The BBC’s hit crime drama Line of Duty, which last aired in 2021, is set to return.
The show, created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions, will return for a seventh season, starring Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar.
The upcoming six-part season sees the fictional police anti-corruption unit AC-12 disbanded and renamed the Bureau of Police Standards and Inspection. Anti-corruption efforts are more difficult than ever, and in these difficult circumstances Steve Arnott (Compston), Kate Fleming (McClure) and Ted Hastings (Dunbar) are assigned their most sensitive case yet. Detective Inspector Dominic Gough, a charismatic police inspector who has won praise for a series of organized crime busts, has been accused of abusing his position of trust to act as a sex offender. But is Goff’s case a deliberate distraction from a larger threat still operating in the shadows?
Season 7 will begin filming in Belfast in spring 2026, with additional cast to be announced in due course.
“Everyone involved with Line of Duty has a huge debt of gratitude to the fans of the show,” Mercurio said. “We’ve been honored to have had so many of you follow the ups and downs of AC-12 over the past six seasons, and we couldn’t be more excited to be back for a seventh season. Corruption in this country should have ended while Line of Duty was off the air, so we had to use our imaginations.”
Line of Duty was last broadcast in 2021, with the series six finale becoming the UK’s biggest drama episode (excluding soap operas) since modern records began in 2002, watched by 17 million people over 28 days. The series averaged a massive 16 million viewers, making it the biggest drama across the market since 2018. In the United States and Canada, BritBox exclusively premiered Season 6.
“There have been many significant reunions in recent years, but few have been as eagerly anticipated as the return of AC12,” said World Productions CEO and Creative Director Simon Heath. “I’m honored to be joining Jed again in this exciting new chapter of Line of Duty.”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, said: “Line of Duty has been loved by viewers and critics alike, and its incredible ratings are the result of Jed’s script, the talented team at World Productions, and the cast and cast. It’s a testament to the success of everyone’s work. We’re thrilled that Line of Duty will be returning to filming soon after four long years and can’t wait to have BBC viewers on the edge of their seats once again.”
Line of Duty was written and produced by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions, part of ITV Studios, which handles international distribution. The film is directed by Jenny Darnell and produced by Ken Horn. The executive producers are Mercurio, Heath for World Productions and Nick Lambon for the BBC. Line of Duty is produced with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
“As we count down to Christmas on AC12, we’re so happy to know that The Three Amigos will be back filming with us next year,” said Dunbar. “We are delighted with this news and look forward to the whimsical twists and turns.”
