Line of Duty fans, the BBC has just officially announced news to cure your off-season blues — the show will return for a fifth and sixth series.
While we'd heard previously that series five was in the works, BBC Director General Tony Hall announced at the BBC One drama launch tonight (May 4) that a sixth series has also been ordered.
Following another wild finale (we won't reveal all, but click here for a spoilery-recap), writer Jed Mercurio said that he was hopeful of at least getting to six series before calling it a day.
"I'd definitely like to be able to do a sixth series," he said. "That means we can approach the fifth series knowing that it's not going to be the last."
Your wish is the BBC's command, Jed! The only downside is that series six is a considerable way off, since the writer has delayed series five until at least 2019.
"We haven't even decided if the next antagonist will be male or female, we are that far off from puzzling it out," Jed teased last week.
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In what's probably more good news for fans of the BBC One cop drama, the writer has also nixed all the talk about Line of Duty being remade for the US in the interim.
"I don't know where the story about the US remake came from," Mercurio told Digital Spy. "I looked it up online and the journalist quotes an 'anonymous source' – who I assume is just someone they ran into in the pub.
"So I have no idea what that's about, or why it's been printed now."
We're relieved to know we won't have another Broadchurch/Gracepoint on our hands! And while you're anxiously awaiting Line of Duty's return, check out this examination of why Hastings might be corrupt.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
