Blue Lights (2023 TV series)

Blue Lights is a television drama series, set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following three probationary police officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The series was broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, premiering on 27 March 2023; it has been re-commissioned for a second series, which began filming in 2023.[1]

Blue Lights
GenrePolice procedural
Crime drama
Created by
  • Declan Lawn
  • Adam Patterson
Written byDeclan Lawn and Aaron Patterson
Screenplay by
  • Declan Lawn
  • Adam Patterson
  • Fran Harris
Directed byGilles Bannier
Starring
Theme music composerEoin O'Callaghan / Elma Orkestra
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
  • Stephen Wright
  • Louise Gallagher
  • Tommy Bulfin
  • Declan Lawn
  • Adam Patterson
  • Gilles Bannier
ProducerCarol Moorhead
Production locationNorthern Ireland
Cinematography
  • Stephen Murphy
  • Angus Mitchell
Running time60 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original release27 March 2023 (2023-03-27) –
present

Synopsis

The series follows three probationary period police officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland assigned to the fictional Blackthorn Station in Belfast.[2] One of the new officers, Grace, is a mother in her 40s, who left her job as a social worker to join the Police Service but only weeks into the job she wonders if she's made the right decision. The focus of the series is also on fellow rookies Annie (Devlin) and Tommy (Braniff), who themselves are struggling under the immense pressure of the job.

Cast
  • Siân Brooke – Constable Grace Ellis, a probationer and former social worker.[3]
  • Katherine Devlin – Constable Annie Conlon, a Catholic probationer.[3]
  • Nathan Braniff – Constable Tommy Foster, a fast-track probationer.[3]
  • Richard Dormer – Constable Gerard 'Gerry' Cliff, Tommy's training officer.[3]
  • Martin McCann – Constable Stephen 'Stevie' Neil, Grace's training officer.[3]
  • John Lynch – James McIntyre, the head of a republican crime family.[3]
  • Jonathan Harden – Inspector David 'Jonty' Johnston, the leader of the response team.[3]
  • Valene Kane – Angela Mackle, mother associated with the McIntyres.[3]
  • Dane Whyte O'Hara – Gordon 'Gordy' Mackle, teenager working for the McIntyres.[3]
  • Joanne Crawford – Sergeant Helen McNally, the team's second-in-command.[3]
  • Hannah McClean – Constable Jen Robinson, a fast-tracked officer for two years and the daughter of a female senior officer.[3]
  • Andi Osho – Sergeant Sandra Cliff, custody sergeant and Gerry's wife.[3]
  • Nabil Elouahabi – Joseph, an intelligence operative.[3]

Episodes

Series 1

No.Title [4]Directed by [4]Written by [4]Original air date [4]U.K. viewers
(millions)
1"The Code"Gilles BannierDeclan Lawn & Adam Patterson27 March 2023 (2023-03-27)4.68
New constables Grace, Annie and Tommy struggle with the demands of police work. The police clash with MI5 agents and associates of gangster James McIntyre.
2"Bad Batch"Gilles BannierDeclan Lawn & Adam Patterson3 April 2023 (2023-04-03)4.25
A poisonous batch of drugs turns up across Belfast. Annie wonders whom she can trust.
3"The Fear"Gilles BannierFran Harris10 April 2023 (2023-04-10)4.17
A paramilitary-style assault case has Grace determined to bring the McIntyres to their knees. Meanwhile, Angela becomes increasingly desperate.
4"Full Moon Fever"Gilles BannierFran Harris17 April 2023 (2023-04-17)4.34
The team attempt to cover for each other during a busy night shift.
5"The Q Word"Gilles BannierDeclan Lawn & Adam Patterson24 April 2023 (2023-04-24)4.23
Mo risks his relationship with his father, and Tommy is put to the test.
6"Love the One You're With"Gilles BannierDeclan Lawn & Adam Patterson1 May 2023 (2023-05-01)4.44
Truths are revealed as the team works together in the aftermath of the arms deal.

Series 2

On 20 April 2023, the BBC confirmed that a second series of 6 episodes had been commissioned with filming to begin in Belfast in summer 2023 with a release estimated to be in 2024.[5] Siân Brooke, Martin McCann, Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff, Joanne Crawford, Andi Osho, and Hannah McClean are set to reprise their roles.[1]

Production

The series is written by Declan Lawn, Adam Patterson & Fran Harris.[6] Director Gilles Bannier described the themes of the series to be "how you pass the baton to the next generation and how the generation that is reaching the end should share the experience." He added that "it is so important that people should share their experience and yet let the younger generations make decisions for themselves."[7] Lawn and Patterson were both brought up in Northern Ireland and said there was a disparity between the older and younger actors as to their knowledge of the Troubles with Lawn saying "Our more established stars, John Lynch and Richard Dormer, grew up there and knew about the history of the Troubles…it was interesting to see how different age groups reacted to it. The level of violence was a shock to some."[8]

Filming

The series was filmed completely in Northern Ireland with filming locations including Belfast, Dundonald’s Coopers Mill, and Bangor. Principal photography commenced in February 2022.[9]

Series 2 commenced filming in August 2023.[10]

Casting

Sian Brooke said elements of the role felt right to her because her father was a police officer and the script "captured the friendships within the job, and how important they are. How much time you spend with this person in a car. They spend more time with each other than they probably do with anybody else, in this tiny little office on wheels." She also spoke to serving officers, social workers and Belfast residents before filming.[11]

Broadcast

The series was first broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom at 9 pm on Monday 27 March 2023[12] with the full series available on BBC iPlayer.

The series begun broadcasting in Australia on SBS.[13] The series debuted Thursday, 18 May on SBS On Demand with all six episodes available to stream and played weekly 9.30 pm Thursdays, starting 24 May on SBS.

Reception

The series was nominated for Best New Drama at the 28th National Television Awards.[14]

Critical response

Anita Singh writing in The Daily Telegraph awarded the series five stars and said "Blue Lights won’t receive a fraction of the hype of Line of Duty, but there isn’t a duff line or an overcooked scene to be found here".[15] Rebecca Nicholson for The Guardian also gave the show five stars. Nicholson said she was "engrossed", describing it as "well-crafted, fantastically tense, thrilling stuff",[16] and "one of the best shows of the year“.[17] Ian Acheson in The Spectator called it a "near perfect cop drama" that "that manages to humanise the lives of the men and women in the Police Service of Northern Ireland without mawkishness" that despite "some procedural howlers that have clearly been let loose in the service of the storylines", leaves viewers "in for a rare treat."[18] There was a less positive review in The Independent with Sean O’Grady describing the central characters as either “loathsome or pathetic" and in some cases "both".[19]

References
  1. "BBC announces second series of Blue Lights". www.bbc.co.uk. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  2. Belkessam, Omar (27 March 2023). "Blue Lights: BBC drama explores the reality of life in the PSNI". BBC News. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  3. Hibbs, James (27 March 2023). "Blue Lights: Release date, cast and latest news for BBC police drama". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  4. "BBC One – Blue Lights – Episodes". BBC One. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/blue-lights-season-2-release-date/
  6. Ramachandran, Naman (23 March 2023). "'The Salisbury Poisonings' Duo Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn Sign With WME for U.S. Representation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  7. "Interview with Gilles Bannier – Director & Executive Producer of Blue Lights". Pressparty.com. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  8. "Brutality in BBC drama Blue Lights shocked cast who had not lived through Troubles". The Observer. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  9. Comerford, Ruth (27 March 2023). "Where was Blue Lights filmed? Filming locations in Belfast for the new BBC One drama series". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  10. "Set pictures from series 2 of BBC's Blue Lights reveal possible new recruits". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  11. Kelly, Laura (27 March 2023). "Sian Brooke 'fell in love with Belfast' making gritty police drama Blue Lights". Big Issue. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  12. "Blue Lights". bbc.co.uk. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  13. "Airdate: Blue Lights". tvtonight.com.au. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  14. McLaughlin, Sophie (6 September 2023). "NTA 2023: Blue Lights loses out on Best New Drama award to Netflix show Wednesday". Belfast Live. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  15. Singh, Anita (28 March 2023). "Blue Lights, review: BBC One's Belfast cop drama deserves as much hype as Line of Duty". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  16. Nicholson, Rebecca (28 March 2023). "Blue Lights review – don't sleep on this fantastically tense Belfast cop show". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  17. Richardson, Hollie (24 April 2023). "TV tonight: excitement mounts in a superb NI cop show". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  18. Acheson, Ian (24 April 2023). "The BBC's Blue Lights is a near-perfect cop drama". The Spectator. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  19. O’Grady, Sean (28 March 2023). "Blue Lights Review:A tiresome look at policing in Northern Ireland". The Independent. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
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