'Sanditon's Tom Weston-Jones Lands 'Line of Duty' Lead Role
The full roster for 'Line of Duty' Season 7 has been set, along with confirmed returning characters and multiple new corrupt officers.
The return of Line of Duty to the BBC after five years is a massive boon to BritBox. Jed Mercurio's hit series took a while to grab viewers' attention on this side of the Atlantic; it wasn't until Bodyguard hit big on Netflix with zero follow-up that Americans started looking into Mercurio's other shows. At the time, LoD was peaking in popularity in the U.K., and in 2019, AMC Networks announced that Acorn TV had scooped up the rights to the first four seasons and the exclusive rights to the forthcoming Season 5.
Despite AMC's hopes, Season 5 was not a ratings smash like Bodyguard. By 2021, BritBox announced it would become Line of Duty's exclusive home going forward, starting with Season 6... only for that to become what looked to be the show's final season.
The series' return comes at a perfect moment for BritBox, which has undergone drastic changes over the intervening five years, including a buyout by the BBC as Line of Duty officially reached cult phenomenon status here in the U.S. The recent programming upgrade has finally turned BritBox into a true competitor to PBS; the exclusive rights to Season 7 are now another reason the streaming service is a must-have for fans of British TV.
Here's the full synopsis for Season 7:
AC-12 has been disbanded and rebranded as the Inspectorate of Police Standards. Anti-corruption work has never been more difficult, and in this challenging climate, Steve Arnott, Kate Fleming, and Ted Hastings are assigned their most sensitive case so far.
Tactical Operations Unit 7 (TO-7)'s charismatic commanding officer, DI Dominic Gough, has won plaudits for a string of takedowns of organised crime. DC Shaun Massie is a Specialist Rifle Officer (SRO), a veteran marksman who takes down Organised Crime Groups. A gruff loner, Massie keeps himself to himself, but when Gough, his boss, is accused of being a sexual predator, Massie's otherwise detached demeanour changes drastically. But is this case a deliberate distraction from a bigger threat still operating in the shadows?
Martin Compston (The Rig), Vicky McClure (Trigger Point), and Adrian Dunbar (Ridley) return to reprise their roles as Steve Arnott, Kate Fleming, and Ted Hastings, respectively. Season 7 will also see the return of Mark Bonnar (Guilt) as former Deputy Chief Constable Mike Dryden, Owen Teale (Game of Thrones) as Chief Constable Philip Osborne, Perry Fitzpatrick (Sherwood) as DS Chris Lomax, and Christina Chong (Grace) as DI Nicky Rogerson.
Weston-Jones and Robert Carlyle (COBRA) are confirmed as DI Dominic Gough and DC Shaun Massie, respectively. The rest of the TO-7 team will feature Laura Aikman (This City Is Ours) as DC Paula Beckman, Levi Brown (Payback) as DC Luke Tobin, and Amy Leigh Hickman (Industry) as DC Nira Rashid. Other new faces joining Line of Duty for the first time include David Calder (Rivals), Steven Elder (Toxic Town), Dominic Mafham (Vigil), Aimee Powell (Art Detectives), Naomi Yang (Under Salt Marsh), and Sarah Andre White (What It Feels Like for A Girl).
Mercurio will once again pen all episodes of the new season and is slated to split helming duties with Season 6 director Jennie Darnell across the show's six episodes, with Ken Horn producing. Mercurio also executive produces alongside Simon Heath for World Productions and Nick Lambon for the BBC.
Line of Duty Season 7 filming begins in Belfast in March 2026, and will most likely debut on both the BBC and BritBox in 2027. Seasons 1-4 and Season 6 are available to stream on BritBox. (Season 5 is still stuck on Acorn. Sorry y'all. Maybe they'll fix it in time for the debut.)
Line of Duty
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