This City Is Ours

This is the best show on Tele in a long time. Absolutely brilliant acting from all involved, even the typical Scouser were brilliant. Anti heros all over the place and some jaw dropping, unexpected twists. The writer deserves a Bafta for this. There must be a season 2 as it would be a crime if they didn't! If you watch anything this weekend then watch this. Fantastic! Ps. Sean Bean with his Yorkshire accent is superb! Typical Sean performance and those supporting him were outstanding. Where this came from I've no idea but they need to make more television like this. Worth the licence fee alone.

There was not much hype surrounding this shows release as far as I could tell, so, my surprise binge made it all the more pleasurable. Here is the Gist...Liverpool drug kingpins Ronnie and Michael are always looking to broaden their margins, money wise. Enter the Columbians, located in Spain. This is just an aside to all the other drama. Michael ( a fantastic James Nelson-Joyce) and his girlfriend Diana are trying to conceive. Jamie, the son of Ronnie ( Sean Bean), is like AJ Soprano ( Tony's son), but more useless and way more volatile. After an incident, Jamie wants more power. He also has his own little Band of Thieves, who are as useless and more dangerous than him. While Jamie's fiance wants to live in Dubai (?!) with their baby. Shout out to A very scary Bobby Shofield, as Bonehead, crazy excellent.

Drama really stretches across these 8 episodes...Including a great side plot with, Saoirse-Monica Jackson from " Derry Girls". It's not just drugs and Mobsters here. It's a really great series written/ created by Stephen Butchard. Foreshadow, Episode 8 at the 43 minute mark, is insanely brilliant.

STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful

Michael Kavanagh (James Nelson-Joyce) is an enforcer for the Phelan crime family, but his girlfriend, Donna (Hannah Onslow) has fallen pregnant, and he wants to settle down and start a new life. Ronnie (Sean Bean), the patriarch of the Phelans, sees potential in Michael as a new leader, but when some drugs go missing, it plunges the gang into a deadly spiral of mistrust and deceit, mounting a rivalry between Michael and Jamie (Jack McMullen), Ronnie's hot tempered son.

The Time cast (or a large group of them) reunite for this well received and pleasantly surprising crime drama from Stephen Butchard, recreating the chemistry from that series in a new setting and with new characters. The result is something even more brutal and unflinching, if that's imaginable, but no less enthralling and dynamically made.

It has an interesting (and arguably misleading) title, given a significant portion of the story doesn't take place in the alluded 'city' of Liverpool, and it doesn't feel central to the themes of the story. But what does unfold is a pleasing crime drama, that doesn't get sucked into any flashy, over stylised nonsense, and instead focuses on telling a gritty, raw gangster tale, grounded in an honest, uncomfortable realism, with some genuinely shocking, unexpected plot twists and developments. Nelson-Joyce leads the emerging cast with a quietly commanding lead performance, whilst veteran actor Bean exudes a menacing aura as the gruff, monosyllabic chief villain.

With an eclectic mix of new and established stars, including Julie Graham as Bean's firebrand wife, this has an interesting and compelling script to match their talents, a highly worthwhile update on the crime staple. ****

This is the only series I've watched 1 episode of and couldn't stop watching it...I watched 5 episodes in one night, and the remaining 3 the next morning on iplayer.. I've never done that before! Every scene in it leaves you wanting more! The acting is brilliant and the characters totally believable. I didn't know anything about it apart from Sean Bean was in it and being from Sheffield myself watch anything he's in, but I was blown away by the gritty performances of EVERYONE in it! This is a show that could go on and on... I was gutted that there wasn't more episodes ( there's 8) it's the best thing I've watched in years! I dare you to watch this and not be hooked! 10 out of 10.

Not at all what I expected. Refreshing that the city in the title is Liverpool and not London. I have not given this series 10 stars simply because there are some gaping holes in the plot. Otherwise it is compelling viewing which I viewed in two sittings.

What I feel is different about this crime drama is that it is told from the point of view of gang members who carry out violent acts. The writers have skilfully shown us that men and women who carry out or condone violence are also capable of being in love and feeling vulnerable.

I like the fact that the action is set in Liverpool but warn that if one is not familiar with the scouse accent the plot may be hard to follow.

I cannot give any spoiler away only to say I wish Sean Bean appeared more.