Blue Lights creators on how season 3 and 4 renewal has affected writing
"It's kind of like you're doing a painting on a small page and then someone says, 'Here's a big canvas.'"
Fans of police drama Blue Lights received some exciting news earlier this year ahead of the second season – not only will it be coming back for a third outing, but it has also been renewed for season 4, in a bumper, double renewal.
It was a surprising announcement as the BBC rarely renews dramas for multiple seasons at a time, and creators Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn reacted to the news at a Q&A for the new season, while also revealing how it has impacted the writing process.
Lawn said: "It's wonderful. It's a great vote of confidence in the whole team and everyone involved. Creatively though, for us as writers, it gives us a great deal of certainty, and it means we can plan the story arcs now over 12 episodes instead of six, which we're really excited about.
"It's kind of like you're doing a painting on a small page and then someone says, 'Here's a big canvas.' So it feels creatively very, very exciting."
Patterson then asked whether he would say "excited or scared", to which Lawn replied that "yeah, it's a bit terrifying".
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Lawn continued: "It's also good in practical senses for everyone in Belfast, for the industry, but also for the cast and crew. I suppose what will it take us, maybe three years to do that? Maybe two if Stephen [Wright, executive producer] has his way? But yeah, it gives us a lot of certainty."
The second season of Blue Lights will pick up a year after the end of the first, and will see the officers facing a major gangland feud as a young loyalist threatens to take over Belfast.
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The cast will once again be led by Siân Brooke, Martin McCann, Katherine Devlin and Nathan Braniff, while Joanne Crawford, Andi Osho and Hannah McClean will also be amongst those returning.
Blue Lights season 2 will be released on BBC iPlayer at 6am on Monday 15th April, and will air on BBC One at 9pm.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
