The television show Night Coppers is due to return for a new series tonight (Tuesday 26 March), shining a light on frontline policing in Brighton and Hove when the sun goes down.
Sussex Police said: “The Channel 4 show is returning for a second series, giving a fresh raw insight into Sussex Police officers and staff as they police Brighton and Hove after dark.
“It follows response officers as they police the city’s night-time economy, alongside officers and staff in our custody and contact centres.
“Filming took place in summer, with the first episode to be broadcast on Channel 4 on Tuesday 26 March.
“Night Coppers is produced by Blast Films, the multi-award-winning documentary company behind series such as Channel 4’s 999: What’s Your Emergency and Forensics: The Real CSI.”
Chief Superintendent Rachel Carr, the divisional commander for Brighton and Hove, said: “After the success of the first series, we are delighted to welcome Blast Films back to capture the incredible work that goes in to keeping the public safe.
“Night Coppers shows the realities of frontline policing and demonstrates the determination, compassion and humanity of our officers, staff and community partners.
“We also wanted to show the side of policing that goes beyond the uniform – that our officers are human beings, with families, friends and private lives, who perform an extraordinary service to the public under challenging circumstances.”
Sarah Spencer, executive producer for Blast Films, said: “The second series of Night Coppers will continue to get into the hearts and minds of the Brighton response officers at a time when confidence in the police is at an all-time low.
“Filming with a fresh cohort of new recruits as well as some of the officers from series 1, this will also be a character-led, visually distinctive, visceral series that captures what it’s really like to be policing the streets of Brighton at night, eschewing master interviews and commentary in favour of a more immersive approach.”
Channel 4 commissioning executive Simon Cheuk Pong Lee said: “I am delighted that Night Coppers is coming back.
“It’s a brilliant mix of fascinating stories that offer a great opportunity to learn about the incredible work the Sussex Police do in this socially charged city.
“I’m really pleased to see some of the familiar faces return alongside additional new officers and that the second series is even more enthralling than the first.”
The first series aired for eight weeks starting in July 2022.
A review on the Guardian news website said that the “fly-on-the-wall show” gave viewers “an exquisite portrait of British drunkenness”.
The Mirror said that the programme showed “all the danger, tragedy and occasional comedy that make up life as an officer in modern Britain”.
And the Spectator said that the series “paints them in a light so favourable as to be almost comically sycophantic” while describing them as “pathologically liberal”.
Some of the officers in the first series were rookies, training online during the coronavirus pandemic, and trying to balance courtesy, firmness and sympathy when out on patrol.
High standards – rightly – are expected of them. And if the reviews from the first series had a lesson, it was probably that it’s easier to be a critic than a copper.
The first episode of the new series is due to be broadcast on Channel 4 at 10pm tonight.
We’ve been having a game; every time we spot a regular person or place.