Critical Condition: Line of Duty

Line of Duty (SoHo, 8.30 Sunday)

“Wham bam, Line of Duty started as it meant to go on, and indeed as it began its first series a couple of years ago, with a sequence, spliced through the show’s titles, that left me forgetting to take an in-breath … By the hour’s end Line of Duty had absolutely done what it intended to do and pinned us to our seats with excitement and even a little astonishment, throughout. Roll on the next five episodes.” — The Telegraph.

“It’s extraordinary, intense, butt-clenchingly gripping television. The last time I was this involved in a case was when I was doing actual jury service, though that time I had some say in the outcome. That’s the power of Line of Duty: it’s not just brilliant drama, it envelops you, and is plausible to the point that it pretty much becomes reality.” — The Guardian.

“This began at breakneck pace and never let up. Solve the case before next week and you probably deserve your own police medal.” — Daily Express.

“Killing the central character. That’s a giant plot twist to throw at the end of an opening episode, and even the most precocious crime drama surely wouldn’t dare try doing it twice … With breath-taking bravado, the new series pulled just the same stunt – and then delivered a stunning flip and switchback to leave me with that sensation you get from a gravity-defying rollercoaster, unable even to be sure which way’s up.” — Daily Mail.

“[Jed] Mercurio’s helter-skelter pulls in the punters, but it is his touches of social comedy and domestic stress that make the difference. Binge-watchable telly.” — The Times.