Police officers in Northern Ireland aren’t used to seeing themselves portrayed in a sympathetic light. For decades, dramas set in Belfast have mostly focused on bombs, politics and blame. So when Blue Lights first aired, some serving officers quietly reached out to its cast with something unexpected: gratitude.
Martin McCann, who plays the kind but world-worn officer Stevie Neil in the series, says: “There’s been some charming and touching moments. I’ve been in a restaurant or walking down the street, and we’ll have a guy or a girl, sometimes a couple, come up to us and say … ‘I just want to let you know that we think you’re doing a lot of good for the Police Service Northern Ireland [PSNI]’. Before, it was a profession that was very misunderstood and everyone had their judgments and preconceived notions on what and who they were.
The series follows recruits as they deal with everything from domestic disputes to the lingering mistrust of the communities they serve.Credit: SBS
“They’re very proud of the show because for the first time their actual job is being represented and shown in a fair and understanding light. Prior, it was seen as this villainous sort of profession that had not very nice motives, but ultimately, they’re just normal people trying to police society.”
Blue Light’s power lies in its unvarnished portrayal of ordinary people, making it one of the BBC’s most acclaimed dramas. It’s a police series with no glamour and little glory: just officers navigating the fragile calm of post-Troubles Belfast.
The series follows recruits as they deal with everything from domestic disputes to the lingering mistrust of the communities they serve.
McCann says the show’s honesty struck a chord because Northern Ireland’s story has rarely been told with nuance.
“There’s been an appetite to understand Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland’s history,” he says. “People have always been aware of the Troubles, but they’ve never understood the nuances of it and what the people are like. You hear people who visit Northern Ireland, and they’re always pleasantly surprised by the craic and the banter and the closeness and the camaraderie.
“I think shows like this can give people a clearer picture of who the people are, and the nuances and details and intricacies of the Troubles and how the country is trying to recover from what was an unfortunate part of their history. It really is a country trying to heal and grow up.”
The series was created by former Belfast journalists Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, whose years in newsrooms shaped their meticulous approach.
“The writers have done such a great job. They were journalists by trade … everything was picked through with a fine-tooth comb. Nothing was left out,” McCann says. “They go into a deep research phase six months before they actually put pen to paper. So this isn’t just two guys sitting down and writing what is interesting or cinematically dramatic – this is researched.”
Martin McCann plays the kind but world-worn officer Stevie Neil.Credit: SBS
That rigour led to something unprecedented: official permission to portray the PSNI exactly as it is.
“There was never permission or access to actually represent the official Police Service of Northern Ireland,” McCann says. “This is the first show to represent the police force with the exact uniforms. I mean, it is them we are portraying, and they’ve never given that access before.”
For a country still recovering from division, the symbolism of that co-operation matters.
“Because of Northern Ireland’s particular past, there was probably half of society that didn’t really accept the police force as their policing body,” McCann says. “That added an extra complication to policing in Northern Ireland that should never have been there, but was there because of the Troubles.”
Where most police procedurals chase action, Blue Lights lingers on the emotional cost of the job. McCann’s character, Stevie Neil, is steady and unshowy – a man trying to do good work in a place where good intentions aren’t always enough.
“It isn’t about heroics,” he says. “It’s about imperfect people trying to get by. These officers aren’t superheroes – they’re just trying to do their best in difficult situations.”
In its third season, Blue Lights expands on that idea by showing what happens once the shift ends. Stevie’s partnership with fellow officer Grace Ellis (Sian Brooke) has evolved into a relationship that feels, as McCann puts it, “quite real”.
“It’s nice because not all relationships are the way they are in the movies,” he says. “There are things to overcome … these are two very different people from very different worlds trying to make their worlds merge. I think we address some more mature subjects. Their relationship feels real because they danced around it for a long time, and now that they’re together, their pasts and their professions make that complicated.
“I think people will be surprised, but also relate to how their relationship is now. It’s quite a mature representation.”
The new season brings them into domestic spaces audiences haven’t seen before.
“It’s kind of strange seeing them at home,” McCann says. “Your brain’s going, ‘Oh, right, they are normal people. They do have their vulnerabilities. They aren’t these amazing, strong police officers fighting the crime of the world.’ They’re just vulnerable, normal, fallible.”
“It’s like seeing a teacher out of school doing the shopping,” he says with a laugh. “You’re going, ‘Oh, my goodness, this is just a normal human being getting on with trying to get by.’ That’s the vibe with Stevie and Grace. They’re just two folks trying to get by.”
For Stevie, a promotion adds another layer of discomfort.
“Not everyone is meant to do this or that, but competency will get you in jobs you don’t expect,” McCann says. “Usually, Stevie’s jumping out of a car or wrestling someone to the ground … now this is a very different dynamic for him.”
McCann understands the world the show depicts better than most. He grew up in West Belfast during the final years of the Troubles, when the city was still scarred by conflict. Today, its divisions remain – some visible, sometimes not.
Stevie Neil (Martin McCann) and Grace Ellis (Sian Brooke).
“Belfast on screen was always bombs and balaclavas,” he says. “This shows the people who actually live there – the ones who get up, go to work and try to do the right thing.”
For viewers outside Northern Ireland, that shift in focus is part of the show’s appeal. What began as a modest BBC drama has found an international following, with audiences in Australia, the US and Europe responding to its humanity and humour.
And humour, McCann says, is essential. “We deal with the darkest things through jokes,” he says. “It’s not to make light of it. It’s how people survive.”
That mix of dark humour, compassion and realism has made Blue Lights more than just another police drama – a story about community and rebuilding trust, one shift at a time.
McCann says that’s what gives the series its weight – the reminder that ordinary lives can still carry extraordinary pressure.
“They’re imperfect people just trying to get by,” he says.
Season three of Blue Lights is now streaming on SBS On Demand, with new episodes added weekly and airing on Thursdays at 9.30pm on SBS.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
