As Blue Lights Season 3 continues, everyone has been going through the wringer. Annie Conlon responded to a devastating accident that stunned everyone (including the audience), while Tommy Foster has found himself in hot water thanks to his partner Shane Bradley crossing a line. There are only a few episodes left, but how much more can the characters take?

TVBrittanyF.com connected with Blue Lights stars Katherine Devlin and Nathan Braniff to talk about how they’re evolving along with Annie and Tommy in Season 3 of the BritBox series. The duo also revealed some of their favorite scenes from this season. Plus, find out why they think this season has raised the stakes.

Brittany Frederick: Blue Lights Season 3 emphasizes that the characters are no longer rookie cops. Does it feel different for you as the actors playing them, as well?

Nathan Braniff: I think so. We’re sort of in a similar position to what the characters are in the show; we are in a similar position in real life. We’re growing with these characters, and we’re evolving with them. You know that they’re probably getting a bit more rooted in their jobs as police officers, and we’re getting a bit more rooted in the character’s shoes as well. So it’s kind of like evolving outside of the character and inside of the character, in a sort of parallel line.

Katherine, part of that evolution is that early on, Annie is thinking of moving home. What was your reaction to that idea? Because it’s a big step for her even to consider it. Did you think she might be leaving?

Katherine Devlin: Nobody’s safe, right? Even when you’re reading the scripts, you just don’t know. But it’s the beauty of the writing, really. There’s so many shifts and turns. But also, them as people, they’re finding parts of themselves that [were] perhaps very much buried, and it comes out in interesting ways.

There’s one scene in particular, actually, with Season 3. It’s a car accident scene, and within the UK and Northern Ireland and Ireland, it hit a lot of people. There was a real visceral reaction with people and with the messages I received, because it’s hard-hitting topics. We’re dealing with really real situations.

With only six episodes in Blue Lights Season 3, a lot of those plot twists come very fast. How much did you know or want to know in advance about your characters’ journeys?

Braniff: They leave it up to you, if you want to know what’s happening. You can know; it’s not like a secret. And on a personal level, I did have that conversation with with [Blue Lights co-creator] Declan Lawn. We sat down together, and he talked me through what direction Tommy might be going. And I think as an actor, you’re really fortunate to have that ability to collaborate because it doesn’t always happen.

Declan and Adam [Patterson], both of them, are always so up for hearing any suggestions we think might be right for the character. Because at the end of the day, Declan and Adam have to have all the characters in mind, whereas me or Katherine only have one person to worry about. So there can be often times where we have good stuff to suggest, and they’re always keen to listen to that.

Did you have favorite scenes in Season 3 that stuck with you?

Braniff: There’s a crazy scene in Episode 5 where me and Katherine are both featured, as well as Shane [played by Frank Blake], as well as Sandra [played by Andi Osho]. And I obviously don’t want to give too much away, but it was one of the most exciting scenes of the whole three series for me, to be honest. As an actor, I was so, so locked into [it]; I felt all the feelings of what I feel like he would feel in real life. And my adrenaline was through the roof. So Episode 5, watch out for that one.

Devlin: It’s funny when you see the final product. I’m always really just taken back, because you do have some kind of vision in your head of what you think it’s going to be. And then I’m always so surprised by it, because it really does take a village to make it work. You have these creative inputs—from the soundtrack to the different angles.

But there’s one scene towards the end of Episode 1. I remember we were watching it, and I know what happens; I’ve read the script. But I was still so shocked by just how they’d done it. I’m always surprised by just how the final product looks. There’s loads of things like that.

Braniff: That’s the thing. Genuinely in every episode, there is really on the edge of your seat stuff.

What was your feeling toward Season 3 as a whole? Looking back on it in a big-picture sense, what resonated with you?

Braniff: It feels like the most Blue Lights [season of] Blue Lights we’ve ever made. It takes all the similar themes and all the similar problems that the guys have been dealing with across the past two series, and blows them way up. The stakes are way higher. People are getting injured. People are potentially, maybe getting killed. And I’m just super-excited for everybody to see it, and hopefully they enjoy it as much as we have.

Devlin: They’re in the belly of the beast this season, and it’s generally my favorite season so far. And then we have Season 4!

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

Article content is (c)2020-2025 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.