— The following contains slight spoilers for the events of seasons 1 and 2. If you haven’t watched already, we suggest heading to SBS On Demand where both seasons are streaming now. —
The return of beloved police procedural Blue Lights is a return to the streets of Belfast, but three seasons in, fans of the award-winning series will know that away from the front line is where the real story begins. As the officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland work to preserve peace and order in a city where a violent past and complex present are uniquely intertwined, it is the people behind the police badge that are the series’ heart and soul.
In the first season, audiences were introduced to Grace, Tommy and Annie, three aspiring officers of the PSNI who, if they survived their probation period, would be the newest recruits on one of the country’s toughest beats. Making it through those three months, however? A seemingly impossible task. Each found themselves confronted with challenges both within and outside the force, and the problems facing the city and its people made for crimes that took a personal toll.
Nathan Braniff is back as Tommy Foster. Credit: Two Cities / Peter Marley
Now, in the third season of the BAFTA-winning series, with their stab vests well and truly worn in, and their eyes opened to the realities of the community they serve, the trio have defied all the odds and cemented their place in the Blackthorn Station team. Two years on, street level crime is part and parcel of the job, and the intricacies of the factions and feuds of Belfast are essential knowledge. Though crime disproportionately impacts the city’s poorest areas, those who hold wealth and power in the city fan the flames, and when a local drug deal gone wrong quickly reveals itself to have white collar roots, the PSNI have new and more elusive perpetrators to track down.
It’s in this circle that private member’s club owner Dana Morgan (Cathy Tyson) operates. She is a formidable figure with a self-serving instinct and a willingness to cross whatever line it takes to succeed; exactly the kind of person with enough influence to take on the PSNI. Though Dana is something of an expert at skirting the law, and has links to the darkest parts of Belfast’s underworld, the arrival of Paul ‘Colly’ Collins (Michael Smiley) in the station’s Intelligence Department is an unwelcome glitch in her operation.
Colly might be new to the series, but he’s no stranger to the team at Blackthorn, having worked alongside season one’s Gerry Cliff (Richard Dormer), and mentored none other than Inspector Helen McNally (Joanne Crawford) herself. That’s not to say Colly is an entirely welcome addition, however, as his determination to prove that there’s more to Dana and her club than meets the eye sees him push the boundaries of hierarchy and protocol in the search for answers.
Morgan (Cathy Tyson) is a new adversary for the force. Credit: Two Cities / Peter Marley
Alongside this new threat unfolding, our favourite PSNI officers are balancing life in and out of uniform. Relationships are put to the test in the new season, as romantic connections flourish and fade, and the camaraderie between the officers proves to be their greatest strength.
Grace (Siân Brooke) has long grappled with the limitations of policing, but her relationship with fellow officer Stevie (Martin McCann) is a welcome distraction from her frustrations. When a social work case from her past is brought back into her orbit, however, Grace refuses to turn a blind eye, and newly-promoted Stevie finds himself caught between love and duty. Annie (Katherine Devlin) has grown in confidence and capability, but being by her dying mother’s bedside and keeping herself safe are competing priorities in a city where being a cop means having a target on your back. Off the back of a tumultuous second season, Tommy (Nathan Braniff) is finding his feet again, and his relationship with Aisling (Dearbháile McKinney) appears strong, but a traumatic encounter could change everything for the pair.
Though it doesn’t shy away from depicting the personal cost of policing, and the unpredictable and harrowing nature of the job itself, revisiting the world of Blue Lights also manages to feel comfortingly familiar. Belfast is the anchor throughout, and though it reveals new and ever darker faces, three seasons on, there’s a sense of community and connectedness within the walls of Blackthorn Station that make each instalment feel like coming home.
Blue Lights season 3 premieres Thursday 9 October on SBS and SBS On Demand. Episodes air weekly on SBS starting Thursday 9 October at 9.30pm, with episodes available earlier the same day at SBS On Demand.
Blue Lights seasons 1-2 are currently available on SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Blue Lights
series • Crime drama
MA15+
series • Crime drama
MA15+
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