SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Blue Lights Season 3, Episode 1.

The Blue Lights Season 3 premiere includes multiple references to how many years the main characters have now been on the job. It’s as if they’re trying to remind themselves that they’re not rookie cops. And that’s the feeling that the audience gets from watching “The Party,” too. This season is going to be different.

The most out of place element is actually the opening scene, which entirely revolves around cupcakes that Stevie has prepared for a big to-do. The first scene of any TV season is a chance for that show to make a statement and set its tone—and Stevie and Grace are sitting in a police cruiser talking about cupcakes. One could make the argument, given what happens to them, that the cupcakes serve as a metaphor. Even if that’s true, there could have been a stronger beginning to an episode that picks up steam as it goes along.

The core characters manage to unwittingly screw up a major police operation, not once but twice as the hour proceeds. The theme of “us and them” is at play a couple of times here: detectives vs. the uniform squad, the cops vs. the folks hustling out on the street. Where Blue Lights gets its hook (and its emotional heft) is that Grace Ellis knows the girl caught on video. She was close to Grace when Grace was still a social worker, and now she’s running drugs with known ne’er do well Sandy McKnight. Grace takes this reveal personally, and the show is off to the races.

It’s intriguing to not only learn a little bit more about Grace’s backstory, but see (and hear) how her term as a social worker informs the way she approaches this particular investigation. Stevie doesn’t share Grace’s perspective, and he makes a few comments that will cause BritBox fans to cringe—both about the case and toward his partner. But Blue Lights elevates its story by being willing to have that discussion and show that there’s more than one way to police.

Stevie and Grace are front and center in “The Party,” but the episode does leave some breadcrumbs as to where everyone else is headed in the next five episodes. Annie Conlon is particularly annoyed when she finds a baby left unattended during a rave, with actor Katherine Devlin giving that moment every ounce of snark it deserves. But Annie is also thinking about moving away, breaking up the band as it were, and that’s a sobering thought. Tommy Foster, meanwhile, gets stuck with his own kid, at least by the way his partner Shane behaves. But it’s also fun to see how Tommy reacts when things aren’t quite right, as if he’s finding a new level of confidence.

The wild card in Season 3 is Detective Chief Inspector Paul Collins, played by Michael Smiley (Luther). He’s the top of the food chain, the cynical Intelligence detective running the show and meeting with his colleagues in odd places. He also happens to be known to Inspector Helen McNally. Collins is the kind of character who could be the hero of another kind of police show. Here, he’s the guy who is likely to get more frustrated by the beat cops as they go along—and the guy that viewers won’t be sure if they can trust.

“The Party” sets up a very straightforward story of the rich and their secrets. In this case, an elitist members’ club is also ground zero for a lucrative drug operation, which is exposed when one of said members has a drug-induced medical episode. Longtime crime drama fans are not going to be surprised by any of the plot reveals. But Blue Lights is not a whodunit like Luther or Line of Duty. It’s about the characters trying to navigate whatever tangle comes their way each season, and it’s also clear from this episode what challenges this case will present to the core group. As the characters are stepping forward, they’re also stepping up another level. This is a solid beginning to a promising new story.

Blue Lights streams Thursdays on BritBox. Photo Credit: Peter Marley/Courtesy of BritBox.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.