Welcome to the Mersey Beat guide at TV Tome. Mersey Beat was the BBC'S answer to The Bill. Like Casualty it is a serial drama, so it's not soap or continuous drama. The first three seasons were set just outside Liverpool. However, the fourth season saw a small revamp and the series moved to Liverpool and new characters joined the series. This was intended to boost/improve ratings. Sadly it didn't work. Like ITV'S The Bill it followed the lives and work of Police Officer's on the beat but it also followed their personal lives. However, in January 2004 the last ever episode of Mersey Beat aired on British Television. At the time it was rumoured that the BBC were going to drop the series due to dropping ratings. It was only a month after the last episodes aired that the BBC decided the show's fate. They decided to pull the plug and drop the series. Those characters highlighted in black are those who were in the final season of Mersey Beat. Mersey Beat Tagline: B