British cop shows have always found a way to make it work, and not with violence-ridden and gun-point investigation plotlines common in American cop shows. Unlike their American counterpart, British cop shows are a bit more humane and low-key, a quality that does not take away from their impact as you might expect. Unfortunately, not even all British cop shows persevere on television. Here is everything we know about Wild Bill, a British cop show that was canceled after only one season.
Wild Bill is a British comedy-drama series following the story of an American cop as he settles into a position as the head of the East Lincolnshire Police Force in Boston, Lincolnshire. The series was created by David Griffiths, Kyle Killeen, Dudi Appleton, and Jim Keeble back in 2018. Rob Lowe, who was cast in the lead role as Bill Hixon, executive-produced Wild Bill alongside the show creators, and Eleanor Morgan, Keith Redmon, and Scott Pennington. Wild Bill season 1 consists of six episodes averaging forty-five minutes, which were directed by Annie Griffin, John Hardwick, and Charles Martin.
Wild Bill began filming in London and Lincolnshire in November 2018 and under production companies Shiver, Anonymous Content, and 42. The cop show premiered on June 12, 2019, on ITV. New episodes were released weekly until the show wrapped up with a finale on July 17, 2019.
Wild Bill Season 1 Plot
After assaulting a teenage boy who released sexual images of his fourteen-year-old daughter Kelsey, Chief Constable Bill Hixon is fired from the American police force. Bill relocates from Miami to Boston, Lincolnshire, and becomes the head of the East Lincolnshire Police Force, a position many of his colleagues are not keen on him having. DC Muriel Yeardsley, a trainee CID detective, is the only one eager to have Bill around.
Wild Bill sees Bill and Muriel partnered up to uncover a series of murder cases, conspirations, and false accusations. Each episode of Wild Bill presents a new case for Bill to solve while in the bigger picture, he tries to stop Oleg Kraznov, a Russian businessman attempting to build a criminal empire in East Lincolnshire. His professional life is not the only focus of Wild Bill.
Bill also has an affair with a local crown court judge, Lady Harborough, and finds himself having to be a crying shoulder for the family of victims involved in his cases. Bill also has to deal with officers like PC Sean Cobley and PC Troy Drakes, who are reluctant to accept his regime. Wild Bill also follows Bill’s daughter Kelsey as she tries to settle into a new school, making an unexpected friend in the process.
Executive producer Rob Lowe plays Chief Constable Bill Hixon in Wild Bill, with Bronwyn James as DC Muriel Yeardsley, the eager trainee Bill takes along on his quests. Other main casts of Wild Bill are:
- Aloreia Spencer as Kelsey Hixon, Bill’s daughter
- Rachael Stirling as Lady Mary Harborough, a local court judge who has an affair with Bill
- Anjali Mohindra as Deputy Chief Constable Lydia Price, Bill’s second-in-command
- Steffan Rhodri as DS Alex Blair, DC Yeardsley’s immediate superior
- Angela Griffin as Lisa Cranston, a local journalist assigned to Bill
- Tony Pitts as Commissioner Keith Metcafe, Bill’s manager
- Divan Ladwa as PC Troy Drakes, a beat officer
- Anthony Flanagan as PC Sean Cobley, Troy’s beat partner
- Vicki Pepperdine as Broadbent, a pathologist at the East Lincolnshire Police Force
- Aleksandra Jovanovic as Oleg Kraznov, Bill’s Russian antagonist
Is there a Wild Bill Season 2?
Unfortunately, a few months after the finale of season 1, Wild Bill was canceled by ITV. This was announced on November 13, 2019. The drama series was canceled due to its poor performance in terms of ratings and viewership. Wild Bill began with 5.8 eager UK viewers and then reduced to a mere 3 million by the end of the first season. Although producers seemed proud of the show, going as far as expressing their hopes that it would be picked up by Hulu or Netflix, many reviews described Wild Bill as out-of-place, cheap, and drearily dull. Even the charisma of its leading man, Rob Lowe, could not save the show.
Wild Bill has a rating of 6.9/10 on IMDb and 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. The show wrapped up on July 17, 2019, and will not be returning for a season 2.
Where to Watch Wild Bill
Wild Bill is available for streaming on Britbox, Amazon Prime Video, ITV Hub, and the Roku Channel. Wild Bill Season 1 was also made available on DVD on 29 July 2019.
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