I have been on a tear, watching British television shows, and especially their police procedurals. It began with Hinterland, then expanded into Broadchurch, and Wallander. All very enjoyable, all top quality. While searching for something in the same vein, Barbara found a recommendation for “Line of Duty“, and while it isn’t on Netflix, it was on Hulu.
Unlike the other police procedurals, this one has a twist. It focuses on a group that is charged with investigating and ferreting out corrupt practice in the police agencies. The group is AC-12, or Anticorruption unit 12.
A season is 6 episodes, and is focused around one investigation. It starts with a bang, in a counter terrorism raid, they hit the wrong apartment, and kill an innocent man. Burdened by this, the point of the investigation, Steven Arnott, chooses to not bury the mistake, and testifies against his team mates. This catches the eye of the superintendent of AC-12, Ted Hastings, who offers him a position on the force.
The first case is a scorcher, a show-boating DI, of a flashy group, and as the story wends and wafts, it is both a page turner, and intense.
The unit is two characters, under the Superintendent, Steve Arnott, a Detective-Sargent, and Kate Flemming (played by Vicki McClure) a Detective Constable. They work well together, but as part of the tale, there are power plays, and push/pull.
The show is, for want of a better word, intense. The writing is superb, the stories are compelling, and there weren’t any episodes that didn’t significantly engage and draw you in.
Highly recommended, available on Hulu.
