First look at Peaky Blinder's creator Steven Knight's brand new gritty drama
Oct. 6, 2023This Town, is coming like a ghost town…
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
From the same mind that brought us Peaky Blinders comes a new six-part British television series for BBC One called This Town, a gritty drama set in 1980s Birmingham at the height of the grass music scene. According to the BBC, the drama created by Peaky’s Steven Knight and directed by Paul Whittington follows “an extended family and four young people who are drawn into the world of ska and two-tone music,” a popular scene in Birmingham and Coventry born in the late ‘70s.
The title seems to reference the 1971 smash hit ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials, a music group hailing from the same place Knight’s new drama is set. The protest song details the dark and depressive era that was Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, deep in recession and social unrest. The lyrics read “This town, is coming like a ghost town, all the clubs have been closed down….Bands won’t play no more, too much fighting on the dance floor.”
It’s not just the title that is inspired by a track, the BBC states that music will be at the heart of the show. This Town is produced by Kudos and Nebulastar and co-produced by Universal Music Group’s Mercury Studios who will provide the soundtrack. Co-president of Mercury Studios Marc Robinson told the BBC, “We are thrilled to be able to creatively engage artists and help tell the story through new and original recordings.”
This Town’s star-studded cast includes Loss and Return’s Levi Brown, The Woman King’s Jordan Bolger, Line of Duty’s Ben Rose andYou’s Eve Austin are the four young leads, accompanied by Michelle Dockery known for Downtown Abbey andThe Gentlemen, and The Policeman star David Dawson.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
A Hulu/Disney Plus fan-favorite with a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score is coming back for season 2
Sherlock creator Steven Moffat responds to recent revival comments, revealing that he already has an idea for how Benedict Cumberbatch’s detective could return
After thousands of “Overwhelmingly Positive” Steam reviews, Caves of Qud dev says the roguelike RPG has done “100x better than anything we ever expected”
