Line of Duty season 6 release date revealed as new trailer released

News
By published

The BBC crime drama is back

Martin Compston and Vicky McClure in Line of Duty
(Image credit: BBC)

Line of Duty season 6 has a release date – and a new trailer. The new season will start on March 21 on BBC One, with new episodes airing every Sunday at 9pm. The BBC has also confirmed that season 6 will have seven episodes, making it the series' longest season yet. 

The latest trailer gives us a new look at what we can expect from season 6, too. It's a short but tense teaser, showing Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) making an announcement during a standoff amidst wailing sirens.

The British drama about corruption inside the police force first hit the small screen in 2012 and has been hugely popular ever since. In season 6, Dunbar will be joined by Martin Compston and Vicky McClure, who'll reprise their roles as Steve Arnott and Kate Fleming.

The main trio will be joined by Kelly Macdonald, who will play a Detective Chief Inspector under suspicion after an unsolved murder case she's working on attracts the attention of the Anti-Corruption unit. Meanwhile, Shalom Brune-Franklin will play a new addition to the team.

Brune-Franklin recently starred in BBC political thriller Roadkill alongside Hugh Laurie, while Macdonald is known for her roles in movies like Danny Boyle's Trainspotting and the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men. Antagonists in previous seasons have been played by other big name actors like Thandie Newton and Keeley Hawes. 

Series creator Jed Mercurio also recently served as the showrunner on the award-winning political thriller Bodyguard, starring Keeley Hawes as the UK Prime Minister and Game of Thrones' Richard Madden as her army veteran bodyguard. 

While we wait for Line of Duty season 6 to hit the small screen, make sure you've caught up on all the best TV shows of 2020.

Emily Garbutt
Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.