If you’ve just binged your way through Top Boy’s final season and you’re on the hunt for a new gritty gang drama then Netflix has - once again - got your back.
Top Boy began on Channel 4 back in 2011, aptly named Top Boy: Summerhouse, and has featured lead actors Ashley Walters and Kane Robinson since.
The pair confirmed to fans the London-based show would be ending with this new season, writing: “Every story must have an ending and so season three will be our finale. A chance to come full circle and end the journey in the right way.”
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But now the show has reached its conclusion, many fans are after something similar to sink their teeth into and fill the void.
Well, look no further than Gangs of Oslo.
The drama is a six-parter that centres on police officer Moaz Ibrahim (played by Emir Zamwa) who is forced to live a double life to keep his criminal past a secret.
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An official synopsis from Netflix explains: “A young policeman gets entangled in his own criminal past when an investigation leads him to his childhood best friend — now a ruthless gang leader.”
Gangs of Oslo - or Blodsbrødre as it’s known in Norway - is created and directed by Ole Endresen, who previously worked on the Netflix original series Lilyhammer.
Endersen spent several years researching the project to make it as realistic as possible, drawing on books, news articles and interviews with those connected to the Oslo underworld.
Speaking earlier this year, he said: “My ambition with the show was to tell a story of suburban crime going beyond the stereotyped image of gangs shooting at each other. “I wanted to show that even gang members dream of a traditional safe life with families, and a house with a back garden.”
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The show also shines a light on how gangs recruit young children, with Endersen saying he hoped to show how ‘politicians are totally failing on this issue’.
He added: “My hope is that parents will take good care of their loved ones after watching the show.”
The show has proved a hit with viewers, who have quickly burnt through all six episodes.
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Posting on X - formerly known as Twitter - one fan said: “Blodsbrødre is absolutely beautiful TV!”
Another said: “Gangs of Oslo on Netflix is good but it starts slow.”
A third gushed: “Gangs of Oslo is great. Wow.”
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While someone else wrote: “Just randomly started watching Gangs of Oslo and it’s actually decent.”
Alice Sommer, head of drama at TV 2 Norway - where the show first aired - said Gangs of Oslo is ‘a compelling and uncompromising crime thriller set in the criminal underworld, depicting the relationship between two friends who went in totally opposite directions in life'.
She added: “Acclaimed director Ole Endresen has a sharp and tender eye for the jagged bitter-sweetness of this double-edged friendship, and he has worked with great dedication to nurture new on-screen talent for this hard-hitting yet vulnerable crime drama series.”
You can check out the series for yourself as all six episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
Topics: Netflix, TV and Film
Claire Reid