Amara Karan arrives as DC Leila Hussain in Port Devine, a fictional seaside town where the police station overlooks Donaghadee harbour and every week brings a fresh crime plus a fresh round of speculation about why a big-city detective washed up here. Creator Paul Marquess, born in Belfast, vowed to ditch the usual Troubles clichés and instead lean into the humour and warmth he remembers, populating the cast almost entirely with actors who grew up within a thirty-mile radius of the lighthouse.
The format never changes: a self-contained case is wrapped inside the ongoing soap of love affairs, family feuds and bar-stool secrets. Kerri Quinn’s Sergeant Marlene Pettigrew keeps order with a tongue sharp enough to fillet fish, while Niamh McGrady’s Nicole Devine quietly steals scenes as the station’s moral compass. When Karan leaves after series one, Stephen Hagan’s undercover DC Al Quinn steps in, followed by Karen Hassan’s Jo Lipton, each new lead carrying a suitcase of secrets that the town dissects faster than a post-office queue.
Filming stays hyper-local: Pier 36 doubles as The Commodore pub, Shore Street becomes the station exterior, and residents routinely photobomb takes with pride. Five series in, the show has reached its 50th episode and BBC iPlayer now drops entire runs ahead of transmission, turning Port Devine into a weekend binge rather than a weekday habit. The cliffhangers still work because the writers know the real suspense is whether the tide will take the next ferry out before someone confesses on the pier.
Production Details
BBC One / 5 Seasons / 51 Episodes / 2021 - Present
Created by: Paul Marquess, Susanne Farrell
Showrunner(s): Donna Wiffen, Eddie Doyle, Paul Marquess
Writer(s): Jessica Lea, Susanne Farrell, Christine Murphy
Cinematography: Ray Carlin, Nick Manley
Music: Anthony Eve, Justine Barker
Main Cast
Kerri Quinn as Sergeant Marlene Pettigrew
Niamh McGrady as Nicole Devine
Aaron McCusker as Clint Dunwoody
Louis McCartney as Shay O'Hare
Amara Karan as Leila Hussain
Ciarán McMenamin as Finn O'Hare
Des McAleer as Barry Pettigrew
Niall Wright as PC Callum McCarthy
Brid Brennan as Concepta O'Hare
Ellie Lavery as Niamh O'Hare
Rachel Tucker as Siobhan O'Hare
Azan Ahmed as Rafid Kardar
