Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has begun work on a new TV thriller for Netflix, starring Richard Madden.
The pair previously collaborated on the 2018 miniseries Bodyguard, which starred the former Game of Thrones actor as a protection officer for politician Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes).
Showrunner Mercurio followed this with perhaps his best known work – the hit series Line of Duty, which ran on the BBC from 2012 to 2021.
Mercurio will reunite with Madden for the forthcoming thriller Trinity, which he will also write and executive produce.
The eight-part series will also star Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who plays nuclear submarine commander Decker. Becoming involved with shady defence secretary Webb Preston (played by the former Game of Thrones star), she grows increasingly convinced that there’s a conspiracy afoot.
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Knowing Mercurio’s work as we do, twists will ensue.
Reacting to news of the series being greenlit, fans shared their thoughts on Trinty’s potential over social media.
‘Gugu + Madden = must-see spy action, Netflix. Hype!’ exclaimed TrpstrLeonOG on X.
‘The casting director cooked with these two,’ said Joe_Teffo.
‘You got me at Richard Madden. Bring it on!’ commented deereads_novels.
‘Sold,’ said EggFlip, over on Reddit.
‘Here for this,’ agreed Logical-Balance1975.
Only a synopsis for the series has been released so far, reading: ‘A heroic female naval officer becomes involved with the outwardly charismatic secretary of defence, only to discover he may be at the heart of a dangerous conspiracy.’
Loki star Mbatha-Raw will play naval officer Decker, while Madden appears as the mysterious defense secretary.
With Mercurio on showrunner duties, he will share executive producer responsibilities with Hat Trick Studios’ Jimmy Mulville.
Meanwhile, the first two episodes will be written and directed by Daredevil: Born Again and Dexter director Michael Cuesta.
Mercurio may be looking to the future with his latest TV project, but fans aren’t ready to move on from his biggest hit just yet.
Earlier this year, star Martin Compston added fuel to the fire when he weighed in on rumours that a seventh series of the crime drama was in the works.
‘We’re always talking about possibilities and schedules and whatnot,’ he told The Sun.
However, he immediately dampened the flames by admitting: ‘Everybody’s got stuff going on at the minute, so I think anything, unfortunately, would be a way off.’
Elsewhere, others have held out hope that Bodyguard might return for a second series.
When the first season was released, Mercurio said that he would ‘absolutely’ bring the show back for a second series.
While that never emerged, producer Simon Heath teased as recently as 2021 that it might one day still be made.
‘Bodyguard is a big beast to put back together. I’m reasonably confident we will see it in due course,’ he told Metro.co.uk.
‘With Line Of Duty, again, we don’t know whether season six will be the last,’ he added.
Will Trinity fill the void?
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