Television series

Line of Duty

A police procedural that treats every interrogation scene like a bomb disposal, Line of Duty follows AC-12 as they investigate their own — bent coppers, cover-ups, and increasingly dizzying conspiracies. It's talky, claustrophobic, and addictive in the way a good crossword is addictive. For anyone who likes plots that fold back on themselves and characters who lie beautifully to your face.

TVMaze rating8.6

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The Fall2013

Gillian Anderson's detective hunts a killer in Belfast in a series that trades Line of Duty's institutional maze for something colder and more psychological, but keeps the same slow-burn dread.

But It spends real time inside the killer's perspective, which some viewers find distasteful rather than illuminating.

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Happy Valley2014

Sarah Lancashire is extraordinary as a Yorkshire sergeant dragging her own trauma into a case that spirals into something much bigger. Same moral seriousness, same brilliant slow reveal.

But It's bleaker and more personal than Line of Duty — less puzzle-box, more gut-punch.

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Bodyguard2018

Also written by Jed Mercurio, also obsessed with institutions lying to themselves, also features a jaw-dropping early set piece. If you like his rhythms, this is the same engine in a political thriller.

But The twists lean pulpier and less procedurally grounded — some found the back half implausible.

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The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Between the Lines1992

This is the actual template — Jed Mercurio has spoken of it as an influence, and watching it feels like seeing Line of Duty's rough first draft, three decades early.

A little-remembered BBC series about a police complaints unit, made two decades before Line of Duty and widely cited as its direct ancestor. It's slower and stagier, but the DNA is unmistakable.

But Early-90s production values and pacing will feel dated fast if you're used to modern polish.

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More like this (8)

The Wire2002

The gold standard for institutional rot as drama — cops, docks, schools, city hall, all shown to be running on the same broken logic. Patient in a way that pays off enormously.

But It asks for total commitment across five seasons and rewards patience over immediate hooks.

The Wire poster

Broadchurch2013

A small-town murder investigation that turns into a study of grief and suspicion spreading through a community. Slower and sadder than Line of Duty, but just as gripping.

But The mystery mechanics are simpler — this is character drama first, procedural second.

Broadchurch poster

Luther2010

Idris Elba as a detective operating right at the edge of the rules, in a show that trades Line of Duty's realism for pure pulpy momentum and unforgettable villains.

But It's far less plausible — this is style and charisma over procedural credibility.

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Marcella2016

A murder detective whose grip on her own mind is as unstable as the case she's chasing. Similarly tangled plotting, similarly committed lead performance.

But The psychological instability device gets used more than once, which can feel repetitive by the later seasons.

Marcella poster

Unforgotten2015

Cold-case investigations that patiently unpick the lives of ordinary people hiding old secrets. Gentler pace, same fascination with how guilt survives decades.

But It's quieter and more melancholy — don't expect Line of Duty's adrenaline or cliffhangers.

Unforgotten poster

The Shield2002

An LA strike team led by a genuinely corrupt cop, filmed with jittery, handheld urgency. The American answer to 'what if the investigators are the criminals.'

But It's rougher, pulpier, and more nihilistic — less about institutional accountability than personal survival.

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The Thin Blue Line1988

Same obsession — how institutions build a story out of testimony, and how easily that story can be a lie — but here it's not drama, it actually happened.

Errol Morris's landmark documentary reconstructs a real wrongful murder conviction with the same interrogation-room intensity Line of Duty fictionalises, using testimony and re-enactment instead of a script.

But It's a real case with real consequences — no twist can be enjoyed as pure entertainment here, and the tone is somber throughout.

The Thin Blue Line poster

12 Angry Men1957

Swap AC-12's interview table for a jury table: it's the same genre engine — doubt, pressure, and reasonable people slowly changing their minds — decades before television caught up to it.

A jury room instead of an interview suite, but the same forensic pleasure of watching people pick apart a story for the lie inside it. Tense, claustrophobic, and shockingly modern.

But Black and white, single location, no action whatsoever — pure talk, which won't suit everyone.

12 Angry Men poster

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Recommended by

Broadchurch, Happy Valley, Bosch, Andor, The Departed, Slow Horses, Bodyguard, Between the Lines, Sherlock, Luther, House of Cards, Life on Mars, Prime Suspect, Endeavour, Cracker, 24 Hours in Police Custody, State of Play, Marcella, Den of Thieves, Unforgotten, We Own This City, The Blame, Gangs of London, Shetland