The sixth season of Jed Mercurio’s immensely popular police corruption series “Line of Duty” will debut on BBC and ITV-backed streamer BritBox in the U.S. and Canada. BritBox has agreed a deal with ITV Studios and the new season will premiere in May.
Season 6 of follows Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), Detective Inspector Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) as they investigate the conduct of the guest lead, Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson (Kelly MacDonald), on an unsolved murder case, whose suspicious conduct attracts the attention of the Anti-Corruption unit.
BritBox will be the exclusive U.S. home for future seasons of “Line of Duty.”
The series is written and created by Mercurio. Produced by Ken Horn, the executive producers are Mercurio, Simon Heath for World Productions and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC. The series is directed by Daniel Nettheim, Gareth Bryn and Jennie Darnell. “Line of Duty” is made with support from Northern Ireland Screen and international distribution of season 6 is handled by ITV Studios.
“’Line of Duty’ ranks as one of the greatest and most gripping modern British crime series and it was a priority for us to bring it home to BritBox where it belongs,” said Emily Powers, head of BritBox North America.
“I’m delighted that U.S. fans of ‘Line of Duty’ will be able to watch the new season on BritBox,” said Mercurio.
Earlier this month, “Line of Duty” season 6 premiered on BBC in the U.K. as the highest drama launch since 2014 with a 9.6 million audience average and 9.8 million peak.
In the U.S., the first season was released on Hulu in 2012. AMC’s streamer Acorn TV had then acquired streaming rights in 2018, which included the existing seasons and exclusive access to season 5 and later seasons. The first three seasons began airing on AMC in 2020. Currently, the first five seasons are on Hulu with the first four seasons also available on BritBox.