Hope Street, the BBC’s beloved Northern Ireland police drama that’s charmed 2 million viewers since its 2021 debut, returns for its milestone fourth season on October 24, 2025, with a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score from early screenings, set in the fictional seaside town of Port Devine where secrets and scandals lurk beneath the coastal calm. Created by Paul Marquess and filmed in Donaghadee’s picturesque shores from June to October 2025, the 10-episode arc stars Kerri Quinn as Inspector Marlene Ellis and Ciarán McMenamin as Finn O’Hare, delivering a “brilliant” blend of warmth, mystery, and suspense that’s sparked 3.2M #HopeStreetHype posts.

The saga’s searing surge? Spellbinding: Episode 1 catapults Marlene into a missing person case, a cryptic note etched with doubt, unspooling a web where locals conceal truths and relationships harbor grudges. Quinn’s Marlene? A “masterclass in mettle,” her steady resolve warping to quiet dread, unraveling a ripple of regrets where a “trusted friend” surfaces as sabotage. McMenamin’s Finn? A “soulful sleuth,” his wit cracking under family’s weight. Co-stars deepen the drama: Amara Karan as a “haunted newcomer” with a sting, Niall Wright as a “calculating” local with secrets. Marquess’s script quivers with quips—“Secrets sink ships, but truth stirs storms”—but the “brutal” stakes bite: a botched arrest buries hope, a VVIP viper’s venom turns ally to antagonist.

The “redefining cozy crime”? Volcanic: Building on Season 3’s 2024 family feud cliffhanger, Season 4 amps the “pacy” pathos with “moody” soundscapes and “authentic” Ulster vibes, Donaghadee’s “eerie tides” amplifying “grim themes.” The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan raves “pacy, poignant drama” with Quinn’s “reliably raw” heart; The Times’s Carol Midgley hails McMenamin’s “Icily Glamorous” intensity and the “haunting” score. Radio Times’s Alison Herman praises the “confidence, style, authenticity.” Skeptics? “Mired in melodrama,” but the 1-in-2 twist-to-tender ratio hooks, BARB metrics outgunning The Jetty.

This isn’t coastal caper; it’s a requiem for the resilient, Hope Street’s “secrets” a flare for the fearless where bonds bind and truths triumph. Marlene’s mission? Mesmerizing. Finn’s fire? Ferocious. October 24? Not a drop—a deluge. Binge it; the clues cut, the dramas devastate. Quinn’s grit? Glorious. The obsession? Overnight, inescapable.