Line Of Duty: 10 Crime Dramas To Binge To Fill The AC-12 Shaped Hole In Your Life

Missing Line Of Duty already? We might be able to help.
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It’s only been a few days since Line Of Duty came to its divisive climax, but we’re all missing it already, right?

For the last seven weeks, we’ve been consumed by the twists, the turns, the interrogations and the theorising, and now that it’s all over (for now anyway), there’s a massive AC-12 shaped hole in our lives.

But we’re here to help with that – here’s 10 other crime dramas available to stream right now to fill the void...

1. Criminal

Netflix

Available on: Netflix

If you can’t get enough of Line Of Duty’s interrogation scenes, then Criminal is the show for you.

Each episode of the Netflix drama is set exclusively within the confines of a police interview suite, focusing on the intense mental conflict between detectives and the suspects they are investigating.

Line Of Duty actors Rochenda Sandall (Lisa McQueen) and Lee Ingleby (Nick Huntley) are among the cast, with David Tennant, Katherine Kelly, Nicholas Pinnock and Kit Harington also starring.

Each of the two series comprises different stories set in France, Spain, Germany and the UK, with each country getting their own episodes in their local language.

2. The Missing

BBC

Available on: BBC iPlayer

As the title suggests, this BBC anthology series focuses on the search for children who have gone missing, with investigator Julien Baptiste committed to uncovering the truth in their disappearances.

The first series, which aired in 2014, drew favourable comparisons to TV juggernaut Broadchurch, with a second run focusing on a new case arriving two years later. The show also spawned the spin-off series Baptiste in 2019, which delved more into the life of the beloved detective, played by Tchéky Karyo.

There are some familiar Line Of Duty faces involved too, as James Nesbitt (Marcus Thurwell) takes the lead in series one, with Keeley Hawes (DI Lindsay Denton) taking the central role in series two.

3. Unforgotten

ITV

Available on: Series 1-3 on Netflix, series 4 on ITV Hub

This hit ITV drama has already aired four seasons to huge critical acclaim but received considerably less fanfare than Line Of Duty.

However, many police officers claim Unforgotten is a more accurate depiction of the force than its BBC counterpart.

If you’ve not managed to catch it yet, it stars Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar as London detectives DCI Cassie Stuart and DI Sunny Khan, who solve cold cases of disappearance and murder.

4. Prime Suspect

ITV

Available on: BritBox

Sometimes you just can’t beat a classic, can you?

Starring Dame Helen Mirren and penned by Lynda La Plante (who hasn’t exactly been complimentary about Line Of Duty in recent times), Prime Suspect is widely regarded as one of the best British police dramas of all time.

Dame Helen plays the tough, chain-smoking detective Jane Tennison through seven series between 1991 and 2006, as her character is promoted from Detective Chief Inspector to Superintendent, facing off with criminals, while also encountering institutionalised sexism and bitter rivals inside the force.

5. Hinterland

BBC

Available on: Netflix

Set in and filmed around rural Wales, Hinterland made history upon its debut as the first BBC television drama that had dialogue split between both English and Welsh.

The show introduces DCI Tom Mathias, a detective with dark secrets, who finds himself in a small town that it soon emerges has a fair few secrets of its own.

6. The Fall

Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan
Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan
BBC

Available on: Netflix

The casting of Gillian Anderson as DSU Stella Gibson and Jamie Dornan as the serial killer she’s trying to track down made The Fall a gripping watch when it debuted in 2015.

After debuting on RTÉ One in the Republic of Ireland and BBC Two in the UK, The Fall went on to capture a more global audience when it arrived on Netflix internationally.

7. Marcella

ITV

Available on: Series 1-2 on Netflix, series 3 on ITV Hub

There was something about Marcella that set it apart from regular cop dramas when it arrived on ITV in 2016.

Creator Hans Rosendeldt brought his “Nordic noir” magic to the UK after achieving international acclaim with The Bridge.

With a haunting score and highly stylised visuals, the show centres on troubled detective Marcella Backland – played by Anna Friel – who is dealing with some dark secrets of her own as she investigates a 12-year-old case case of a serial killer.

8. Luther

BBC

Available on: BBC iPlayer

Probably not a show you want to watch late at night or by yourself, as it has a knack for making you feel unsafe in the most familiar of settings, but it is still one of the best cop dramas out there.

Starring Idris Elba in the title role, John Luther is often consumed by the darkness of the cases that he investigates (and trust us, they are dark), and develops a dangerous relationship with psychopath and murderer Alice Morgan, played by Ruth Wilson.

9. The Wire

HBO

Available on: NOW

While we’ve tried to keep this list limited to British dramas, it would be remiss of us not to include what is often hailed as the best police show of all time.

To quote Line Of Duty’s DCS Patricia Carmichael, if for some inexplicable reason some of you don’t know of this show, each season of The Wire introduces a different institution of the city – like the illegal drug trade, city government and education – and explores its relationship to law enforcement.

10 ...or Line Of Duty

BBC/World Productions/Steffan Hill

Available on: BBC iPlayer

Alternatively, if you really cannot let go of the AC-12 gang just yet, why not go back and revisit the first five series, and see whether certain things become more clear after the series six finale?

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