By Jay Tavares-
New series, Top boy is back on netflix, after the first few series were on channel 4
First launched in 2011, Top Boy introduced the UK to the fictional Hackney estate of Summerhouse across two intense, four-part seasons. Those series were initially broadcast on Channel 4 over four consecutive nights from 31 October to 3 November 2011.
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It was suddenly cancelled by Channel 4 in 2013 but later revived on Netflix. Creator Ronan Bennett got in touch with the Drake, who ordered another 10-part series that aired in 2019.
In 2017, Drake struck a deal with Netflix to serve as executive producer on a 10-part third season of Top Boy. He told The Hollywood Reporter that he discovered the show on YouTube and was immediately drawn in. “And that human element drew me in,” he said at the time. “I started just looking them up.
The programme focuses on the realities of UK gang culture, drug dealing and the divide between rich and poor The location of its scene is both international and national, with destinations like Morocco and Spain included to set aan appropriate balance with Peckham.
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This year’s cast is as strong as previous series. Kano, Michael Ward, and Little Simz all return to the drama, as do Jasmine Jobson and Saffron Hocking who play sisters Jaq and Lauryn.
Personally, I’ve always known that police can be heavy handed,” he tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.
“That was before George Floyd, but to people that don’t understand the extent of how bad it can be sometimes, it’s going to be eye-opening for them, but we don’t shy away from that.”
“It’s what we’re about. We’re not doing things for glorification value or whatever. It’s what people go through.”
IMAGE SOURCE,TOP BOY, NETFLIXThe new episodes were an even bigger hit, and saw Dushane and Sully’s main rival Jamie (Micheal Ward) end up in prison. But with the estate under threat of redevelopment, the police armed with an intimate, in-depth knowledge of their operations and a lot of fractured relationships to contend with, Netflix’s follow-up season, out this week, looks set to be even more dramatic.
“‘Top Boy’ is embedded in the culture now”
“It’s bigger, and it’s better – it’s all those good things,” Walters said, ahead of the series. “We’re really driving home who these characters are in this season.”
Broad Themes
Season four is wider in its coverage, incorporating themes like homophobia, domestic abuse and deportation. Walters believes these are all important.
“We’re tackling issues and problems that are prominent in our society. We want to give our audience a place to debate.”
Saffron believes the new series brings educational value to the table.
She explains: “My character (Lauryn) is a victim of coercive control, gaslighting and stalking. And I really hope, because of the reach of Top Boy, it can go to a wide audience.
“Hopefully men watching Lauryn can perhaps take a look at themselves and their own behaviour and think ‘that ain’t right’.”
Actor Jasmine Jobson expresses consciousness of the need to glamourize the drug culture, a criticism some of the earlier series has endured.
“We’re constantly under pressure to make sure we’re not glamorizing things, because it’s very, very easy to glamourize this lifestyle and make people feel it’s exciting when really it’s scary and dangerous.”
When Top Boy season two begins, Jamie Tovell (played by Micheal Ward) is released from prison as Dushane Hill (Ashley Walters) provided evidence that proved he wasn’t the owner of the planted drugs and weapons. This was so Jamie would start working for him and when there were issues with the drug supply in Morocco, Dushane asked him to fly out there to sort it out.
Top Boy: Jamie Tovell is played by actor Micheal Ward. (Image: NETFLIX)
Jamie was working on resolving the issue when Sully (Kane “Kano” Robinson) was also sent out there and together, they killed the dodgy police officer who was stopping their shipments.
Sully and Jamie have been enemies since the first series as they battled for dominance.
This led to Jamie, a former rival gang member, trying to have both Sully and Dushane killed so he could take over the business.
The limited arc of the original Channel 4 series (retroactively renamed Summerhouse) meant it often didn’t have time to tell its character’s stories completely. Now with double the runtime, that’s no longer a problem.
“We really get the opportunity to spend more time with each character in this season,” says Robinson. “There’s this moment where Jaq [Dushane’s fierce second-in-command, played by Jasmine Jobson] goes home after [committing a violent act] and she’s in her room, with everything going around in her head. For me, that was one of the greatest moments of this show. We get time to get into these characters’ heads, which I think is beautiful.”
The latest season also continues to explore the effects of gentrification, xenophobia and the impact of Government immigration policy, alongside previously less-explored themes like homophobia and class.
“I wouldn’t say we have an obligation [to talk about these things], but we want to be real,” says Robinson. “If it’s true to those characters in that area that they’re growing up in, then it only makes sense that we speak about it. As long as we remain truthful, and not just try to box-tick, that is when the show is at its best.
“People keep reminding us how long the show’s been on for. It’s just embedded in the culture now,” adds Walters. “What we’ve created is a platform for loads of different people, from all walks of life, with all different aspirations, to flourish and succeed.” And judging by this interview so far, have a laugh too…
The original Top Boy, Dushane spent Summerhouse’s eight eps carefully building his drug empire before fleeing to Jamaica when a rival gang challenged him. The Netflix revival saw him return to London to sell drugs for local kingpin Sugar (Gilbert Chen), but by the end of the season he’d supplanted Sugar alongside more local rivals and was once again in charge.
“Predominantly, it’s power. I don’t think he’s a materialistic person and I don’t think it’s actually about the money. I think he feeds off something a bit deeper, which has more to do with his status… His journey now is more about maintaining what he’s managed to get back, but also understanding what’s next. The endgame is in his sights, it’s just whether he’s willing to give up everything he’s created to get it.”
Ashley Walters. CREDIT: Netflix/Misan Harriman
The latest season explores the effects of gentrification, xenophobia and the impact of Government immigration policy, alongside previously less-explored themes like homophobia and class.
“I wouldn’t say we have an obligation [to talk about these things], but we want to be real,” says Robinson. “If it’s true to those characters in that area that they’re growing up in, then it only makes sense that we speak about it. As long as we remain truthful, and not just try to box-tick, that is when the show is at its best.
“People keep reminding us how long the show’s been on for. It’s just embedded in the culture now,” adds Walters. “What we’ve created is a platform for loads of different people, from all walks of life, with all different aspirations, to flourish and succeed.” And judging by this interview so far, have a laugh too
Sully left prison at the start of Netflix’s reboot. He soon reunited with longtime friend Jason (Ricky Smart), the son of an addict introduced in Summerhouse’s second season who saw Sully as a father figure, to start selling drugs in Ramsgate. However, Jason was killed in a racially-motivated arson attack which led to, via one emotional breakdown, Sully teaming back up with Dushane. After being forced to murder backstabbing mate Dris (Shone Romulus) at the very end of the season, the new episodes find Sully a recluse, wracked with guilt.
The character Dushane, who has had his fair share of problems during the reboot, has managed to establish his position at the head of the drug trade, which revived his otherwise failing trade.
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