Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio is behind another hit, Bloodlands
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By Debi Enker
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Bloodlands (premiere) â â â ½
At a time when many viewers are enjoying the sixth and possibly final season of Jed Mercurioâs gripping police procedural
Line of Duty, the arrival of
Bloodlands is noteworthy. The four-part crime series is the first drama from Mercurioâs recently formed production company, Hat Trick Mercurio Television (HTM Television), a joint venture between the acclaimed writer-producer (
Bodyguard) and Hat Trick Productions (
Derry Girls, Flack, Father Ted).
I’d be inclined to watch James Nesbitt in just about anything he did, so it doesn’t take much to lure me to
Bloodlands when I see Jed Mercurio (
Line of Duty, Bodyguard) is a producer.
In truth this 4 part Irish police drama is written by actor-writer Chris Brandon (
Red Rock, Clash of Futures) and takes place in Belfast.
Nesbitt plays Detective Tom Brannick, a single dad whose wife was killed two decades ago by the IRA. Daughter Izzy ( Lola Petticrew) is a university, a student of attractive lecturer Tori (Lisa Dwan), who takes an interest in her father’s case.
After
Broadchurch captivated millions with its mixture of a child-murder and a picturesque coastal town where everyone seems to be hiding a secret, such places began to spring up all over the television map like moles on a golf course.
That someone would want to imitate/flatter Jed Mercurio’s
Line of Duty – which returns to BBC1 next Sunday after a longer than usual gap between seasons caused by the pandemic – is not surprising.
It’s the most successful British crime drama of all time, basking in rave reviews and enormous viewing figures.
Who wouldn’t want a piece of that kind of action?
Bloodlands viewers left baffled by VERY confusing ending dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
However the series finale failed to strike a chord with many. Well. that was . dreadful, tweeted BBC politics producer Darran Marshall. Fuming with the end of #Bloodlands the first 2 episodes were brilliant, the last 2 were such an anticlimax, Amy O Connor wrote on Twitter.
Kirsty Hood added: #Bloodlands - final episode. Hmmm... Not satisfied with that conclusion. Too rushed as well. Well that’s four hours of my life I won’t get back #Bloodlands, Catrin Newman tweeted.
Many viewers questioned the show s continuity after Nesbitt was seen driving through the Mourne Mountains but the blizzard scenes viewers had observed moments earlier were suddenly nowhere to be seen.