Alright bab? If there's a Peaky Blinders-shaped hole in your heart then you’ll want to look then we've got some good news for you, as series creator Steven Knight is back with another barnstorming tale of culture clashes and violence (and music!) in the new BBC drama, This Town.
Firstly, congratulations if you managed to read the title of the series without singing “...is coming like a ghost town”, as the six-part series, set in Eighties Birmingham, is indeed derived from the hit 1981 single from The Specials. We're set to dive into the brand new Knight-verse number over the Easter weekend, so here’s everything you need to know. (And if you need any more suggestions, you can read our guide to 2024’s best shows here).
When is This Town out?
The full six-episode series will be available on iPlayer from Sunday 31 March from 6am. If you prefer to watch it on ye olde terrestrial TV, the first two episodes will play on consecutive nights on BBC One, premiering on Sunday 31 March (Easter Sunday) at 9pm, and then again at the same time on Monday 1 April.
Is there a trailer for This Town?
Yes, and it all looks suitably epic (although, annoyingly, it seems to give away most of the plot points within the two minute runtime). You can watch that below.
What’s the big idea?
Filmed in Knight’s beloved Birmingham and surrounding areas, we’re transported back to 1981, where social tension and unrest is brewing in the air. And, so the official synopsis goes: “Against this backdrop, it tells the story of a group of young people fighting to choose their own paths in life, each in need of the second chance that music offers.”
As per the trailer, it’s a trip back to an uneasy time beset by racial injustice – especially for the lead character, Dante – and the threat of terror attacks by the IRA, particularly for another character, who is expected to join his father in the group.
Then, as it’s a series based around the creation of a band, the music needs to slap – which is why acclaimed producer Dan Carey, musician and poet Kae Tempest and singer-songwriter ESKA have all been enlisted to write the songs played by the band in the show. In addition to this, six other artists — Celeste, Gregory Porter, Olivia Dean, Ray Laurél, Sekou and Self Esteem – have each recorded brand new cover versions of tracks from the era, which will play over the end credits of an episode. So, who’s the smart money on for the cover of “Ghost Town” then?
Who’s in the cast?
Highlights include the likes of Michelle Dockery, Nicholas Pinnock and David Dawson. The casting gods have also shone on new, rising stars like Levi Brown (who plays Dante), Jordan Bolger and Ben Rose.
Also appearing is Eve Austin (last seen as the insufferable toff Gemma in You), Freya Parks, Shyvonne Ahmmad, Geraldine James, Peter McDonald, John Heffernan, Stefan Asante-Boateng, Séainín Brennan, George Somner and, in a call back to Peaky Blinders, Brendan Gibson will also feature in the series.
What’s Knight said about it all?
It’s a deeply personal project for Knight, who told the BBC: “This is a project very close to my heart. It’s about an era I lived through and know well and it involves characters who I feel I grew up with. It’s a love letter to Birmingham and Coventry but I hope people from all over the world will relate to it.”
In the meantime, Knight’s next series, The Veil, featuring Elizabeth Moss, a thriller about two women travelling from Istanbul to Paris and London, with one of them possessing a secret which the other needs to expose, will premiere a month later than This Town, on 30 April on Hulu in America, with a UK date and streamer yet to be announced.
