Line of Duty creator puts case for the defence
Jed Mercurio admits the show’s underwhelming ending divided opinion but insists most fans liked it
THE creator of Line of Duty has insisted that viewers enjoyed the finale, despite evidence to the contrary.
Fans expressed their disappointment on Sunday night when the television series drew to a downbeat close.
Jed Mercurio said that “the perceived levels of dissatisfaction have been exaggerated in the echo chamber of social media”, and claimed that the BBC’S audience research was more positive. However, the data show that the finale was the least popular episode of the series.
After posting the research findings on Twitter, he was confronted by viewers who maintained the ending had been a let-down, with lowly Det Supt Ian Buckells unmasked as the corrupt “fourth man” linked to a string of murders.
In his first comments on the criticism since Sunday’s episode was broadcast, Mr Mercurio said: “No one disputes the Line of Duty finale divided social media opinion but the audience research so far shows a far less extreme picture.
“We knew a ‘down’ ending would rate less favourably with some viewers, however all seven episodes varied by less than 10 per cent average viewer score.” More than half of those polled rated the finale as either 9/10 or 10/10.
A thousand viewers were chosen at random and asked to rate the episodes, with their answers used to calculate an “Appreciation Index” score out of 100.
Mr Mercurio said the score for the finale was “only seven points below the next lowest in Season 6 (Ep 1).”
He added: “It’s interesting how many of the people most critical of the finale were wanting more thrills and action. This is the problem with attempting to satisfy all viewers’ expectations. It’s just not possible, I’m afraid.”
When one viewer suggested that Mr Mercurio had put plausibility ahead of entertainment by letting those at the top get away with corruption, he responded: “We respect that some viewers didn’t enjoy the representation of real life as much as previous episodes, and that’s indicated in the audience research, however the research shows the majority of the audience liked the choice we made.”
Another viewer pointed out that real life had not been a consideration in previous years, including a series in which Thandiwe Newton’s character murdered a colleague and lost an arm.
Mercurio said: “What can plausibly befall an individual in drama is a very different calculation to what can plausibly happen to an institution.”
The finale was watched by 12.8million viewers, a record for the show, and the highest overnight viewing figure for a drama since an episode Heartbeat drew 13.2 million in 2001.
Although the show’s lead actors, Vicky Mcclure and Martin Compston, said last week that the story arc was at an end, the BBC is hoping to commission a seventh series.
Charlotte Moore, the BBC’S chief content officer, called the finale “jaw-dropping” and said: “I’m looking forward to having a conversation with the team about where we go next.”
Mr Compston, who played Steve Arnott, thanked fans on social media for their years of support.
“We’ve been blown away by the reaction and love for the show. Fully understand it wasn’t the ‘urgent’ exit type ending many were hoping for but we really appreciate you sticking with us.”
Mr Compston also said that he and Ms Mcclure, along with Adrian Dunbar (who played Ted Hastings) had made a pact that in the “inconceivable” scenario that the show hit 12million viewers, they would get matching “Ac12million” tattoos. He signed off: “We’ll see who is good to their word.”