Steven Knight's 'This Town' Trailer Offers Music as Escape from a Gritty Reality
Levi Brown and Eve Austin in "This Town"
(Photo: BBC)
The BBC has set a premiere date for its latest gritty, period series from award-winning writer and producer Steven Knight. Titled This Town, the drama follows the story of four young people who form a fictional rock band together. Described as both a high-octane thriller and a family saga, the series is set amid the huge social tension and political unrest of 1980s Birmingham. Against this backdrop, it tells the story of a group of young people fighting to choose their own paths in life, and each in need of the second chance that music offers.
Knight is probably best known as the creator of historical gangland drama Peaky Blinders, but he seems to have roughly half a dozen proverbial irons in the fire since the series wrapped in 2022. His World War II drama Rogue Heroes is already a hit with a second season set to arrive this year. His new espionage, and the extended family around them. thriller The Veil will premiere in April, and period boxing drama A Thousand Blows is waiting in the wings. But this six-part series appears to be particularly special to him.
"This is a project very close to my heart," Knight said in a statement when the series was first announced. "It’s about an era I lived through and know well and it involves characters who I feel I grew up with. It’s a love letter to Birmingham and Coventry but I hope people from all over the world will relate to it.
The ensemble is led by Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Nicholas Pinnock (Marcella), and David Dawson (My Policeman), and stars Levi Brown (Invasion), Jordan Bolger (The Woman King), Ben Rose (Line of Duty), and Eve Austin (You) as the four young leads.
Here's the series' brief logline.
New drama This Town, from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, tells the story of an extended family fighting to choose their own paths amidst an iconic music scene in 80s Coventry and Birmingham.
Other members of the series' cast include Geraldine James (Back To Life), Peter McDonald (Dublin Murders), Freya Parks (The School of Good and Evil), Shyvonne Ahmmad (Annika), John Heffernan (The Pursuit of Love), Stefan Asante-Boateng (Coronation Street), Séainín Brennan (The Fall), George Somner (This Is Going To Hurt) and Brendan Gibson (Mr Selfridge).
This Town is created, written, and executive produced by Knight. it is directed by Paul Whittington (The Crown) and produced by Tim Whitby (Grantchester) and Charlotte Surtees (Two Weeks to Live). Executive Producers are Karen Wilson, Katie McAleese, and Martin Haines for Kudos, and Jo McClellan for the BBC. Matthew James Wilkinson (Stigma Films), Nick Angel and Laura Conway (Kudos North) serve as Co-Executive Producers, with Alice Webb and Marc Robinson (Mercury Studios) as Co-Producers. Banijay Rights will handle international distribution for the series.
This Town is set to premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at the end of March. The series does not have an American distributor yet, but given Knight's growing popularity (and prolific series output) in the U.S., it seems highly likely to acquire one in the weeks ahead. Fingers crossed at any rate.
