of issues still to be resolved on an industry-wide basis, things like insurance and finance and social distancing guidelines that specifically, apply to filming.
“So, there are people working on those, some involve the unions,
some involve the producer’s bodies, some involve the broadcasters, some involve the department of culture, media and sport.
“Eventually, there will be a set of guidelines that apply to so-called high-end TV.
“We are hoping that we can get the series shot before the end of this calendar year if all those measures are reached which allow us to film in the way that we need to be able to do.
“But the thing that’s out of our control is what’s happening with coronavirus in the community. If the disease is still rampant, there’s absolutely no way that we have the money or resources to quarantine hundreds of people for the duration of the shoot.
“So, there is the risk that we import the virus through natural contact between crew members going back into their households at the end of the day or any contact with extras who are on set for a day or supporting artists who are in for a few days.
“It’s really hard to know and like any industry, we’re kind of hostages to fortune.”
Unfortunately, the delay in season six could have a knock-on effect with the release date of season seven.
Express.co.uk will update this article when more information is available.
The main cast of Line of Duty, Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar are all expected to return for season seven unless they are killed off in the sixth series.
Knowing Jed Mercurio’s plot twists and turns since season one of Line of Dity, anything could happen.
Line of Duty is streaming on the BBC iPlayer now
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