One of the best police dramas on TV just announced a pretty shocking bit of news. Richard Dormer, who played Gerry Cliff in the first season of Blue Lights, will return for Season 4. Spoilers ahead.
This is shocking because Gerry was killed off at the end of Season 1, in one of the show’s most tragic and heart-pounding episodes. The ripple effects of Gerry’s death have been felt ever since, especially by his widow, Sandra (Andi Osho) and former trainee, Tommy Foster (Nathan Braniff).
Gerry is not returning as a series regular, however. It appears there will be a flashback episode, in which Gerry and two other characters no longer on the show will appear. Jen Robinson (Hannah McClean) and Inspector Jonty (Jonathan Harden) will also return for this episode which “will answer serious questions from the past” according to the press release.
The fourth season’s logline reads:
Three years into their jobs as response officers, Constables Grace Ellis, Tommy Foster, and Annie Conlon are operating at their limit, facing a new threat on the streets that the police can barely control. Meanwhile the murder trial of Gerry Cliff exposes a dangerous and long-buried secret that leads to chaos both inside the police, and across the criminal underworld. As they grapple with big decisions about their future, Grace, Tommy and Annie must find the courage to face the greatest threat they have ever encountered: the truth.
You can’t handle the truth! Well, I actually think that Tommy, Grace (Siân Brooke) and Annie (Katherine Devlin) will be able to handle the truth just fine. One of the wonderful things about Blue Lights is just how likable its main characters are, and how easy it is to root for them even when they’re not always making the right choices.
While Seasons 1-3 each told pretty distinct stories, it was clear by the end of Season 3 that the fourth season would be something of a continuation of events, especially as major players from both the first two seasons made dramatic reappearances. Overall, while Season 3 was not my favorite of the bunch, it was still an excellent return to Belfast and remains one of my favorite cop shows (and I watch a lot of cop shows).
Blue Lights also stars Frank Blake as Shane, Joanne Crawford as Helen McNally, Dearbháile McKinney as Aisling and many other talented actors. Season 3 was more focused on upper and upper middle class crime, including drug and sex trafficking, and expanded the scope of the criminal operations facing Belfast’s Police Service of Northern Ireland officers. If you haven’t watched the series yet, give it watch. Season 2 won the BAFTA for Best Drama. Fans of UK police dramas will find much to love, as will fans of shows like The Wire.