First look at Peaky Blinder's creator Steven Knight's brand new gritty drama

From the same mind that brought us Peaky Blinders comes a new six-part British television series for BBC One called This Town, a gritty drama set in 1980s Birmingham at the height of the grass music scene. According to the BBC, the drama created by Peaky’s Steven Knight and directed by Paul Whittington follows “an extended family and four young people who are drawn into the world of ska and two-tone music,” a popular scene in Birmingham and Coventry born in the late ‘70s.

The title seems to reference the 1971 smash hit ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials, a music group hailing from the same place Knight’s new drama is set. The protest song details the dark and depressive era that was Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, deep in recession and social unrest. The lyrics read “This town, is coming like a ghost town, all the clubs have been closed down….Bands won't play no more, too much fighting on the dance floor.”

This certainly aligns with the BBC’s description of the program’s setting as a “moment of huge social tensions and unrest”, a familiar sounding situation for creator Knight, the creator of high adrenaline crime drama Peaky Blinders also based in Birmingham, and gritty psychological series Locke starring Tom Hardy.

It's not just the title that is inspired by a track, the BBC states that music will be at the heart of the show. This Town is produced by Kudos and Nebulastar and co-produced by Universal Music Group’s Mercury Studios who will provide the soundtrack. Co-president of Mercury Studios Marc Robinson told the BBC, “We are thrilled to be able to creatively engage artists and help tell the story through new and original recordings.”

This Town’s star-studded cast includes Loss and Return's Levi Brown, The Woman King's Jordan Bolger, Line of Duty's Ben Rose and You's Eve Austin are the four young leads, accompanied by Michelle Dockery known for Downtown Abbey and The Gentlemen, and The Policeman star David Dawson.

Although an exact release date has not yet been set, we know that the series will be coming to BBC 1 and BBC iPlayer sometime in 2024. For more, check out our guide to the best new TV shows coming our way in 2023 and beyond.