Top Boy has been around for a long time and even though I say it is Netflix show, that wasn't how it began. I can't even say for sure if Netflix was terribly widespread back in 2011 (when Top Boy first aired.)
Originally a mini-series on Channel 4 (which is a free channel in Britain,) this show had 2 seasons air and then was abruptly cancelled. It wasn't until Drake took an interest in reviving the show that Netflix took it on. The first 2 seasons, which are both only 4 episodes long are available on Netflix as well.
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Now this next part is important: Netflix is currently featuring "Top Boy" on most countries' front page, and they even indicate that it is season 1 on the sub-menu. However, this is not actually the first season and I don't know why Netflix has decided to do it that way.
To see the first season type in "Top Boy" as a search or if you like to be unnecessarily thorough, type in "Top Boy Summerhouse" in order to see the true origin of the story.
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If it weren't for Drake's involvement, this series would have likely not been revived
The story isn't all that unusual and it has been done many different ways by many different networks. It is simply a story about drug dealing and the hierarchy and gangster stuff that comes as a consequence. It focuses on a government-funded housing estate (we call them "projects" in the USA) and how many people in these communities see this "line of work" as their only way out.
Summerhouse a completely fictional area, although it is based on what I can imagine is typical of many housing estates.
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While there is no definitive central character, the show does focus quite a lot on Ra'Nell (Malcolm Kamulete.) He is a young schoolboy who lives in Summerhouse and his mother has recently been put in a mental hospital. While he isn't involved in the drug trade initially, it seems like everyone around him is. He ends up being a central character simply because of his relationship with those around him and i think that is actually a really wonderful way to be able to segue in and out of the various storylines.
That's all I'm gonna say about that because I don't want to be the spoiler guy.
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The incredible thing about the cast is that there isn't a single bad actor in the entire thing and almost none of these kids had ever done any acting before. They were recruited from actual troubled housing estate areas or some of them heard about open casting-calls on Instagram. The fact that nobody is bad (except for one guy working at a market - and he only had 2 lines) AND almost none had prior experience or training, is bound to be very rare. I mean, Clint Eastwood always tries to get fresh or non-actors involved in his films but a lot of them absolutely suck.
from the Mad Planet official channel
A word of warning: The 1st episode starts out a bit slow but stick with it - by about 10 minutes into episode 2 you are hooked (trust me, i'm very picky about this sort of thing.) They keep the action coming at a fast pace because there are only 4, 40-minute episodes in total. I don't think you will be disappointed although for non-native English speakers, the subtitles might be necessary because there are some strong accents in this.
Also, remember to search for "Top Boy Summerhouse" because Netflix (and they are catching a lot of flak about this) have been marketing their first season as the actual first season, which it is not.
I didn't expect to like this show as much as i did because it is a very common subject matter. However, the music, the character, and the direction are wonderful. I watched the entire first season in one sitting.
