Line of Duty’s Jed Mercurio announces new sci-fi series – and it’s worlds away from AC-12

LINE of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has announced a new sci-fi series - and it's worlds away from AC-12.

Jed is best known for bringing the popular BBC police corruption thriller starring Martin Compston, Adrian Dunbar and Vicky McClure onto our TV schedules.

But this time around the writer and director is lending his skills to the creation of a sci-fi thriller graphic novel titled Sleeper.

He's joined forces with actor Prasanna Puwanarajah to write the series, who has worked with Mercurio on his 2018 medical drama Critical, as well as appearing in a episode of Line of Duty.

Puwanarajah will also star in the forthcoming British remake of Call My Agent.

The comic, set in the 24th century, has been illustrated by artist Coke Navarro.

The description for the book reads: "The first in a hotly anticipated new graphic novel series DS-5, a biologically-enhanced law enforcement marshal, is due to be decommissioned after decades in deep space.

"He returns to a solar system finally rising out of a devastating climate war following the discovery of a miraculous new energy source: Titan Green."

It continues: "His pod crashes on Titan following a mysterious explosion, and DS-5 deploys for his final mission: an investigation into mass murder that becomes entwined with a geologist's quest for her missing father.

"But as DS-5's ageing tech begins to fail, human faculties and memories resurface, forcing him to confront the dark provenance of his recruitment."

It's definitely a far cry from the happenings at the anti-corruption unit at Line of Duty.

But for fans of Mercurio still having their fingers crossed for a season 7 of the police drama, it could be a welcome read.

Sleeper is released August 5.