Line of Duty: If you like the BBC One police drama, you’ll love... Trigger Point, The Missing and Bodyguard

Now we’re sucking diesel. Line of Duty returned with a bang in 2021 as season 6 got record ratings and got the whole nation talking about Hastings, Arnott and Fleming.

Jed Mercurio’s twist-filled, heart-pounding police thriller has been the most influential British drama of the last decade.

But with no official confirmation of a seventh season and a long wait for any new episodes, what are you going to watch while you wait for AC-12 to get back together?

ITV's bomb thriller Trigger Point was one way to help ease our impatience, but with that over (for now), here are some similar shows, including nail-biting crime thrillers and twist-filled mysteries.

Trigger Point

Originally aired: January 2022

Where can I watch it: BritBox and the ITV Hub

How many series: There's just one series available to watch at the moment - but producer Jed Mercurio has confirmed a second will be on its way.

ITV's bomb thriller Trigger Point reunites Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio with its star Vicky McClure (Kate Fleming), who plays bomb disposal operative Lana Washington.

With the backdrop of counter-terrorism policing and the work of the Metropolitan Police Bomb Disposal Squad in contemporary London, the series follows the ‘Expo’ officers who risk their lives by walking towards danger.

Speaking to BT.com and other journalists at the virtual press launch for Trigger Point, Mercurio said he 'welcomed' Line of Duty fans to watch the show - but told them to expect something 'very different' to the smash hit BBC One crime drama.

"We're very proud of our collaboration on Line Of Duty and obviously thrilled with the way in which that series has connected with such a huge audience," he says.

"But people will soon realise that Trigger Point is a very different piece of work.

"It would be great if people came to it because they loved Vicky in Line Of Duty and want to see her in this particular role. It would be lovely if that gives the show more attention."

From Line of Duty to This Is England - Vicky McClure's best TV and film roles

Vigil

Originally aired: August 2021

Where can I watch it: BBC iPlayer

How many series: One season of six episodes

Starring Line of Duty's Martin Compston and Doctor Foster star Suranne Jones, Vigil centres on a murder investigation aboard a creepy submarine in the deep sea, spanning the Navy and the British security services in its wide-ranging search for answers.

It's from Line of Duty makers World Productions, and created by Tom Edge, who's written for The Crown and adapted JK Rowling’s Cormoran Strike novels for the BBC.

Vigil, which kept viewers guessing to the very end when it first aired on BBC One in August 2021, also stars Rose Leslie (Game Of Thrones) and Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Jamestown).

Bloodlands

Originally aired: 2021

Where can I watch it: BBC iPlayer

How many series: One season, four episodes (Season 2 is confirmed)

Exec-produced by Jed Mercurio, Bloodlands had many of the hallmarks of Line of Duty as it twisted viewers expectations of where a crime drama should turn.

James Nesbitt is excellent as the conflicted protagonist who finds himself digging into a personal tragedy when an infamous killer nicknamed Goliath resurfaces in Northern Ireland two decades after his last murder.

Unforgotten

Originally aired: 2015 - 2021

Where can I watch it: Seasons 1-4 on BritBox. Season 1 is also on ITV Hub.

How many series: Four seasons, 24 episodes (Season 5 is on its way)

The most underrated drama on British TV, Unforgotten is head and shoulders above the neverending mass of crime dramas populating our screens.

Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar bring charm and natural chemistry as the lead detectives Cassie and Sunny, but it’s the smartly-plotted cold case mysteries that are this show’s trump card.

Bodyguard

Originally aired: 2018

Where can I watch it: Netflix

How many series: One season, six episodes

Keeley Hawes played Home Secretary Julia Montague and Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden starred as her Personal Protection Officer, David Budd, in this enthralling and addictive thriller.

Each episode reveals further complexities in the pair's professional and personal relationships as they find themselves at the heart of a web of intrigue that involves the security services and the police as well as politicians and civil servants within Westminster itself.

The explosive finale was watched by over 17 million viewers in the UK and everyone has been desperately hoping for a second season ever since.

Missing Bodyguard? What to watch next >

Luther

Originally aired: 2010-2019

Where can I watch it: BBC iPlayer

How many series: Five seasons, 20 episodes

Not for the faint-hearted, Luther is the more violent and creepy cousin to Line of Duty when it comes to crime thrillers.

Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson lead the cast through a series of psychological and twisted storylines that will leave you gasping and hiding behind the sofa.

A movie is rumoured to be in development, but for the time being there are five seasons to dive into on iPlayer.

Informer

Originally aired: 2018

Where can I watch it: BritBox

How many series: One season, 6 episodes

Starring Nabhaan Rizwan, Jessica Raine and Paddy Considine, Informer is a tense thriller about a second-generation British Pakistani who is coerced into working as an informant for a counter-terrorism unit.

Exploring themes around identity and family, the series feels like a forgotten gem from the BBC.

The Missing

Originally aired: 2014-16

Where can I watch it: BBC iPlayer

How many series: Two seasons, 16 episodes

The Missing creators Harry and Jack Williams are masters of crime mysteries and The Missing is the duo’s finest hour. Season 1's story about a missing boy starring James Nesbitt as the desperate father is fantastic, however, it was season 2 that took the show to another level.

Starring David Morrissey, Keeley Hawes and Roger Allam, the mystery about a girl going missing in Germany is brilliantly crafted.

Tcheky Karyo's standout performances in both series as French detective Julien Baptiste even earned him a 2019 spin-off, Baptiste, both series of which are also available on BBC iPlayer with series 1 on BritBox.

Bodies

Originally aired: 2004-2006

Where can I watch it: Prime Video

How many series: Two seasons, 17 episodes

Ranked among the best shows of the 2000s by The Times and among the Greatest Television Dramas of All Time by The Guardian, Bodies was Line of Duty mastermind Jed Mercurio’s breaththrough series.

In a similar way to how Mercurio ripped up the police drama rule book, Bodies provided a fresh perspective on what a hospital drama could be. A world away from Holby City and Casualty, Bodies offered an unfiltered take on the genre.

Max Beesley and Patrick Baladi are among the cast.

Between the Lines

Originally aired: 1992-94

Where can I watch it:  Not currently available for streaming

How many series: Three seasons, 35 episodes

Starring Neil Pearson, Siobhan Redmond, Tom Georgeson and Tony Doyle, this 90s drama series won Baftas and was in many ways the precursor to Line of Duty.

Following the CIB (Complaints Investigation Buerau), an organisation looking into complaints and corruption in the force, it was a landmark police drama that has lasted the test of time.

Watch every episode of Line of Duty on BBC iPlayer.