Danger and drama in Blue Lights second season

With a National Television Awards nomination for Best New Drama and a slew of five star reviews, 2023 was a good year for Blue Lights.

Set in Belfast, the BBC One drama followed a batch of new constables as they navigated policing in a post-conflict Northern Ireland.

Before the first series ended its run, a second had been commissioned.

The brainchild of Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, the writers and directors said they were excited for season two.

"Blue Lights is a very personal project for us, set in the city where we live, so for us making this show is a special kind of privilege," they said.

"In series two we join our officers exactly a year after the events of series one, and now they're facing a whole new set of professional and personal challenges."

This article contains spoilers from Blue Lights series one

The police drama is filmed in and around Belfast.

For months in summer 2023 you could see location signs attached to lampposts around the city with "BL 2" pointing in various directions.

Camera crews could be seen in the city centre in High Street and the production was also spotted in Dundonald, just east of the city.

And it seems co-creator Lawn may even appear in front of the camera in this series.

The former BBC News reporter and presenter posted on social media that his acting skills had been required.

At the end of last seasonthe team was left reeling by the deaths of Gerry - played by Richard Dormer - and the repercussions of the collapse of the McIntryre crime gang.

The three recruits - Grace played by Siân Brooke, Annie played by Katherine Devlin and Tommy played by Nathan Braniff - are no longer fresh out of training and are dealing with a Belfast where rival loyalist gangs try to fill the vacuum left by the MacIntyres.

Executive producer Stephen Wright said he had been delighted by the response to Blue Lights.

"I am so proud of series one," he added.

"I am looking forward to bringing our characters and the city of Belfast back for series two as well as introducing some exciting new characters and storylines to the fans."

Blue Lights was in the top ten new drama series of 2023 across all broadcasters and streamers, and the biggest drama series in Northern Ireland in 2023.

And more drama is promised.

"Declan and Adam's scripts promise new dangers and high-stakes drama for all our officers, proving that a year into the job, these rookies still have a lot more to learn," said Nick Lambon, BBC Commissioning Editor Drama, Northern Ireland.

Season One is still available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.