Top Boy is a well written, well acted British crime drama that is a must watch for any fan of this kind of genre. People calls shows underrated all the time but this is definitely underrated. It's one of those shows where once you start watching it you can't stop. The cast does such an excellent job sucking you into their world. The acting and writing is just so good that they really make you care about their characters and what happens to them. Each character has depth and this show shows that each of their actions have huge consequences. The only bad thing I have to say about it is that the seasons are so incredibly short. I really can't recommend this show enough!
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Rob133130 September 2022
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robNorseman16 August 2022I'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.
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Supermanfan-1328 March 2020I highly recommend Top Boy for any fan of gritty, intense dramas! I didn't watch it until recently because of everything I heard about it and I'm so glad I finally gave it a chance and that Netflix made the incredible choice of bringing it back because it's as good as ever!
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sayedshazee21 September 2019Haven'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. -
mariesanti31618 August 2012This 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.
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bevowen16 September 2019I can't honestly remember when I last watched a series back to back all in one sitting. This series had me gripped from the start and I just had to watch it all back to back. Really great storyline and fantastic acting from the entire cast - they were all brilliant. I cannot recommend this highly enough - I can see why it scored so high. I am impressed.... Well done!
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iwalker-0732415 September 2019Oh my god Netflix have gone and done it. They have made a great series even better. I think this new revival is even better than the original made by channel 4. Hopefully they commission another series.
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gary_best20 September 2019This show is flawless in every way.
The story, acting, music, atmosphere, just blew me away. The ending was emotional and must admit, I hated Dushane at the close but hands down, the best thing I've watched in years.
Outstanding performance (especially Sully and Dris).
A truly brilliant show. -
andymaranam17 September 2019A very raw gritty look into the darker side of London's ghettos & the reality of everyday life done flawlessly in this 3 part series from composition to the cast it's a masterclass and definatley Top of its game.. a solid 10/10
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Rasmus2890060419 December 2019This would have gotten 8 or 9 stars from me, if the fight scenes hadn't been recorded by someone with adhd and parkinsons, after drinking 10 cups of coffee.
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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. -
voigaswolpertinger3 December 2022Being a non native speaker, I gotta watch the show with subtitles, to really not miss on anything said. The set n setting are well done, some projects, low income, crime is abundant. Different characters battle for the crown, to rule the estate, the streets.
I just enjoy about everything this show does, but one thing: they introduce and build characters, make them interesting and that you want to know more about them, then they simply disappear or do not have any matter regarding the storyline. Aside from that, this show is definitley mint. Nine outta ten and hoping for more. Very well executed by directors, producers and actors. Thank you for the entertainment. -
etkillzerz11 September 2023First, I really enjoyed Top Boy as a whole. You can see there was a lot of love and craft poured into this show - and that it was the role of a lifetime for many in the cast.
Now, what happened to this last season?
After Sully killed Jamie at the end of season 4, I expected shi* to go down between Sully and Dushane. Instead, first episode starts with Dushane politely surrendering to the other Top Boy. Although you could see in season 4 that Dushane was thinking about retiring (and so does Sully...), rushing the battle to the throne between the two main characters was super disappointing. Was it not what the show was about?!
So instead of reaching the long-awaited climax, we are back to the supply chain. Not even sending a proper farewell to the Spanish and Moroccan crews (who were centerstage in the last season), the show introduces an Irish gang to the party. But for what? I like Barry Keoghan, seen recently in the Banshees of Inisherin, but he only gets two episodes of screentime... It felt like a useless filler.
Meanwhile, Dushane realizes his money launderer and Lizzie (wait, was she still a thing?) went off with his money. Shame: he won't be able to finance her girlfriend's nails chain. Shelley says goodbye to Dushane after he goes very angry, again.
Jaq has the most disappointing arc of them all. After she loses her sister and sees a junkie ill-treating her child, she goes batshit and decides to steal the gang's drugs to "keep it out of the street". LOL, what? She's not exactly the most kind and inclusive girl out there. Oh, and she also put Kieron in the know for no reason, costing the latter his life. It really felt painful to watch. But worry not, because she realizes, like us, that what she's doing makes no sense. She backtracks and decides to give back the drugs to Sully. Dushane intercepts the food and waits for a crew to extradite him, all while Summerhouse is in flames.
This leads to the farewell between Sully and Dushane. The scene was OK although not as intense as I would have liked. At least, Sully knows that Dushane respects him.
Fortunately, Stef gets a propre conclusion. His relation with the daughter of another Sully's victim was nice to watch. And more importantly, he manages to break free, deciding that Sully is not worth going to jail. But speaking about Stef, where is his brother Aaron, who once promised to Jamie to take care of his sibling? Well, Dude is doing marketing and basically abandoned him... What?
I like the fact we don't know who killed Sully. He made plenty of enemies and our imagination will get going.
There are also plenty of lost plots: the Summerhouse project (if it was abandoned in season 4, why are they expropriating people, leading to the riot in the last episode?), the police investigation that led to nothing etc.
So yeah, good show but terrible conclusion. Maybe we will know one day what happened? It felt too good to have a decent show on Netflix for once! -
connorundrumme3 November 2023A totally off-putting amount of the teeth-sucking ('kissing' is an overly generous euphemism for this anti-social rejection tick), as well as gibberish patois made season 3 difficult.
The same conflicts get recycled over and over, it being the 10 episode bloat-fest that it is.
They keep bringing in more Liability Thugs, which is prob a real thing, but it's difficult to understand any group or series of them being able to support so many Loose Cannons for so long. It seems totally counterintuitive to keep disloyal, disobedient, incompetent hotheads on the payroll. You can't counsel, redirect, or even broaden their thinking in any way. Seems impossible to want them anywhere around activities that require secrecy, finesse, politics, or critical thinking, for that matter.
They also do that sad thing where men with beef can work together after 'forgiveness', but for women and children who're even perceived as 'against' them, they're like, "No mercy," and there's no holds or reversals. It's petty and predatory. What sad little drama kings?!! They literally run everyone else more innocent down, while being abusive self-interested serial killers.
There are other problems: Very unskilled child actors make the predictable and forced drama more obviously clumsily manufactured, especially in Ep 7 of season 3 (U. S. broadcast season 1, for whatever stupid reasons), which was irritatingly bad in storyline & scripting. So predictable and poorly done.
Up until a point, it's almost entirely male-centric, all the female parts being only in support, and underdeveloped, with 2D personas that only serve the male characters and their gazes. They're just used as stereotypical relationship filler, and most of them are moms. All-in-all, they're simply plopped around as depth-free objects of affection or abuse, with which to illustrate boy's/men's struggles.
And then a Lesbian! The 'Tough, but Ineffective' narrative is fully on board. This character can't be a long-term ally or a protector, according to this shiznit. They also have this character lean very far into blaming the victims of impossible circumstances being forced on them.
Also, senseless femicide that accomplishes nothing is despicable. Stop trifling with the idea that a woman's life is reduced to the mere value of punishing a man by her absence/death. This is treating her exactly like a possession/object with no purpose to exist but for that man, and who is easily dispensed with without consequence.
For some weird reason, they also chose to insert the antisocial phrase "you stink" into the scripts about 30 times in season 4 (season 2, U. S.), in the false belief that it's 'humor.'
Also, poorly written interrogations. -
samswindon-6489619 September 2019Cracking series! One of the best I've seen from the acting to the whole story line. Better be another series.
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BrnzReviews31 March 2022Top Boy is a show that I can really connect with, not only is it set in home (London) everything about this is so realistic, you'll be shocked upon watching but it is a fact. Top Boy is Incredible. Dushane Hill (Ashley Walters) is a character who has alot of problems that are always in need of sorting, being the top boy of the streets can't be easy.
I really enjoyed Top Boy: Summerhouse, everyone was talking about it when it was around, now we have Top Boy with a new addition to the series Michsrl Ward, playing Jamie, Big brother who is also playing dad to his two younger brothers awhile being on the road trying to gain the title Top Boy.
All in all I loved every second of this, if you're looking for a programme that gets right into the ghetto then you're in the right place! This is phenomenal show that deserves all the respect and praise it gets. Kano plays Dushanes right hand man Sully, and out of everyone I would say he is the best, you'll see what I mean when you watch it, everyone played their roles so good and it's definitely worth watching, by far the best crime drama, a perfect hood show.
Highly Recommend this show, it's so good, who is your favourite Top Boy? -
palacerevolution200020 July 2022I have reached Season 3. I have not left a review in years; but this show changed my mind. The casting is as inspired as 'The Wire' was. It's also interesting to note that (like The Wire) the plot starts to evolve, and spin off. As life does. Real estate and gentrification rears its head. No compromises on the dialects.
I got to say that one of my favorite scenes is in Season 3 when the 3 brothers are sitting on a bench that commemorates their mother, and Jamie hands off a few bills to his younger brothers. The look on the young ones face, when he realizes he got less. No words, but priceless. -
andrewryanuni7 November 2011Drama 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.
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dagur-8363716 September 2019Not a single dull moment in this show. Its great, exciting without trying too hard.
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johnnyjagnew20 March 2022Wagwan. I don't want to ramble on but bloody hell, this series never ceases to amaze me - besides the fact that I have to wait for Drake and whoever else pays for Ronan to start writing the next season. Get the man a pencil fam. Yes, it may be slightly predictable at times but all in all, the acting, cinematography and general vibe is brilliant innit. Sully.... Say less.
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tieman6427 November 2011"Follow the money." - Deep Throat
"Top Boy", a four part television series, was touted as Britain's answer to "The Wire". Though further instalments are planned, the series currently lacks the latter's socio-political scope.
Written by Ronan Bennett, the series takes place in an East London estate and attempts to follow the lives of various drug dealers, unemployed youths, gangsters, criminals, youth workers, adults and children. Bennett captures the allure, even necessity, of criminality, the way a lack of adult role-models influences underprivileged youths and the overwhelming effects external factors have on mental health, but his series is too reliant on stock characters and stock scenarios, and too heavily ignores larger social, structural and systemic forces.
Today, poverty is an escalating product of our economic system. In Britain, sixty five percent of the poor are not in work (Britain has gone beyond breeding poverty at home to exporting poverty abroad). 13.5 million are deemed income poor, thanks in part to deindustrialization, the destruction of trade unions and public sector cuts. Worse still, tax changes over the past 2 decades have put a higher burden of tax on the poor. Beyond this, however, is an understanding that certain levels of unemployment are desirable, acceptable and necessary. Full employment results in inflation, it is cheaper to pay benefits and maintain an underclass than lifting them out of poverty, a perpetual pool of unemployed allows employers to lower wages and, nationally, there are not enough jobs anyway (there are 5 persons for every 1 job). Ignoring the fact that most jobs are useless, conscious executive decisions are made every day to keep Britain's underclass out of work, in crime, poor and off the radar. This, it is believed, is good for the economy and keeps the wheels moving. Deal with the poor/marginalised and the whole shape of society collapses.
But "Top Boy", content to remain at the level of melodrama, isn't concerned about the unseen currents influencing its cast. Instead Bennett has us watch as a local gang goes through a "rags to riches" narrative, while a local boy does his best to keep himself out of criminality. It's common stuff, but Bennett nevertheless does put his own spin on the material. For example, our gangsters are woefully inept, botching most of their jobs. Bennett also paints murky, moral waters, teasing out "good behaviour" on both sides of the law and watching as these ethical actions have extreme, unpredictable results. In this regard, the "top boy" of the series' title alludes to a myriad of things: a good kid (aka a top boy) who stays out of trouble but whose kindly actions result in criminality, a local gangster who hopes to become a top crime-lord but who must reconcile personal ethics, friendship and morality with a violent career path, a reformed criminal whose ethical behaviour gets him killed etc etc. There are few clean moral lines here.
The series doesn't aim for social realism or attempt to capture the "kitchen sink" or "cinema verite" tone of British working class movies of the 1960s and 70s. Instead, director Yann Demange goes for a more stylised look, part Michael Mann, part Wong Kar-Wai or Hong Kong cinema, complete with a gorgeous Brian Eno soundtrack and moody, atmospheric cinematography. Immaculate attention is also paid to casting, costume and art design, and the film's carefully chosen locations, something woefully overlooked in British television, are splendid and often architecturally interesting.
But such heavy stylisation, so lush, romanticised and precious, comes at the price of authenticity. These characters do not speak like East Londoners and do not behave like London's underclass. The series does not capture the tempo of the streets, the truth of crime, the drumbeat of the estates, the daily activities, nuances, manners, lingo, lifestyles, garments, troubles, worries, actions and relationships of those it purports to depict. It is all very obviously the product of an outsider, a writer and a stylist. It's romanticised and fetishized and simply doesn't ring true. Why does everyone seem so well educated, well spoken, fashionable, good looking, brooding and introspective? Why must we romanticise the poor before empathising with them? Think how "horribly" the working class characters of Britain's "kitchen sink" period were portrayed, yet audiences were treated as being adult enough to empathise with them. And where are the police? Why is everyone in such well furnished homes and apartments? Where are the people? What happens in the schools? Why does everyone have so few relationships? Why are the estates so desolate? Why aren't we following the money? Why aren't we chartering the policies? Have we been spoilt by "The Wire"? Are we being too quick to judge "Top Boy"?
Still, what the series lacks in scope it makes up in style. You want a stylish crime drama, you've got a stylish crime drama, and one of the better productions put out by Channel 4 this year.
8.5/10 – Worth one viewing. See "Murder on a Sunday Morning", "Paradise Lost 1 and 2" and "The Wire". -
kyalemwendwa23 March 2022I really enjoyed Dushane's plot and how it introduced the Moroccans and two new locations Spain and Morocco and how they all come together. It tied up very well with Lizzie, Jamie, Lizzie's husband and the summerhouse redevelopment and Dushanes mothers passing.
However all other plot lines felt so contrived and unrelated!
Sully's cousin bringing in Peckham boys contributed nothing to Sully's character development or the over arching plot.
Lauren, Jaq's sister being pregnant and introducing gangsters from Liverpool was a wasted opportunity to develop Jaq's character and Jaq's number two (I forget his name.). They should have painted her in a light where she wasn't helpless and looking for help and begging for Sully and Dushane.
Imagine if she pulled up with one or two people to Liverpool had a witty conversation with Curtis and war broke out on those ends. And she ended up outsmarting them on her own command.
With this alternative plot 2 things would have happened.
1. They would have painted her in a light similar to Jamie which could lead down many paths and exciting futures.
2. What doors does it open now that Liverpool gangster has been eliminated and there is a hole in the gun trade up north?
As for Shelly's Plot line that was too forced a story. They just needed to give her a reason to be on screen. They could have left all that body digging out and fleshed out a new plot with her and Dris's baby mama. -
sssuhaskumar19 March 2022Those rare occassions where season 2 is a level up. Take a bow Team Top Boy. Gritty, slick, and superb acting. Love the nuances and emotions this season brings. A series whixh does not try too hard to be cool, that's what makes it better.
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markhall-348798 September 2023I have loved TopBoy from the original series and was so happy it was resurrected, the first 2 new series gave me everything I wanted and was joy to watch. I loved the characters and Sully in particular was the Topboy the enacting was great and storylines were well written, Sadly the final series has left me underwhelmed, the six part series just felt like it was rushed, there is no real storyline flipping from immigration protests to evri toon protests Tia little bit of what we all tuned in for.
To me Sully again showed he was the Topboy and Dushane just did not fit the part, but what I think let me down was the ending, I have seen many shows that failed to deliver and I think this unfortunately is one of them, the last part was entertaining in parts and showed us all what we expected from the series but it was predictable that as we knew this was the last season all dates were obvious. -
After the first two season I couldn't wait for the 3rd season by, the acting is terrible in it, it is so unbelievably forced with the slang you can tell who doesn't really speak like it and the conversation wasn't natural, I like Asher d and Kano also Dave was ok. But 3rd was trash