''Bulletproof'' is a British

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

television series, created by and starring

Noel Clarke Noel Anthony Clarke (born 6 December 1975) is an English actor, writer, director and producer. Rising to prominence for playing Mickey Smith in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010), he received critical acclaim for writing, directing, and ...

and Ashley Walters, that first broadcast on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

on 15 May 2018. Produced by

Vertigo Films Vertigo Films is a British independent TV and Film production company founded in 2002 by Allan Niblo and James Richardson and joined a few years later by current CEO and partner, Jane Moore. The company has produced and distributed over 50 fe ...

and

Company Pictures Company Pictures is a British television production company which has produced drama programming for many broadcasters. It was set up in 1998 by Charles Pattinson and George S. J. Faber, George Faber, colleagues at BBC Films. Their first film wa ...

, the series follows

NCA NCA may refer to: Businesses and organisations Australia * National Capital Authority, a government authority for development planning of the Capital Territory * National Crime Authority, defunct investigative agency European Union * National Co ...

detectives, and best friends, Aaron Bishop (Clarke) and Ronnie Pike Jr. (Walters), who investigate some of the country's most dangerous criminals, including traffickers, drug dealers and armed robbers, whilst being overseen by their boss Sarah Tanner (

Lindsey Coulson Lindsey Coulson (born 13 April 1960) is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Carol Jackson on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1993–1997; 1999; 2010–2015). For this, she won the 2000 British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Perfo ...

). The series was co-created and principally written by scriptwriter and director

Nick Love Nick Love (born 24 December 1969) is an English film director and writer. His credits include the films '' The Football Factory'', '' The Business'', '' Goodbye Charlie Bright'', ''Outlaw'', '' The Sweeney'', a 2009 remake of football hooligan ...

, who was approached by Sky to work on the series following his work on the 2012 remake of ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a British police drama television series focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective ...

''. Walters and Clarke commented to ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' that the series was inspired by films such as ''

Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Shane Black. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. In ''Lethal Weapon'', a pai ...

'' and '' Bad Boys'', quoting that "the humour and funny moments come from the relationships between the characters." The series' opening theme, " All Goes Wrong", was also personally chosen by Clarke and Walters. The complete series was released on DVD on 23 July 2018. Worldwide distribution is handled by

Sky Vision Sky Vision was a production and distribution company founded by Carl Hall in 2002 as Parthenon Media Group and was acquired and rebranded by Sky in 2012 as Sky Vision. The business had investments in nine production businesses in the UK and US: ...

. On 19 June 2018, the day of the series one finale, a second series consisting of seven episodes was confirmed. Sky TV announced in December 2019 that the second series would air on 20 March 2020. Further, in August 2019 it was announced that a new three-part special would be broadcast in autumn 2020. The special began airing on 20 January 2021, with all episodes released for on-demand viewing. It sees Bishop and Pike journeying to South Africa to investigate the country's criminal underworld. On 15 January 2021, five days before the third series premiered, ''Bulletproof'' was renewed for a fourth series. The series was set to consist of eight episodes; filming had been scheduled to begin later in the year. However, following allegations against Clarke in late April 2021 of

sexual misconduct Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, ...

and bullying, filming was suspended, and makers Vertigo said they would investigate whether any of the allegations related to their productions. In May 2021, the series was officially cancelled by Sky One.

Synopsis

Aaron Bishop (

) and Ronnie Pike ( Ashley Walters) are childhood friends, albeit from very different backgrounds. Ronnie is from a high-achieving middle-class family with a history in the police, with his father now working as Director-General of the National Crime Agency. Bishop, however, grew up in foster homes and on the streets. Despite their differences, they retain a close fraternal bond and work together as detectives for the

National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a Law enforcement agency#natlea, national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; Human trafficking, human, Arms trafficking, weapon and Illegal drug t ...

in London, dealing with serious organised crime.

Cast

Main

as Aaron "Bish" Bishop; an NCA Detective Inspector * Ashley Walters as Ronald "Ronnie" Pike Jr; an NCA Detective Inspector *

as Sarah Tanner; an NCA Detective Chief Inspector *

Jason Maza Jason Maza is an English (people), English actor, producer, director and screenwriter. Early life Maza grew up in Romford. He began acting at seven years of age. Career Early work Maza was accepted to the Central School of Speech and Drama ...

as Chris Munroe; an NCA Detective Sergeant * David Elliot as Tim "Jonesy" Jones; an NCA Detective Sergeant (series 1–2) *

Christina Chong Christina Chong is a British actress and singer. She has appeared in several notable roles in film and television, including ''Monroe'', ''Line of Duty'', '' Halo: Nightfall'', ''Black Mirror'', ''Doctor Who'', and '' 24: Live Another Day''. S ...

as Nell McBride; an NCA Detective Sergeant (series 1) *

Mandeep Dhillon Mandeep Dhillon (born 21 December 1990) is a British actress and singer who has appeared in stage, television, film and radio productions, including the BBC Three comedy series '' Some Girls'' and '' Fried''. She featured in the British romant ...

as Kamali Khan; an NCA Detective Constable (series 1) *

Olivia Chenery Olivia Jane Grierson (née Chenery; born 11 March 1989) is an English actress and environmental advocate. Her films include '' Brotherhood'' (2016) and '' 10x10'' (2018). On television, she is known for her roles in the BBC series '' Queens: The ...

as Scarlett 'Scooch' Hailton; an NCA Detective Inspector (series 2–3) *

Lucie Shorthouse Lucy Richenda Shorthouse is an English actress. She won a WhatsOnStage Award for her performance in ''Everybody's Talking About Jamie''. On television, she is known for her roles in the Channel 4 sitcom '' We Are Lady Parts'' (2021–) and the BB ...

as Paige Pennington; an NCA Detective Constable (series 2–3) *

Clarke Peters Peter Clarke (born April 7, 1952), known professionally as Clarke Peters, is an American actor, writer, and director, who has spent much of his adult life in the United Kingdom. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freamon in the television ...

as Ronald Pike Sr; Pike's father and the Director-General of the National Crime Agency (series 1) *

Lee Ross Lee David Ross (August 25, 1942 – May 14, 2021) was a Canadian-American professor. He held the title of the Stanford Federal Credit Union Professor of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University and was an influential social psychologist wh ...

as Richard Cockridge; Deputy Director of the NCA (series 2) *

Lashana Lynch Lashana Lynch (born 27 November 1987) is a British actress. She first gained recognition for her role as Rosaline Capulet in the ABC period drama series ''Still Star-Crossed'' (2017) going on to win the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2022. She ha ...

(series 1) / Vanessa Vanderpuye (series 2–3) as Arjana Pike; Ronnie's

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

wife * Jodie Campbell as Ali Pike; Ronnie and Arjana's oldest daughter * Florisa Kamara as Donna Pike; Ronnie and Arjana's youngest daughter *David Chabeaux as Kev; an NCA Detective Constable (series 1)

Recurring

Caroline Goodall Caroline Goodall Pecorini (born 13 November 1959) is an English–Australian actress, screenwriter and producer. Awards and nominations include Best Actress nominations AFI Awards for her roles in the 1989 miniseries '' Cassidy'' and the 199 ...

as Charlotte Carmel;

Deputy Mayor of London A Deputy Mayor is a member of the London Mayoral cabinet, in the executive arm of the Greater London Authority. They serve as political advisors with responsibilities and powers corresponding to portfolios delegated by the Mayor. One of them mu ...

(series 1) *

Emma Rigby Emma Rigby (born 26 September 1989) is an English actress and model. After rising to prominence for her role as Hannah Ashworth in ''Hollyoaks'' (2005–2010, 2024), she later played Gemma Roscoe in the BBC One drama series '' Prisoners' Wives ...

as Dr. Sophie Latimer; Bishop's girlfriend (series 1) *

Gala Gordon Gala Gordon is an English actress, model and producer. Early life and education Gala Gordon was born in London. Gala, named after Salvador Dalí's wife, chose her mother's maiden name as her surname. She attended Bryanston School, Dorset, and ...

as Anna Markides (series 2) * Stavros Zalmas as Alex Markides (series 2) * Ben Tavassoli as Mikey Markides (series 2) *

Gina Bellman Gina Bellman (born 10 July 1966) is a New Zealand-born British actress. She played grifter Sophie Devereaux in the TNT (U.S. TV network), TNT television series ''Leverage (American TV series), Leverage'' (2008-2012) and its Amazon Freevee reviva ...

as Eleanor Markides (series 2)

Episodes

Series 1 (2018)

Series 2 (2020)

Series 3 (2021)

International broadcast

''Bulletproof'' premiered in the US on

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

in August 2019. The series returned to the network for the second season in June 2020, and then the following year for the third season in March 2021. The series was pulled from the network's streaming and on-demand platforms on 30 April 2021 after the allegations against Clarke were revealed. In Australia, the series premiered on

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

on 1 September 2019. In Canada, the series premiered on Showcase on 30 September 2020.

''Bulletproof: The Interrogation''

On 3 April 2020, Sky TV released ''Bulletproof: The Interrogation'', an interactive film in which Clarke and Walters reprise their roles from the original series. Created through Charisma.ai software, the viewer is able to interact with multiple characters through typing and using their microphone. The aim of the film is to try and prevent a captured serial killer from killing his next victim.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulletproof (Tv Series) Black British television shows 2018 British television series debuts 2021 British television series endings 2010s British crime drama television series 2010s British police procedural television series 2010s British comedy-drama television series 2020s British police procedural television series 2020s British crime drama television series 2020s British comedy-drama television series Television series by All3Media British English-language television shows Television shows set in England Television shows shot in Liverpool Sky UK television dramas