“After five years of silence… it’s finally back!” Those words from creator Jed Mercurio have sent Line of Duty fans into a frenzy, confirming the BBC’s blockbuster revival of the nation’s most addictive police drama. Premiering in spring 2026, the new series—titled Line of Duty: Reckoning—promises a seismic return with the full original cast, blending blistering interrogations, labyrinthine conspiracies, and moral minefields that redefined British television. As the AC-12 anti-corruption unit reunites, Mercurio vows this will be “the most intense and dramatic season yet,” packed with revelations that could shatter everything fans thought they knew. Buckle up—Portsmouth’s police corridors are about to crack open like never before.
The original run, spanning six seasons from 2012 to 2021, was a phenomenon, peaking at 12.8 million viewers for its finale and earning 20 BAFTA nominations. Mercurio’s script, a taut fusion of The Wire‘s grit and The Sopranos‘ introspection, chronicled the relentless pursuit of bent coppers, blending pulse-pounding raids with philosophical gut-punches on loyalty and corruption. Season 6’s cliffhanger—Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) facing a web of bent bent coppers and bent bent bent coppers—left audiences gasping, with “bent copper” becoming a cultural shorthand for institutional rot. “We always planned more,” Mercurio teased at the 2025 Edinburgh TV Festival. “Life got in the way—but now, AC-12’s unfinished business demands closure.”
The revival’s heart is the “legendary AC-12 trio”: Martin Compston as the battered but unbowed Steve Arnott, Vicky McClure as the steely Kate Fleming, and Dunbar’s Hastings, whose moral compass has always pointed true north, even as scandals threatened to snap it. “Ted’s been through hell—Season 7’s his inferno,” Dunbar hinted, his Belfast lilt baring a weariness earned from six seasons of gut-wrenching grit. Compston, 40, channels Steve’s dogged grit, while McClure, 42, brings Kate’s quiet ferocity—her Geordie snarl a weapon sharper than any warrant. The ensemble bolsters the return: returning faces like Thandie Newton as DCI Roz Huntley and new blood like Riz Ahmed as a shadowy whistleblower, promising fresh layers of deceit.
Inside, Mercurio promises “explosive twists” that rewrite the lore. Filmed in Belfast’s rain-lashed streets and Sheffield’s stark police stations, the seven episodes blend high-octane raids with philosophical interrogations, teasing a conspiracy that threads back to Season 1’s bent bent copper saga. “It’s bigger, bolder—AC-12’s biggest threat yet,” Mercurio said. The revival, co-produced by ITV Studios and Slender Films, arrives amid a TV landscape craving grit—post-Happy Valley, The Responder‘s acclaim signals demand for Mercurio’s unflinching gaze.
Fans are in meltdown: #LineOfDutyRevival exploded with 1.5 million posts post-announcement, theories flying from “H Hasting’s bent?” to “Kate’s the mole!” On X, “bent copper” memes abound, while Reddit’s r/LineOfDuty ships Steve and Kate anew. “Mercurio’s silence was torture—now, payback’s a binge,” tweeted one.
Line of Duty: Reckoning isn’t revival—it’s resurrection. As AC-12 chases shadows in a post-Brexit, post-pandemic Britain, the stakes feel timeless: Power corrupts, but truth endures. Spring 2026 can’t come soon enough—the bent bent bent copper hunt resumes.
