Top Boy (Seasons 1-3)
It’s arguably the most important British crime drama of the decade. It’s not just important, though, it’s deep and rich and full of life – good and bad – and a searing indictment of modern Britain.
Top Boy started off as a 4 hour series in 2011 that on one hand, was about power plays by small time, but ambitious, drug dealers, while on the other, was about ordinary people, whose lives are impacted by the drugs trade. It mixed stark realism and social commentary, and presented characters that were believable, and had real depth. The response was good enough for the show to be renewed in 2013, to further the story of the original characters, over another 4 hours. But though that was equally well made, and left the possibility for more to follow, there was no further renewal. That seemed to be the end of things. Until Netflix picked it up.
It caught the attention of Canadian rapper Drake who convinced Netflix to get the original creative team on board and revive the series. The result: this year, a 10 hour third season, that takes the story of the two main characters forward, was released. It is one of the best crime dramas that I have seen this year (if not the best). Like the first two seasons, it is gritty, more brutal, and, despite its longer running time, it is relentlessly gripping.
A note of caution: the listing of the series on Netflix is pretty confusing. For reasons best known to them, Netflix has rebranded the first two seasons as Top Boy: Summerhouse, Seasons 1 & 2. The third season is branded as a Netflix original and is listed as Top Boy, Season 1.