The Bill - Spin-offs and Related Series

Spin-offs and Related Series

During its 27-year-run, The Bill spawned several spin-off productions and related series in German and Dutch languages, as well as a series of documentaries. The following is a list of the most notable of these.

• SOKO Leipzig: German interpretation based on a similar format. SOKO Leipzig has been broadcasting since the late 1990s, but became better known when a crossover episode with the British series, entitled "Proof of Life", was broadcast on 4 September 2009. It has been announced that further episodes of the series have been commissioned following the British version of The Bill ending in Germany in early 2011.

• Bureau Kruislaan: Dutch interpretation of the series. Produced by Joop van den Ende for VARA Television, the programme lasted for four series running from 1992 to 1995. In 1995, the show was nominated for the Gouden Televizier Ring, an award for the best television programme in the Netherlands. All four series of the show have been released on DVD there.

• Die Wache: German interpretation of the series. As decent script-writers were hard to find at the time, the German producers were given the licence to utilise (re-use) scripts from the British series. The series was produced by RTL Television, running for nearly 750 episodes from 1994 to 2006.

• Burnside: Spin-off from the main British series, following ex-DI Frank Burnside in his transfer and promotion to the National Crime Squad. The programme lasted for just a single series of six episodes, debuting in the UK on 6 July 2000. The series was created and produced by Richard Handford. On 8 October 2008, the series was released on DVD in Australia in a three-disc-set.

• MIT: Murder Investigation Team: Spin-off from the main British series. Lasting for two series, the drama began with a group of MIT officers investigating the drive-by shooting of Sgt. Matthew Boyden, who had been at Sun Hill for eleven years. The first series consisted of eight one-hour episodes. The second series consisted of four ninety-minute episodes. The series was created by Paul Marquess, produced by Johnathan Young and starred ex-Bill DS Eva Sharpe (Diane Parish).