Top Boy

This series is everything you can possibly want, compelling, gripping, absorbing. If you enjoyed The Wire or The Shield, this is the show for you. I accidentally ran across it on Netflix and was captured instantly. I watched it back to back and then watched all 4 episodes again. Excellent. Its about time there is something different and unique to watch. Looking forward to Season 2. This is a solid piece of work. The theme is more than just hoodlums, drugs and violence, it received just a strong audience response because the acting is so precise you feel compassion and understanding. You begin to root for the bad guy and want the drug deal to be executed, and the villain becomes somehow good. This fantastic show reaches beyond just entertainment, it reaches your heart. A must see.

Drama set in London about two friends and their gang trying to get rich the only way they know how; selling drugs. The cast is a mix of actors and grime artists such as Kano and Scorcher all of whom are from gang London so they know how the character should be therefore giving their characters true realism. The shows gives an inside look into London gang lifestyle on the estates of London and how kids become 'shotters' for the more notorious people on the estates. Each episode of Top Boy has a gripping storyline which keeps you wanting more; one millions viewers for a urban C4 show cannot be wrong. Not only is the acting good, but the soundtrack is phenomenal, showcasing a lot of London grime artists.

Haven't written a review in years but had to rectify this wrong.

It's really unfair how stupid movies and series get thousands of reviews and recognition but gems like this only have 30 odd reviews. Hopefully now that Netflix has picked up season 3 and produced a masterpiece, maybe it will start to get the recognition it deserves.

For people watching the 3rd season first, you can watch it as a standalone as even though it is a continuing story line from past seasons like Narcos, etc, you will still understand whats going on and will really connect with the characters.

All in all a very gritty and realistic ride. The character development, suspense, twists are great and at the end of it you will be left wondering why you haven't heard of or seen this series before.

P.S - The ending of season 3 left very mouth watering prospects for season 4 to fulfill.

I've largely avoided this series because I thought it would be bad story bad acting with posh drama school teens as gangsters n hood rats. I was wrong ... It's a great story very well crafted n filmed. The acting is very good too. So I came late to the party... But at least I'm here now.

The first thing to point out, there are 4 series in total but 3 & 4 are the recent releases, c. 10 years on from the original 2. S3/4 are significantly better than the first 2. You don't need to watch the first 2 (on Netflix as Top Boy: Summerhouse - separate title). But it does give you some insight into some of the characters and the dynamic between a few of them, Dushane and Sully in particular, and the latter's relationship with Jason, which all seems a bit random off the bat in series 3.

This review is mainly for S3/4:

This really is a gripping watch. A significant improvement on the first 2 series mainly down to the brilliance of Michael Ward (playing Jamie), who completely steals the show. This is backed up by a great performance by Kano (Sully), who to my surprise is a very capable actor who's brilliant in this. Asher D as the main character is ok, and there are brilliant supporting acts all around, in particular from Jaq and some of the child actors ('Ats' is really good!).

The first episode, set in Jamaica is a little slow. I spent half of the time trying to understand some of the thick accents but stick with it as the show moves forward quickly.

I could write all day about how good this show is. The characters make it great, the best dynamic is the hot and cold relationship between Dushane and Sully, along with a similar up and down relationship between Jamie and his 2 brothers. Then, away from these friendships, who will make it to 'Top Boy' status. The difficult part as a viewer is you're rooting for all 3!

The show is mainly a hard hitting gangland thriller but does also feature some extremely hard hitting storylines. As inevitably on a new Netflix show, it does walk a thin line into woke storylines for the sake of it in S4 but it delivers them so well, the majority fit in with the exception of a gay prejudice attack, which has no real relevance. The very powerful storylines are a windrush style deportation and an extremely well done mental abuse/coercion plot. This was downright uncomfortable viewing at times but was integrated into the man plot with a fantastic villain. There's also several sub plots on kids getting into working for the drug lords, which gives insight on the challenges a lot of kids face IRL in these areas.

These things are going on while all the while 'Top Boys' are vying for position as the king of summerhouse, not always with each other too, there are lots of external threats and gangs that cause mayhem.

All in all a brilliant show and I'm really looking forward to the upcoming series 5.

Finally - the ought to put a 'teeth kissing' disclaimer in series 3 & 4, as almost every sentence either starts or ends with one.....you get used to it.