Production
Creation
Hope Street was created by Paul Marquess and Susanne Farrell. Marquess stated that his aim whilst creating the series was to make a long-running local drama. Due to being born in Belfast, he wanted to avoid the stereotypes that come with Northern Irish media portrayals, instead focusing on the "humour and warmth" of the area. [2] The series was commissioned in March 2021, by BBC Daytime and BritBox North America, in a joint collaboration, with Marquess' and Farell's production company, Long Story TV co-producing the series with BritBox North America. [3]
Filming and locations
Hope Street is filmed in Donaghadee, Northern Ireland, which acts as the fictional Port Devine. [4] Locations within Donaghadee were used as part of filming, these included Pier 36, a local restaurant, which acted as The Commodore Pub in the series, [5] and a building on Shore Street in Donaghadee which was used as the fictional Port Devine Police Station. [4]
Broadcast
Hope Street is initially broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland, before being shown on BBC One on daytimes for the remainder of the United Kingdom. As of the fourth series, the broadcast is a week apart from Northern Ireland and the remainder of the UK. Since the third series, full series have been released ahead of broadcast on BBC iPlayer. It is available in the US and Canada on Britbox streaming platform.
Premise
The first series sees the sudden arrival of DC Leila Hussain (Amara Karan) in the fictional Northern Irish town of Port Devine. The local residents question the reason behind her arrival; only Inspector Finn O'Hare knows why Leila has been transferred, but he is keeping it to himself. [2]
On Leila's arrival to the town, Karan hinted: "The secret, the reason why she's been brought to Northern Ireland, is actually a matter of life-and-death". [6] Each episode follows a self-contained crime story following the investigation of the local police department, as well as the exploits of the town's local residents.
In the second series, a former colleague of Finn's, DC Al Quinn, is sent to town as part of an undercover operation. Following the operation's conclusion, Al stays in town to fill the void left following Leila's departure. When his daughter is caught up in the theft of an ATM, Al crosses the line to protect the one he loves most, putting his career on the line in the process.
In the third series, a new detective constable, Jo Lipton (Karen Hassan), arrives in Port Devine, alongside new police constable Ryan Power (Finnian Garbutt). [7]
Development
Series co-creator and co-executive producer Paul Marquess stated that his aim whilst creating the series was to make a long-running local drama. Due to being born in Belfast, he wanted to avoid the stereotypes that come with Northern Irish media portrayals, instead focusing on the "humour and warmth" of the area. [2] Marquess and colleague Susan Farrell decided that the series should not focus on serial killers or the Troubles, but instead on the resilience of the community in Northern Ireland. Another of Marquess' aims was to increase the amount of television productions in Northern Ireland, specifically since he had moved from the country to pursue a career in production in his youth. He and Farrell created a cast and crew almost entirely formed of local talent from in and around Donaghadee, where the series is filmed. [2] The 10-episode first series was funded by Northern Ireland Screen and it was confirmed that it would premiere on BBC One Northern Ireland in November 2021, as well as having a January 2022 broadcast on BBC One in the other regions of the United Kingdom.
The show stars an ensemble cast almost entirely collected from the local area, including Ciarán McMenamin, Kerri Quinn, Niall Wright, Des McAleer, Bríd Brennan, Aaron McCusker and Niamh McGrady.
Cast member McMenamin was helped with his research about the police by two schoolfriends who are part of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). After reading the scripts for the series, he was excited to be part of Hope Street due to its modern-day portrayal of his community. He said that his experiences on set are the happiest moments of his professional life, due to the locations they film on and the cast and crew. McMenamin explained: "The craic is a different level. When you live away, to come home and be surrounded by people just as sarcastic as you, makes getting out of bed in the morning a joy". [2] Quinn opined that it is refreshing for Hope Street not to mention the Troubles and appreciated that the scripts place a focal point on relationships and the small community of Port Devine. [2] Wright echoed her comments, feeling that the serial drama is "a completely different take" to other dramas on television at the time of transmission. He added that the series would have plenty of twists and cliffhangers and hoped that the series would be renewed for several further series. [8] English cast member Karan said that whilst filming for the series, the locals of Donaghadee were very proud of their town, but "went out of their way to make [her] feel welcome". [2] She added that she loved playing Leila even though she "sticks out in her new environment like a sore thumb". [2]
In April 2022, the show was renewed for a second series, which premiered in November 2022, with Stephen Hagan taking on the role of new lead character, DC Al Quinn. [9]
In April 2023, the show was renewed for a third series, which premiered in October 2023, with Karen Hassan taking on the role of new lead character, DC Jo Lipton. [10]
In April 2024, it was confirmed that the BBC had renewed Hope Street for a fourth series and would commence filming that month, with eight episodes being commissioned. [11]
Reception
On the Northern Irish BBC iPlayer, Hope Street received 1.6 million streams on the first five episodes of series one. [6] Stephen Patterson, writing for the Metro , gave the series four stars out of a possible five. He wrote that within minutes of the first episode, the community-driven aspect is established "incredibly well". [55] Patterson noted that the core cast are talented, praising McGrady specifically for "stealing every scene she's in". [55] He also praised the standalone stories in each episode, feeling that they raise important issues in ways that he did not expect from the series. He opined that Marquess had succeeded in his aims for the series to accurately portray Northern Ireland. He added that despite serial dramas such as Red Rock , The Bill and Holby City losing popularity, Hope Street "suggests that there is still something of an appetite for this kind of programming", [55] also hoping for more series of the programme. [55]
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