Line of Duty is a British police procedural and serial drama television series created and written by Jed Mercurio for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Mercurio originally pitched the programme to BBC One, but was turned down and directed towards BBC Two, which commissioned the series nine months later. It premiered on 26 June 2012 with a five-episode first series which concluded on 24 July. The programme performed well and quickly earned a commission for a second series. The six-episode second series aired from 2 February to 19 March 2014. Although viewing figures were slightly lower than the first, BBC Two commissioned a third and fourth series of the programme. The third began broadcasting on 24 March 2016 and finished six weeks later on 28 April. Series three surpassed the viewership of the first series and was the most viewed series on BBC Two in over ten years, leading to the commissioning of a fifth series.