The fourth series of Blue Lights opens with the police facing a race riot, a plotline that brings the show's familiar themes of organised crime and institutional politics bang up to date. The Northern Ireland-set police drama has never felt this explicitly topical before, as it pitches its characters into a situation that mirrors today's national news headlines.
The action begins at a fete hosted by a centre offering support to refugees, an event with minimal police presence. Station sergeant Stevie (Martin McCann) marvels at the texture of Syrian pastry, but minutes later the whole squad rushes to hold a line against an angry mob demanding immigrants leave Northern Ireland. Bricks fly, and lives are in danger.
New spin on familiar mechanics
Pitting the police against neo-fascists – a world where the two groups are entirely in opposition – allows the show to put a new spin on its usual dynamic. The classic Blue Lights scene sees idealistic officers try to use reason and compassion to defuse terrifying situations, but facing racists turns up the heat of that dynamic.
Grace (Siân Brooke), the former social worker who brings her interpersonal skills to policing, takes it upon herself to solve an impossible problem. The show finds one of its most disturbing antagonists yet in racist influencer Katie (Tabitha Smyth), a young woman who livestreams every protest and encapsulates how dangerous it can be when angry people are half right.
When Grace tries to appeal to Katie directly, the core issue is starkly represented. Katie feels her community has been impoverished and abandoned, let down by public institutions, and that the latest injustice is a failure to stop foreign invaders. The show suggests it's hard to argue with the last of those when the first two are not, and with localised hatred of the police carrying historical justification, Grace is in trouble.
Plenty else going on
Blackthorn station is threatened with closure by high-ups who claim its metrics aren't strong enough, making a difficult start for newly promoted chief inspector Helen (Joanne Crawford). There's also the textbook Blue Lights setup of a traffic stop where the driver turns out to be one of Northern Ireland's most dangerous criminals, complicating security-service operations.
The season cycles back to the murder in season one of Gerry (Richard Dormer), for whom his colleague and wife Sandra (Andi Osho) is still seeking justice. A mid-season episode brings Dormer back for an extended flashback showing how Gerry and Sandra got together, adding a bit of soapy froth to the difficult subject matter.
Blue Lights aired on BBC One and is on iPlayer now in the UK. In Australia, season four will be available to stream on SBS On Demand from 8 October and air on SBS Wednesdays at 9.30pm.
