‘Blue lights’
Creators: Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson
Address: Gilles Bannier
Distribution: Siân Brooke, Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff, Richard Dormer
Country: United Kingdom
Duration: 60 minutes (6 episodes)
Year: 2023
Gender: crime drama
Premiere: 29 September 2023 (Movistar Plus+)
★★★★
We’re accustomed to six-part crime dramas from the United Kingdom, and that pace tends to land reliably with both local audiences and viewers beyond Britain’s shores. Yet Blue lights, streaming on Movistar Plus+ from Friday the 29th, still lands with a quiet, almost surprising effectiveness. The series had already drawn strong praise after its BBC One debut in March, with the opening episode drawing over seven million viewers, a statistic that underscores the show’s broad appeal. It feels like a well-earned win for a crime drama that manages to stay lively across all six installments.
Blue Lights decouples from the most familiar crime-thriller routes by rooting its tension in a specific place and a small cohort of trainee officers. Set in Belfast, the series follows three probationary members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland who are navigating the challenges of early career life in a city marked by its own complicated history. The show traces how personal boundaries blur when professional duty collides with family, friends, and local loyalties, offering a portrait of policing that feels grounded and urgent.
The ensemble centers on Grace, Annie, and Tommy. Grace, portrayed by Siân Brooke, is a single mother whose willingness to step into the emotional space of those she’s sworn to protect often spills into her professional judgments. Annie, played by Katherine Devlin, is a young Catholic officer who routinely bends the rules in pursuit of what she believes to be right. Tommy, a compelling debut performance by Nathan Braniff, brings social warmth and sharp wit to a cohort that often has to rely on improvisation rather than formal authority. Veteran presence comes from Stevie (Martin McCann) and Gerry, a supervising figure brought to life by Richard Dormer, who emphasizes steady leadership while guiding the apprentices through the rough edges of the job.
The precinct, Blackthorn, exists within a neighborhood where the daily grind of drug trade, street violence, and neighborhood friction test the crew. The central threat appears in the form of a Republican mafia clan led by a stoic, brooding figure named James McIntyre, brought to life with memorable intensity by John Lynch. The show doesn’t rest on clean lines of good and evil; instead, it mirrors a world where corruption and internal investigations can complicate the pursuit of justice, a tension familiar to fans of modern police procedurals who crave moral ambiguity as much as procedural clarity.
Despite the heaviness of its premise, Blue Lights maintains a humane core. The drama remembers that behind every case there are people with stories, anxieties, and moments of levity that remind viewers of their humanity. Grace’s eyes, in particular, reflect a depth of empathy that resonates with the best performances in contemporary crime drama, and the writing gives all three leads room to reveal vulnerabilities that complicate their trajectories. The balance between professional risk and personal consequence is handled with restraint, allowing a sense of real-world fatigue to permeate the storytelling without bogging the plot down in melodrama.
From a production perspective, the project benefits from a strong collaboration between seasoned directors and fresh voices. Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, whose backgrounds in investigative journalism and documentary work helped shape their first drama, Death in Salisbury, bring a grounded sense of place and a keen eye for social detail to this Belfast-set series. Their intimate knowledge of Northern Ireland shines through in the authenticity of the setting and the nuance of the character dynamics. In their debut as a drama team, they demonstrate a genuine ability to translate real-life sensitivity into compelling screen storytelling. Source: BBC coverage and regional press materials indicate their intent to present a community they intimately understand, engaging with the legacies that still echo through contemporary life in Northern Ireland.
Gilles Bannier, the director noted for his work on Espiral, joins as a collaborator to bring a cinematic texture that complements the strong writing. The result is a show that can feel both intimate and expansive, delivering long-form character development alongside tense, procedural sequences. Viewers can expect patient pacing that rewards attention, with character-driven scenes interspersed with the procedural beats that keep the plot moving forward much like a modern television epic. The overall approach invites comparisons to widely acclaimed police dramas while maintaining a distinct Northern Irish voice that adds texture to the genre. In this sense, Blue Lights emerges as a bold modern entry that folds human complexity into the mechanics of policing, rather than reducing the job to action alone. Source: production interviews and press notes provide context for the creative choices behind the series, highlighting the collaboration that shaped its unique tone.
Across six hours, the show crafts a believable, lived-in atmosphere that Canadian and American viewers will likely recognize and appreciate. It neither sensationalizes the dangers of the job nor insists on a relentless high-octane pace; instead, it builds suspense through character decisions and the consequences that follow. The series stands out for its willingness to explore the gray areas where good intentions can collide with imperfect outcomes. This is a police drama that honors the humanity of its characters while delivering the procedural payoff that fans expect. Source: broadcast reviews and regional critics summaries corroborate the balance between character depth and thriller momentum that defines the series.