The BBC releases details from season four of Sherlock

Today the BBC released the first details from the fourth series of Sherlock, which will (likely) premiere on its flagship channel, BBC1, on New Year’s Day 2017. (I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – 2017 is shaping up to be quite a year for crime drama fans.) The wheels of the promotional machines have gently started whirr once again, so here are the details so far…

Season six of Spiral to start shooting in Paris next month

Thanks to Spiral and Witnesses (and a whole bunch of stuff on Walter Presents), France is now up there as one of the key and most prolific producers of tight, grimy, edgy urban procedurals. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that the country’s output now rivals Scandinavia and the Nordic countries in terms of quality of output. If there’s one series that helped to kick off this interest in French crime drama it’s Spiral, and the good news is that the sixth series is on its way.

Line Of Duty, Marcella: How important is authenticity in crime drama?

(C) World productions – Photographer: Steffan Hill

Everyone enjoying Line Of Duty? Let’s see a show of hands… hmmm, yes, that’s pretty much all of you. It has been another rip-roaring, two high-octane episodes so far, confirming Jed Mercurio as one of the country’s premiere thriller writers. The pace, the shocks, the twists, the sheer audacity and willingness to kill off key characters at any given moment… and those interview scenes. Still so brilliantly taught, choreographed and acted. But here’s a question: while you’re watching the show are you thinking about authenticity? Are you thinking: this is a great story, but I do wonder if the portrayal of the police is an accurate one? Yes? No? After reading a piece in this past week’s Observer, which called out Mercurio and how accurate the show was, it got me thinking (I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this week, and it’s starting to hurt): does authenticity in crime drama matter?

ITV’s The Level announces cast details

A few weeks ago we issued a news story that announced the arrival of a new six-part crime drama from ITV (read the story here). Called The Level, it was to feature the story of Detective Sergeant Nancy Devlin, who has a secret double life. Her exemplary police career masks a covert attachment to shady businessman and drugs trafficker, Frank Le Saux. Inextricably linked to Frank from childhood as the father of her best friend, Hayley and the father figure she herself craved. Nancy has been playing a dangerous game to ensure that Frank always remains off the police radar. Nancy soon finds herself at the centre of an investigation which puts her at risk of exposure and sees her stalked by a killer intent on destroying her. Nancy’s complicated love life and relationships with colleagues creates further tension as she doesn’t know who she can trust… literally with her life. Now the network has announced cast details.