“We have compelling scripts from a brilliant young writer who was raised in County Down."

Bloodlands is a BBC thriller set in Belfast starring James Nesbitt. The executive producer is the man who created Line of Duty and Bodyguard, Jed Mercurio. The trailer is filled with intense music and drama and a storyline based on finding a killer known as Goliath, who the main detective played by Nesbitt has history with after he killed his wife. This is the BBCs description of the plot: "When a car containing a possible suicide note is pulled out of Strangford Lough, Northern Irish police detective Tom Brannick (James Nesbitt) quickly connects it to an infamous cold case with enormous personal significance." "Bloodlands follows his hunt for the legendary assassin known as 'Goliath', an explosive cat-and-mouse game where the stakes have never been higher." Mercurio, the man behind thriller hits like Line of Duty and Bodyguard is producing Bloodlands, the script is being written by first time TV writer, Chris Brandon. He told the BBC he was “absolutely delighted that the first opportunity I get to tell a story on this scale, it is one that is so close to home and the people and places that raised me”. Cast Cold Feet and The Missing star James Nesbitt stars as the lead, Tom Brannick. He told the BBC “We have compelling scripts from a brilliant young writer who was raised in County Down, which are very exciting and psychologically complex. I can’t wait to start.” The rest of the cast include Charlene McKenna (Ripper Street, Pure Mule), Chris Walley (The Young Offenders, Pixie), Kathy Kiera Clarke (Derry Girls,The Pale Horse), Lorcan Cranitch (Fortitude, The Dig), Lisa Dwan (Top Boy, Trust), Ian McElhinney (Derry Girls, Game of Thrones), Lola Petticrew (A Bump Along the Way, My Left Nut), Michael Smiley (Dead Still, Luther) and Susan Lynch (Happy Valley, Save Me). When is it airing? No date just yet but we will keep you in the loop, it's expected to be out later this year. The cast was spotted filming for the series in Belfast in 2020, and it was originally thought that it might arrive last year.