The BBC has released several first-look photos of their new crime drama, This City is Ours, and it features a killer ensemble led by two-time BAFTA-winner Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, Time) and Julie Graham (Shetland). Bean and Graham will play Ronnie and Elaine Phelan, a married couple who lead a criminal gang operating out of Liverpool, and judging by that title, the Phelans won’t be taking it likely with anyone who encroaches onto their territory. The 8-part series is created by Stephen Butchard (The Last Kingdom) and directed by the trio of BAFTA award winner, Saul Dibb (The Sixth Commandment), John Hayes (Dublin Murders), and Eshref Reybrouck (Undercover).
This City is Ours blends crime with romance, with the BBC teasing it will tell “a story about family, and love destroyed and corrupted by ambition, pride, and greed. It’s a story about power: what we will do to secure and keep it.” Ronnie and Elaine might be the happily married power couple here, but the romantic elements of the series will be provided by a different couple – Michael Kavanagh and Diane Williams, played by James Nelson-Joyce (A Thousand Blows) and Hannah Onslow (Empire of Light) respectively. Michael has been a loyal member of the Phelan gang for the greater part of his adult years and has developed quite a friendship with Ronnie. Per the synopsis; ”When Ronnie begins to hint at retirement, Michael too begins to imagine another life. Because, for the first time in his life, Michael is in love. For the first time in his life, he sees beyond the day-to-day, he sees a future: something to win and something to lose – Diana.”
However, their romantic journey won’t be without troubles as a sudden infighting arising within their gang brings a great threat to not only Michael but to the woman he loves. As their love affair begins to bloom, Michael’s crime gang begins to disintegrate, beginning when their latest shipment from Columbia goes missing, bringing their Kingdom under attack. Soon, cracks begin to form within their gang, culminating in Ronnie’s son Jamie wanting to inherit the family business and kicking Michael off the table. The synopsis further reveals that “both Michael and Jamie have bold ideas to modernize the gang, and they will battle for control of it. But Michael’s biggest battle will be to save the woman he loves and the child he has always wanted.”
Who Else Stars in ‘This City Is Ours’?
This City is Ours features an incredibly stacked which undoubtedly makes the show more appealing. Also starring is Jack McMullen (Hijack) as Ronnie’s son, Jamie Phelan. The cast is further fleshed out by Laura Aikman (Gavin & Stacey) as Rachel Duffy, Kevin Harvey (Time) as Bobby Duffy, Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Derry Girls) as Cheryl Crawford, Mike Noble (Long Shadow) as Banksey, Bobby Schofield (The Suspect) as Bonehead, Darci Shaw (A Thousand Blows) as Melissa Sullivan, and Stephen Walters (Slow Horses) as Davy Crawford.
This City is Ours is co-written by Butchard and Robbie O’Neill. The series is produced by Peaky Blinders producer, Simon Maloney with executive producers including Andy Harries, Rebecca Hodgson, and Sian McWilliams along with Butchard, Dibb, Jo McClellan, and Sami El Hadi for the BBC.
Filming for the series was done in Liverpool and Spain. The 8-part series will be distributed internationally by Sony Pictures Television and is scheduled to premiere in the UK on the BBC this Spring. As always, stick around for timely updates.
