The BBC’s Line of Duty might have hit our screens back in 2012, but for nearly a decade fans of the show were hooked, desperate to finally discover the identity of the mystery ‘H’.
From riveting interrogations to gut-wrenching plot twists, viewers were able to enjoy six seasons watching the likes of Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar uncovering corruption within the police.
Earlier this month, Compston predicted that the drama will get a series seven at some point, saying: ‘We don’t want to get people’s hopes up. I’m sure there are ideas though.’
But with there being no concrete plans in place, it raises the important question – where else can you get your fix of gritty police dramas to stream for free?
From ITVX to BBC iPlayer, here are our picks of the best cop shows to binge…
Happy Valley
If you’re a fan of British crime dramas, it’s more than likely that you would have heard of Happy Valley.
Alongside Line of Duty, the two shows have gathered international cult followings for their high-intensity storylines and unpredictable twists.
Happy Valley follows Sarah Lancashire as Catherine Cawood, a police sergeant who tracks criminals while caring for her former drug addict sister and grandson.
Dealing with hard-hitting topics such as human trafficking and serial killers, Lancashire never ceases to amaze as the irrepressible Cawood.
After picking up a handful of Bafta awards and Lancashire winning best actress, you won’t regret adding this to your watchlist.
Happy Valley is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
Protection
ITV fans have already hailed the new six-part drama Protection as the ‘new Line of Duty’ following its recent release.
Starring Siobhan Finneran as DI Liz Nyles, who is an officer for the UK Protected Persons Service – the UK’s name for witness protection – the Happy Valley actress has to balance work with a complicated home life and racy affair.
Despite her efforts to keep gangster-turned-informant Jimmy McLennan safe along with his wife and daughter, the parents are murdered at a safe house.
Nyles worries that her affair with a married officer is a way for him to get information about the witnesses.
With the hints of corruption and secrecy running through, the show delivers everything that Line of Duty has to offer.
Protection is available to watch on ITVX
Time
It’s not often that a three-part series can evoke such an emotional and visceral experience as Time does.
The BBC series, starring Sean Bean and Adolescence star Stephen Graham, simply wows from start to finish.
Shedding light on what it would be like for a person who has no history of crime to enter the British penal system, it’s searing in its critique of a failed public service.
Alongside Bean’s storyline, who plays Mark Cobden, Graham’s turn as a prison officer who decides to break his principles to protect his family is as heartbreaking as it is fascinating.
Overall, producer Jimmy McGovern’s work manages to blend complete and utter panic and fear with real moments of tenderness as Bean’s characters laments a life-changing mistake.
Time is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
Bodyguard
If you’re after something like Line of Duty, look no further than the show’s creator Jed Mercurio who made this six-part limited series.
Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winner, Richard Madden is electrifying as police sergeant David Budd.
Assigned to protect an important politician who he disagrees with on a personal level, it provides the perfect platform for the show’s palpable action.
From thrilling shootouts to car chase scenes, it takes a serious look at how terrorism impacts Britain.
Bodyguard is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
A Confession
Martin Freeman is no stranger to thrilling police dramas after recently starring in the BBC’s The Responder.
However, his turn as Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher in A Confession, which is based on the true story about the investigation of a missing woman in 2011, is potentially some of his best work in an already glittering career.
Also featuring Protection star Siobhan Finneran, Imelda Staunton and Joe Absolom, the series explores the lack of common sense when it comes to policing in Britain today.
Fulcher, as he did in real life, breaks police protocol to catch a killer and must face the brutal, if not unfair, consequences as a result.
Streaming on ITVX, if you want to scream in frustration at the television, this could be the series for you.
A Confession is available to watch on ITVX
Luther
Luther fans will be well-accustomed to the show’s crazy storylines and gritty performances, but for those of you who don’t, entertainment is a near guarantee.
Created and written by Neil Cross, the series is a psychological crime thriller starring Idris Elba as Luther.
Five seasons are currently available on the BBC iPlayer to binge and a feature film was also released in 2023.
Fans have complained about a slow start in the series, but for those that stick with it, it delivers.
Elba’s unconventional tactics provide a different sort of experience to the crime series above, one less grounded in realism, but it’s still certainly bingeable.
Luther is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
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