Black Ops is the BBC’s latest high-concept comedy thriller and it’s coming to our screens in May

Black Ops is the BBC’s latest high-concept comedy thriller coming to our screens in May

Credit: BBC

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Black Ops is the BBC’s latest high-concept comedy thriller and it’s coming to our screens in May

By Amy Beecham

2 years ago

2 min read

Comedy meets crime in new BBC One drama Black Ops.


From Line Of Duty’s corrupt cops to the notorious serial killers of The Fall and Luther, the BBC is renowned for its slate of murky crime dramas. However, its latest offering, Black Ops, offers something different to the hard-hitting performances we’ve come to expect.

Instead, the high-concept comedy thriller follows two inept officers who go undercover to thwart a violent criminal gang, but soon discover they are in way over their heads.

Set in east London, Dom (played by Bafta-winning actor and writer Gbemisola Ikumelo) and Kay (Black Mirror’s Hammed Animashaun) are two police community support officers who join the Met in the hope of cleaning up their neighbourhood.

They quickly find themselves unwittingly thrust into the murky world of deep cover infiltration. As their high-stakes mission takes a turn for the worse, they face off against Tevin, the leader of the Brightmarsh gang (Akemnji Ndifornyen, The Queen’s Gambit).

BBC’s latest high-concept comedy thriller Black Ops

Credit: BBC

The new six-part series was first announced back in 2021, but is finally landing on our screens in May.

Speaking to Deadline, star and creator Ikumelo said she was inspired by buddy cop comedies like 21 Jump Street and wanted to make a version with Black people at the centre. “The act of existing and getting a show made with Black leads is political. There are some nods to race relations in the UK [in Black Ops] but we are ultimately being subversive and trying to make people laugh,” she added. 

BBC’s latest high-concept comedy thriller Black Ops

Credit: BBC

The series boasts an impressive supporting cast including Ariyon Bakare (His Dark Materials), Joanna Scanlan (After Love), Tyger Drew-Honey (Outnumbered) and Zoë Wanamaker (Shadow And Bone).

And while you probably won’t be frantically piecing together clues and wondering whodunnit à la Happy Valley or Vigil, we’re sure it’s a series viewers will enjoy nonetheless.

Black Ops starts Friday 5 May, 9.30pm, BBC One and BBC iPlayer


Images: BBC

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