It all comes down to this: a battle for control of the mean streets of Hackney, with two rival drug dealers going head to head for the last time. Season five of the acclaimed crime drama Top Boy has arrived in the UK and is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
Originally released by UK station Channel 5 before being picked up by Netflix (hence the “season 3” on the trailer, don’t get confused), Top Boy follows the rivalry between Dushane Hill (Ashley Walters) and Gerard “Sully” Sullivan (Kane Robinson) as they manoeuvre for control of the drug trade in Hackney’s volatile Summerhouse estate. The pair were best friends as kids, and so an uneasy truce has reigned between their gangs. But in the end, there can be only one top boy.
Things are complicated by the arrival of a third force in the form of malevolent crime boss Jonny McGee, played by ascendant star Barry Keoghan. Given he’s man not afraid to lop off someone’s head in order to prove a point, it’s clear he’s not a threat to be taken lightly.
Top Boy has been universally acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, praised for its combination of compelling characters, gritty realism, social drama, and horrific violence. Comparisons have been made to David Simon’s ridiculously brilliant Baltimore-set crime drama The Wire, which should be more than enough to make you sit up and pay attention.
Co-starring Micheal Ward, Jasmine Jobson, Simbi Ajikawo, Saffron Hocking, Brian Gleeson, Savannah Graham, Adwoa Aboah, and British rapper NoLay, these final six episodes are sure to be both harrowing and utterly enthralling in equal measure. Is this the best British crime series of all time? The jury is still out. But is it the best one currently going? Hard yes. Fans of the genre owe it to themselves to check it out.
