BritBox Bags Belfast-Based BBC Smash 'Blue Lights'

Unlike some more established conferences where streaming services and production studios bring new series to buy and sell, Content London is a relative newcomer to the schedule, having only existed since 2014 and the dawn of the streaming wars. However, its London location means easy access for British-based executives, so it’s grown quickly like San Diego Comic-Con, a mere one-hour plane ride from Los Angeles. BritBox CEO Reemah Sakaan was on hand at the 2023 edition, held at the end of November, to announce the service (co-owned by BBC Studios and ITV) had surpassed 3.4 million subscribers globally and picked up a couple of new titles to boot, including the BBC hit Blue Lights.

Initially announced in February 2022 and planned to go directly to air on BBC One, Blue Lights hails from the creators of The Salisbury Poisonings. Described as a police thriller, the announcement came with star Siân Brooke, then best known for Sherlock and Season 1 of Good Omens, attached to star along with Katherine Devlin (The Dig) and newcomer Nathan Braniff as three rookie police officers in Belfast’s PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland), learning the ropes. The hook was that Brooke’s character, Grace, is in her mid-40s, and the decision to leave her 20-year career to join the force has left her family, friends, and kids baffled and more than a little worried for her.

As the trailer for the first season shows, the series isn’t exactly a full-on thriller, as there are a lot of comic elements, especially where Grace is concerned. She’s only a few weeks into her role and making so many mistakes that her decision no longer looks like a winning bet. The result turned out to be more of a workplace comedy that also happens to be a police procedural.