It’s cop, it’s British, and it’s drama. It doesn’t get better than that. The British series was cancelled after a long run of 26 years. Will ‘The Bill’ come back with season 27? Keep reading to find out!
ITV’s cop series, ‘The Bill’, had been one of the UK’s longest-running television series. Although the show had mustered high accolades for itself, its run wasn’t entirely smooth. The show entered into a few controversies during its run. While that could have been overlooked given its popularity, ITV decided against it and called it off after 26 seasons. A decade later, what are the chances of ‘The Bill’ to return with season 27?
Highlights —
- ‘The Bill’ cancelled after 26 years
- ‘The Bill’ returns on-screen amidst the pandemic
- Could ‘The Bill’ be renewed for season 27?
‘The Bill’ cancelled after 26 years
‘The Bill’ premiered on the British network, ITV, in 1983. Originally, it was taken off a drama ‘Woodentop’ that was broadcast in 1983. Created by Geoff McQueen, ‘The Bill’ followed around the professional and the personal lives of a group of police officers. Contrary to most cop shows, ‘The Bill’ did not focus on a specific side of police work. Instead, it was more of a police procedural drama that followed around a few particular cops and their lives. The show gathered a huge tribe of followers for the longest time until it started losing its game. ‘The Bill’ entered a few controversies that gradually pushed it towards its end. In 2008, one of the show’s episodes received massive backlash for presenting a fictional treatment of multiple sclerosis. More than once the show had faced harsh criticism because of the degree of violence. In fact, when the show was given a “pre-watershed slot” in 2009, it had to tackle an immense amount of disapproval. Some say this incident to have been the final blow for ‘The Bill’, which led to the plug being pulled ahead of season 27.
ITV axed ‘The Bill’ in 2010 and didn’t look back on its decision. The ITV boss Peter Fincham said at the time, “The Bill has been a fixture on our screens for more than 25 years and has been the home of some of the UK’s best serial drama storylines, and a great showcase for terrific scriptwriting and fine acting talent. But times change, and so do the tastes of our audience. Whilst ‘The Bill’ will come to an end in 2010, we will continue to invest more in drama programming than any other commercial broadcaster in the UK, and viewers can look forward to a wide range of high-quality drama on ITV1”.
‘The Bill’ returns on-screen amidst the pandemic
As 2020 took away a lot from our lives, it also brought back some of the good old days. Many online streaming platforms had taken up the job to carry out reruns of classic shows. For example, ‘The Sopranos’ made a comeback on the streaming platform and, as expected, took on a new tribe of fans. Following suit, UKTV announced the return of ‘The Bill’ on the screens after a decade. However, UKTV made it a point to feature only the first five seasons initially with a promise to bring over the other seasons on the platform in time. The sole reason behind bringing ‘The Bill’ back on the screen was to give people some reason to stay inside during the lockdown and what’s better than bringing out the old favourites!
Not just that, the legendary cast of ‘The Bill’ reunited virtually to have a talk just like from the old days – in uniform. Among the cast members were present Trudie Goodwin, Chris Ellison, Eric Richard, Graham Cole, and Mark Wingett. The cast members answered the many questions that fans had in store for them and talked about the show’s return on screen as well. UKTV Play’s general manager said, “The Bill is an iconic cop classic that’s full of that lovely warm feeling of nostalgia. Kicking off with the very first series from 1983, we hope that audiences enjoy being back on the beat at Sun Hill”. Audiences have definitely enjoyed the nostalgia of seeing ‘The Bill’ back on screen, but if it gives season 27 a green light is a matter of speculation.
Could ‘The Bill’ be renewed for season 27?
Many hearts broke as ‘The Bill’ signed off from TV after 26 years of a trippy run. Even a few years ago, people were going on all about wanting to see the show return on TV. In fact, a few fans had even started a petition online for ‘The Bill’ to be renewed for season 27. However, that seems like a distant dream. Logically, season 27 of ‘The Bill’, a show that’s been under the ground for almost 10 years, does not seem feasible.
However, reruns of classic shows are always welcome. It’s the best of both worlds. ‘The Bill’ remains cancelled, we’re afraid, but its reruns are still in play. What are your favourite moments from ‘The Bill’? Let us know in the comments below!
