True Crime Mania, a study of people’s fascination with crime documentaries and unsolved mysteries, has analysed regional search data around the biggest show on TV at the moment to see who audiences suspect, and why.
The study found that Season 6 Episode 5 of Line of Duty - which aired 18th April - is on track to see a massive 49% uptick in searches compared to the show’s previous high.
Prior to this series, the most-searched-for episode to date was Season 5 Episode 3: Code Zero, which boasts a respectable 8.6/10 star rating on IMDb and first aired in April 2019.
Interest in the show could continue to rise after the upcoming episode, which according to Google Trends’ comprehensive predictive modelling, could become the most popular instalment of Line of Duty to date - depending on how it compares to Sunday night’s ep.
Prior to this series, the most-searched-for episode to date was Season 5 Episode 3: Code Zero, which boasts a respectable 8.6/10 star rating on IMDb and first aired in April 2019.
It’s not surprising that the last episode is proving more popular than those in Season 5, as Google Trends data also shows that worldwide searches for the show have increased by 92% over the last year alone.
The data also reveals what LOD fans are most intrigued by, with results showing that the most popular related searches are around people trying to decode the various acronyms that are playing a prominent role in this season.
In the last 30 days, searches for ‘Chis, ‘Chiz’, ‘Line of Duty Chis’, ‘Chis meaning’ have rocketed, as well as those around Terry Boyler, Carl Banks, and Jackie Laverty - who have all resurfaced as people of interest in this current series.
The study also found that the current forerunner for fans as to who’s behind ‘H’ is Ted Hastings as of last week, as searches for the character rose by 400% in the hour before the episode aired, then increased by a further 81.8% during the episode.
As well as looking at top shows, research from True Crime Mania showed how people’s interest in true crime documentaries had more than doubled since the 2020 lockdown was introduced in the UK, as more and more people got invested in the latest shows to hit Netflix.
Unsolved Mysteries is the UK’s favourite Netflix series related to the subject, and with Line of Duty proved to be such a hit it is clear that the UK public love a crime series.