This Town | |
---|---|
Created by | Steven Knight |
Written by | Steven Knight |
Directed by | Paul Whittington |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Producers |
|
Cinematography | Ben Wheeler |
Running time | 57 minutes |
Production companies |
|
Original release | |
Network | BBC One |
Release | 31 March – 28 April 2024 |
This Town is a 2024 British six-part television series. Written and created for BBC One by Steven Knight and directed by Paul Whittington, the series follows a group of young people in the early 1980s in Birmingham and Coventry. The cast is led by Levi Brown, Jordan Bolger, Ben Rose, and Eve Austin. The series premiered on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 31 March 2024.
This Town tells the story of an extended family and four young people who are drawn into an explosive and iconic music scene in the early 1980s. It is set across the streets of Coventry and Birmingham, and opens with rioting in both places.This Town tells the story of a band's formation against a backdrop of violence.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [1] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Episode 1" | Paul Whittington | Steven Knight | 31 March 2024 |
2 | "Episode 2" | Paul Whittington | Steven Knight | 31 March 2024 |
3 | "Episode 3" | Paul Whittington | Steven Knight | 31 March 2024 |
4 | "Episode 4" | Paul Whittington | Steven Knight | 31 March 2024 |
5 | "Episode 5" | Paul Whittington | Steven Knight | 31 March 2024 |
6 | "Episode 6" | Paul Whittington | Steven Knight | 31 March 2024 |
This Town was written and created for BBC One by Steven Knight and directed by Paul Whittington. It is produced by Kudos and Nebulastar and co-produced by Universal Music Group’s Mercury Studios. [2]
Knight and producer Nick Angel began working in November 2020 with the production companies Kudos and Stigma on a project set during the early 1980s UK music scene. [3] A six-part series was commissioned by BBC One in April 2022. [4]
For Knight, it is a project he has said is more personal work to him than his previous Birmingham based television series Peaky Blinders , with Knight describing This Town as his “love letter” to the area he grew up in and “an era I loved through and know well and [involving] characters who I feel I grew up with.” [5]
Michelle Dockery, David Dawson and Nicholas Pinnock were announced to be cast in November 2022, it was also revealed that original music would be written specifically for the series by Dan Carey and Kae Tempest. [6] That same month Séainín Brennan was added to the cast. [7] Other main roles in the series are played by Levi Brown, Jordan Bolger, Ben Rose and Eve Austin. [8]
Principal photography started in Birmingham in November 2022 on location in the city and at Knight’s Loc. Film and TV Studios. [9] Filming locations also included Wolverhampton where a race riot was filmed. [10] A casting call for extras to play skinheads was put in the local media [11] and music press. [12] In March 2023, filming took place in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. [13]
The series features music recorded for the programme from Sekou, Gregory Porter, Celeste, Olivia Dean, Ray Laurél, and Self Esteem with each artist recording a cover version to play over the closing credits. [14] [15] The soundtrack also features music from Kae Tempest and Dan Carey. [16]
The series premiered on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 31 March 2024. [2]
Hamish McBain in The Evening Standard wrote that the "period specific sets are perfect” but commented that the pacing of the series was slower than the trailer suggested. [17] Carol Midgley writing for The Times awarded the first episode three stars out of five, writing that it is “sharp and the music is, as with most of Steven Knight’s dramas, expertly weaponised. But episode one was also meandering, slow and, dare I say it, often self-indulgent.” [18]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 64% approval rating with an average rating of 6.5/10 based on 14 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Steven Knight's This Town has a shapelessness that will sag some viewers' investment, but it holds intriguing insights into its specific cultural milieu." [19]
Helen Elizabeth McCrory was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her stage debut in The Importance of Being Earnest in 1990. Other stage roles include playing Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at Shakespeare's Globe, Olivia in Twelfth Night, Rosalind in As You Like It in the West End, and Medea in the eponymous play in the Royal National Theatre.
Steven Knight is a British screenwriter, producer, and director for film and television. He wrote the screenplays for the films Closed Circuit, Dirty Pretty Things, and Eastern Promises, and also wrote and directed the films Locke and Hummingbird.
Natasha Dervill O'Keeffe is a British actress. She is known for her roles as Abbey in the E4 series Misfits (2012–2013), Fedora in the ITV series Jekyll and Hyde (2015), Emilia Ricoletti in the Sherlock special "The Abominable Bride" (2016), and Lizzie Shelby in the BBC series Peaky Blinders (2013–2022).
Nicholas Andre Pinnock is a British actor. He is known for his role as lead character Aaron Wallace in the American legal drama For Life.
Ned Dennehy is an Irish actor in films and television. His credits include The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog (1998), Blitz (2011), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Downhill (2014), Luther, Banished, Dickensian, Peaky Blinders (2017), Versailles, Broken, Outlander, and Shōgun (2024).
Samuel Hazeldine is an English actor working in film, television and theatre. In film he has appeared in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), Weekender (2010), The Raven (2012), Grimsby (2016), and The Last Duel (2021). His television roles include Prime Suspect 6 (2003), Persuasion (2007), Peaky Blinders, The Innocents (2018), Slow Horses (2022), The Sandman (2022) and Rain Dogs (2023).
Peaky Blinders is a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. Set in Birmingham, it follows the exploits of the Peaky Blinders crime gang in the direct aftermath of the First World War. The fictional gang is loosely based on a real urban youth gang who were active in the city from the 1880s to the 1910s.
Sophie Rundle is an English actress, best known for portraying Ada Thorne in the BBC One historical crime drama television series Peaky Blinders, Ann Walker in BBC One and HBO's period drama Gentleman Jack, Vicky Budd in the BBC television series Bodyguard, code-breaker Lucy in the ITV drama series The Bletchley Circle and Labia in the British/American television sitcom Episodes. She also played Alice in Sky One's 2017 drama Jamestown.
The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1920s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to working-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racketeering, illegal bookmaking, and control of gambling. Members wore signature outfits that typically included tailored jackets, lapelled overcoats, buttoned waistcoats, silk scarves, bell-bottom trousers, leather boots, and peaked flat caps. Contrary to the television series of the same name, it is unlikely that they had razor blades sewn into these caps, instead gaining their name from the manner in which they wore them with the cap tilted so that the peak covered one eye.
Thomas Michael Shelby is a fictional character and the protagonist of the British period crime drama Peaky Blinders. He is played by Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who has won two Irish Film & Television Awards and two National Television Awards for his portrayal of Shelby. The character has received critical acclaim.
Kingsley Ben-Adir is a British actor. He has performed in several plays in London theatres. His television roles include pathologist Marcus Summer in ITV's Vera (2014–2018), private detective Karim Washington on Netflix's The OA (2019), Colonel Ben Younger in the BBC drama Peaky Blinders (2017–2019), and the Skrull Gravik in the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries Secret Invasion (2023).
Amber Felicity Rose Anderson is a British actress, pianist and model. On television, she is known for her roles as Ciara Porter in the crime drama Strike (2017) and Diana Mitford in the sixth series of Peaky Blinders (2022), both on BBC One. Her films include We Are the Freaks (2013), White Lie (2019), and Emma (2020).
Great Expectations is a historical fiction television miniseries developed by Steven Knight, based on the 1861 novel by Charles Dickens. It premiered on BBC One on 26 March 2023, followed by its US premiere on FX on Hulu later the same day.
Theo Barklem-Biggs is an English television and film actor from London. He has performed both comedic and dramatic roles.
Jordan Bolger is an English actor. He has performed in television notably in Peaky Blinders, The 100 and The Book of Boba Fett. In film, he is known for side roles in Tom & Jerry and The Woman King.
Sekou Sylla is a British singer from Leicestershire. He was nominated for the Brit Award for Rising Star in 2024.
Freya Parks is a British stage, television and film actress.
Benjamin Rose is a British actor and musician.
Levi Brown is a British television actor and musician.