Line of Duty season five comes to an end tonight (Sunday, May 5) in an epic 90-minute long finale. You can catch the final episode of the gripping series at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Fans had to wait two years for the fifth instalment of the Jed Mercurio police drama but will the series continue after tonight?
Will there be another series of Line of Duty?
Yes! There will be another series of Line of Duty on the BBC.
The BBC confirmed in early 2017 that Line of Duty would return for two more seasons.
Season five was part of that deal and has already begun airing, concluding tonight on the channel.
BBC director-general Tony Hall said at the time: “I am very excited to say there’s not one but two more series of Line of Duty. So hooray for AC-12!“
HOW LONG IS THE LINE OF DUTY SEASON FINALE?
There was a two-year delay after season four, with season five premiering in March 2019.
The delay was due to the creator, writer and director Jed Mercurio working on the hugely successful Bodyguard starring Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes.
Fans are not wrong to expect Line of Duty season six as early as 2020, however, there is likely to be further delayed until Spring 2021.
Although the BBC has not officially confirmed a second season of Bodyguard, it is highly likely the series will return and Mercurio may be working on that for the foreseeable future.
Speaking recently to the Telegraph, Mercurio confirmed he was in talks with Richard Madden.
He said: “We’re still in talks. We’re just looking at the logistics of doing a second one. We haven’t reached the end point of those discussions.”
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, April, 30 Mercurio also confirmed that he had not begun writing the scripts for season six of Line of Duty.
Speaking to Kirsty Wark on Newsnight in 2018, Mercurio also revealed filming will take place in the next “couple” of years.
He said: “With Line of Duty we’re shooting series five now, and series six has been commissioned which we’re going to shoot hopefully in the next couple of years.”
Season six of Line of Duty is likely to have six episodes, the same as the previous five seasons of the show.
COULD JOHN CORBETT STILL BE ALIVE?
What will happen in Line of Duty season 6?
At the moment it is impossible to predict what will happen in Line of Duty season six.
Tonight, viewers are hoping to find out who the bent copper is that is leading the OCG, also known as H.
At the moment, Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) is suspected to be H and is under arrest.
However, Mercurio is down for shocking viewers with his major plot twists and turns, so H really could be anybody.
The plot of season six will largely depend on how the fifth series comes to a close.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Friday, May 3, Martin Compston who plays DC Steve Arnott hinted that season six may be the last one but he also teased there is a lot more still to explore in the sixth series and a potential seventh.
He said: “At the moment we only have [series] 6 commissioned, but I think what we’ve got, what Jed’s done is very clever. He wants to end the show on his terms. He wants to give the audience the pay-off.
“So if 6 is to be the last one, it will be. And if 7 is commissioned, then he’ll maybe do a longer storyline.”
Richenda sandals who plays Lisa McQueen revealed last week on This Morning that there would be “some form” of conclusion.
She added: “But as I’m sure you’re all well aware, there’s still another series to go and there’s lots of details.“
Who will star in Line of Duty season 6?
The cast of Line of Duty season six will largely depend on who survives the Line of Duty season finale tonight.
Line of Duty would definitely not be the same without AC-12’s Adrian Dunbar as Ted Hastings, Vicky McClure as Kate Fleming and Martin Compston as Steve Arnott, so it highly likely they will return.
Other cast members hopefully returning are Aiysha Hart as DC Sam Railston, Rochenda Sandall as Lisa McQueen and Polly Walker as Gill Biggeloe.
This season of Line of Duty has brought back many characters from the past few seasons, so it is highly likely familiar faces such as Keeley Hawes, Craig Parkinson, Gina McKee and Daniel Mays could pop up in the new series.
Line of Duty season five has also had huge names as guest stars including Stephen Graham and Anna Maxwell Martin.
Although Stephen Graham’s character John Corbett was killed off in episode four, knowing Mercurio’s style, fingers crossed Corbett will be revisited at some point down the line.
Line of Duty season 5 ends tonight at 9pm on BBC One