Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you've probably heard of Line of Duty, the BBC police drama everybody’s talking about on social media. So how do you watch Line of Duty in the US and the rest of the world?
Created by British writer and producer Jed Mercurio, the show often has its viewers scratching their heads and asking things like, who is H? (You'll get it after Season 4.) Securing record-breaking viewing figures with its sixth series, it’s clear that once you start watching Line of Duty, you’re hooked.
The gripping drama is produced by the BBC, a British public broadcaster. But that’s not to say you can’t tune in to the show from anywhere in the world. If you’ve not watched LOD before, prepared to be plagued with burning questions over the fan-favorite theories. To cite one of the best Ted Hastings quotes, now we’re sucking diesel...
How to watch Line of Duty in the US and anywhere in the world
If you’re outside of the UK and don't have a Hulu, Prime Video or Britbox subscription, you’ll need a VPN to watch Line of Duty.
This is a really handy bit of software that changes your IP address so that streaming services like Netflix think you’re in the UK.
Our sister site, TechRadar, has tested all of the major VPN services and they rate ExpressVPN as the absolute best. They say, “It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services, and ranks among the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, and PlayStation. So for a one-stop-shop, you can’t go wrong with Express.”
If you’ve never installed a VPN before, don’t worry. It’s super simple to do in three quick steps:
Is Line of Duty on Netflix?
Line of Duty is available on Netflix only in the UK—sorry US fans! It’s also available to stream on Britbox and Amazon Prime, plus BBC iPlayer in the UK.
What is Line of Duty about?
Line of Duty centers around a team of police officers investigating corruption within the force. When an operation goes wrong, Steve Arnott transfers to Central Police’s AC-12 unit, headed up by Superintendent Ted Hastings. Initially investigating the highly commended DCI Tony Gates, the team soon discover that the levels of corruption within the force could run much deeper than they initially thought. It has you second-guessing yourself every episode wondering who is behind the heinous crimes.
Once you’ve got your teeth stuck into the series, be sure to download the Obsessed with Line of Duty podcast hosted by Craig Parkinson, who plays Matthew Cottan in the show. You’ll be pro in the Line of Duty acronyms before you know it.
Is Line of Duty based on real events?
It may calm your nerves to know that the Line of Duty storylines aren’t based on real events and people, but they are inspired by real cases, according to Metro. It was reported by National World that some of the show's key storylines were based on famous UK court cases, such as the wrongful convictions of Stefan Kiszko and Barry George.
And while AC-12 may be a fictitious unit, it is based on real anti-corruption police units. Jed Mercurio, the show's creator, who also created Bodyguard, works with a team of former police officers to ensure the show is as realistic as possible. Probably why it’s so very gripping!
How many episodes of Line of Duty are there?
After the Line of Duty finale for this series there will be 37 episodes of the show in total. Season 1 had five episodes, Seasons 2-5 are made up of six episodes each, while the sixth and most recent series featured seven episodes.
All of the episodes are just under an hour long each, apart from the Season 3 and 5 finales, both of which ran for an hour and a half.
It’s not yet known if there’ll be a Line of Duty Season 7, but the cast and show creator Jed Mercurio haven’t ruled it out completely. “We won’t come back just for the sake of it, that’s for sure,” Martin Compston, who plays Steve Arnott, recently told The Jonathan Ross Show. “We’ll come back if there’s a story to tell. But if it ends well, maybe sometimes it is best to leave it.”
Watch the Line of Duty trailer
What channel is Line of Duty on?
In the UK, Line of Duty has aired on BBC One since its fourth series. Before that, the first three seasons aired on BBC Two, where it quickly became the most popular drama in the channel’s history.
You can also tune into the show if you have a Hulu, Prime Video or Britbox subscription.
Take our word for it, once you start watching this hit police drama you’ll be as hooked as the rest of us.
-
Oprah Winfrey's sleep disturbances and heart palpitations that came with perimenopause - 'For two years I didn’t sleep well. Never a full night'Oprah Winfrey is the latest celebrity to share how perimenopause affected her physical health, and it's opening up conversations about this challenging time of life.
-
The TV shows you didn't know were remakes, adaptations or loosely based on other showsYou might be surprised that some of the most popular TV shows aren't entirely originals
