'Bloodlands' Arrives on Acorn TV For The Ides Of March

Between the success of Line of Duty and Bodyguard, Jed Mercurio has become one of the U.K.'s leading purveyors of thriller television. His latest, Bloodlands, is the first produced under his own company, Hat Trick Mercurio Television. The series is referred to as an "Irish noir" thriller and stars James Nesbitt, who long-time PBS fans will remember from Ballykissangel. (He was also Bofur in The Hobbit trilogy.) The series is currently gearing up to air in the U.K. on BBC One starting on Sunday, February 21.

But U.S. fans won't have to wait long to watch it ourselves. Acorn TV, which has exclusive rights to Line of Duty, also snapped up the exclusive rights to Bloodlands. The streamer will be premiering it starting March 15 as an Acorn TV original series as soon as its U.K. run is finished.

Set in the fissures of Northern Ireland's violent past and the prosperous country today, Bloodlands traces the hunt for a serial killer known only as Goliath. After lying dormant for decades, this infamous murderer who took out victims during the Troubles era is now seemingly back, and police detective Tom Brannick (Nesbitt) is determined this time the killer will be brought down. He has a good reason, too — one of Goliath's original victims was Brannick's late wife.

Check out Acorn TV's trailer. (The U.K. cut of the trailer is here, for comparison's sake.)