The Bill

The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.

The Bill (1984-2010) is a British ITV1 police drama series created for television over twenty-six seasons, following the men and women of Sun Hill Police Station in London. Officers including Jack Meadows (Simon Rouse), Dave Quinnan (Andrew Paul), and Eva Sharpe (Diane Parish) respond to bomb threats, armed robberies, and drug raids while managing the routine demands of the job. The engine of the show is the station itself: a rotating caseload of street crime arrives each day and each episode, and the officers must answer it while their private lives strain under the pressure. Its shape is an open-ended, continuing saga rather than a closed story, with case work and personal storylines braided together across more than two thousand episodes. Set in contemporary London, the series carries a gritty, grounded, workmanlike register, with a documentary sense of how real policing feels on the streets. Fans of Z-Cars, The Sweeney and Line of Duty will find resonance in its British procedural texture and its focus on ordinary officers under strain.

Viewers regard The Bill as a long-running, authentic portrayal of everyday police work at a London station, though reception data is limited.

• The Bill (1984)uniform police station ensemble, procedural crime with personal lives of officers, British broadcast tradition
• Z-Carsensemble police station drama, long running British procedural, crime with officers' personal lives
• The Sweeneygritty London police procedural, ensemble of officers, serialized British crime drama
• Line of DutyBritish police series blending case work with officers' personal lives, grounded tone

Release Date

1984-10-16

Episode runtime

25 min

Rating

6.7 / 10 (48)

What is The Bill about?

The daily lives of officers at a London police station, balancing street crime with their personal lives over a quarter century.

What is The Bill like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Bill as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is The Bill violent?

Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Bill as moderate.

What did critics think of The Bill?

Viewers regard The Bill as a long-running, authentic portrayal of everyday police work at a London station, though reception data is limited.

Which shows are like The Bill?

Shows with a similar feel include The Bill (1984), Z-Cars, The Sweeney, and Line of Duty.

How long is The Bill?

The Bill: 26 seasons, 2,373 episodes.

Is The Bill still running?

No, The Bill was canceled.