One of the Best TV Shows of the Last Decade Is Coming Back After 5 Years, and It Just Got More Exciting

The modern streaming era has conditioned audiences to expect a bit of a wait between the seasons of their favorite TV shows. It can be a frustrating development, considering that television for decades operated on a schedule of new episodes every year, and sometimes to a magnitude that is triple what shows currently produce on a timeline of every two or three years. We saw this in action with the final season of Stranger Things, which faced multiple delays on top of being a blockbuster-sized production with the final batch arriving more than three years. Now, another fan-favorite series has confirmed a return, and it will put that Stranger Things wait to shame.

BBC One has confirmed that not only is the hit police procedural Line of Duty officially returning for Series 7, news that arrives five years after the last episode was released, but also revealed new details on the plot and who will join the cast. Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, and Adrian Dunbar will return as the stars of the series, but as is tradition with Line of Duty, a new guest lead will join the roster, with Trainspotting & The Full Monty star Robert Carlyle set to star. Carlyle is just the first of the new additions confirmed for Series 7 though.

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BBC One’s Line of Duty Is Back After Half a Decade

The arrival of Robert Carlyle in Line of Duty continues their trend of having guest leads for every new series, with the actor stepping into the shoes of former stars Kelly Macdonald, Stephen Graham, Thandiwe Newton, and Lennie James. In the series, Carlyle will play Detective Constable Shaun Massie, described as “a veteran marksman, operating with Tactical Operations Unit 7 (TO-7) to take down Organised Crime Group.” According to the press release, Massie is “a gruff loner” who keeps to himself; however, “when his boss, TO-7’s commanding officer DI Dominic Gough, is accused of being a sexual predator, Massie’s otherwise detached demeanour changes drastically.”

“Having been a huge admirer of Jed Mercurio’s work for many years, I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to join such an exceptional cast for Series 7 of Line of Duty,” Carlyle said in a statement. “The scripts for the series are excellent and will absolutely maintain the quality that the audience have come to expect from this fantastic show. DC Massie is an extraordinary character and I look forward to bringing him to life.”

“I’ve been a huge fan of Robert’s work for many years and it will be a career highlight to work with him,” series creator Jed Mercurio added. “Robert always brings mesmerising power and depth to every role; I know viewers will be on the edge of their seats wondering what his character will do next, and why.”

It was previously confirmed that Series 7 of Line of Duty will see AC-12 disbanded and rebranded as the “Inspectorate of Police Standards.” Due to anticorruption work being more difficult than ever, the team will be working on “their most sensitive case so far,” and based on the above description of how Carlyle’s new character fits into the series, it’s easy to see how accurate this description really is.

In their announcement about Line of Duty‘s return, the BBC confirmed that Mercurio has once again written the entire series himself and will direct episodes 4 through 6, while Jennie Darnell of Line of Duty Series 6 will helm the first three. Production is set to take place in Belfast. Though no official timeline for when the new episodes will premiere was narrowed down, the announcement confirmed the series will not return until next year, meaning the gap between episodes will actually stretch to six years upon their arrival.