Most critics take to Line of Duty at once. The praise gathers around Jed Mercurio’s writing, which they find taut and tightly plotted, and around its blunt account of a police force run on politics and cover-ups. Lennie James, as the compromised Tony Gates, is singled out more than anyone else, with Vicky McClure and Martin Compston noted for their quieter work alongside him. Reviewers returning to the first series years later think it has held up, and several say the opening episode’s twists still land hard.
The reservations are about pitch. Even the admirers concede the series can be heavy-handed or over the top, and that the AC-12 unit starts out dour. Two reviews go further: The Times feels it gives in to cliché by the end and asks viewers to trust a story it has not quite earned, and The Independent finds it hammy and clanging, if enjoyably so. The spread is wide, but the complaint is about excess, not the idea.