Blue Lights (2023)

★ 7.5 3 Seasons 113 votes IMDb

Drama Crime

Follows rookie police officers working in Belfast, a city in which being a frontline response cop comes with unique pressures and dangers.

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Cast

Sian Brooke as Grace Ellis Age 46 · Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, UK Sian Brooke is a British actress, known for portraying Laura in All About George, Lori in Cape Wrath, and Eurus Holmes in Sherlock. Sian Elizabeth Phillips was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, Englan...

Katherine Devlin as Annie Conlon Age 30 · Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Nathan Braniff as Tommy Foster

Martin McCann as Stevie Neil Age 42 · Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK Martin McCann grew up with a brother and sister in the Divis Flats area of Falls Road in Belfast. In 2006 Lord Richard Attenborough cast McCann in his film after seeing him play Alex in a stage pro...

Joanne Crawford as Helen McNally Age 53 · Dublin, Ireland Joanne has enjoyed a varied acting career for the last 20 years, both in the UK and Ireland, playing characters from Northern Ireland, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Manchester and the US. Having started...

Director Declan Lawn

Cast Sian Brooke, Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff, Martin McCann, Joanne Crawford, Andi Osho, Frank Blake, Michael Smiley

Seasons & Episodes

Season 1 Season 2 Season 3

Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6

Now playing: Season 1, Episode 1

phildev 10/10 Apr 01, 2023

Excellent. Finest series I've seen in years. Up there with the best of all time. Just extraordinarily good.

Peter McGinn 10/10 May 19, 2023

This police series exceeded my expectations with its intelligent writing and solid performances all around. There is a lot of tension in many of the scenes on that I started out assuming the worst was going to happen in each situation. But cops don’t die all the time in real life, so it makes sense that most scenes kept it real by avoiding chronic violence and a high body count.

None of the officers in the ensemble cast were taken for granted. They were finely down and three-dimensional and I was interested in all of them, caring about what happens to them to a varied amount. There was a few plot twists, but nothing unbelievable or used as a plot shortcut.

The end result is that I will look forward to a second season if it comes.

MovieGuys 6/10 Apr 25, 2024

The rather unimaginatively titled, Blue Lights offer up an above average series, albeit with a idealised perspective on modern policing.

Lets start with the positives. An interesting setting, Northern Ireland with its "troubles" that still simmer and from time to time, boil over. A raw take on the role of police in this harsh environment. Faced not only with warring factions, be they Loyalist or Republican but also organised and day to day crime.

Stories are well written for the most part, whilst characterisations have both depth and humanity. Its easy to relate to the challenges faced by the police in trying to maintain order but also behave like human beings.

That said, the reality of Northern Ireland is its a problem created by British imperialism. A problem that wont go away until the UK cedes its last patch of imperialist gain to the nation it rightly belongs to, Ireland. More than that, as we have seen during COVID and beyond the role of police has become increasingly politicised in the worst way possible, not to mention at times, being downright tyrannical.

Unsurprisingly, none of these concerns are raised in this BBC produced series.

In summary, a well written crime drama that is essentially an entertaining fiction and little more. Watch for entertainment value only.