British drama “Top Boy” is returning to television, with Netflix and executive producer Drake spearheading a 10-episode revival from creator Ronan Bennett.
On Tuesday, Netflix debuted a trailer announcing the cast for the third season of the show that originally premiered in 2011 and lasted two seasons on U.K. television. Ashley Walters and Kane Robinson are reprising their roles as Dushane and Sully, and they’ll be joined by newcomer Micheal Ward.
The series also features musical artists Simbi Ajikawo, David Omoregie, Shone Romulus returning as Dris and Ashley Thomas returning as Jermaine. Other new cast members include Lisa Dwan, Jasmine Jobson, Kadeem Ramsay, Saffron Hocking, Kola Bokinni and Hope Ikpoku.
The new episodes pick up as Dushane (Walters) returns from exile to his home in London to reclaim his throne in the highly lucrative drug market. He teams up with Sully (Robinson), his spiritual brother, partner and sometime rival who is also returning to the same streets after his own form of exile – prison – comes to an end. Awaiting them both is Jamie (Ward), the young, hungry and ruthless gang leader whose ambitions leave no place for Dushane and Sully.
Both seasons of “Top Boy” are now globally available on Netflix. The next chapter, consisting of 10 all-new episodes, is created and written by Bennett. Daniel West is also a writer. The series is executive produced by the original creative team — Charles Steel and Alasdair Flind (for Cowboy Films), Ronan Bennett (for Easter Partisan) and Yann Demange. The new installment is executive produced Drake and his business partner Adel “Future” Nur, along with Maverick Carter and Jamal Henderson for SpringHill Entertainment.
“Ten years ago, I witnessed a 10 year-old boy dealing drugs outside my local supermarket. It made me question what was going on in my own community and led me to create ‘Top Boy,’” Bennett said in a statement.
“‘Top Boy’ is a raw, real representation of street culture,” Walters said in a statement. “It explores how these characters came to make the choices they make, and gives the audience a behind-the-scenes look as to what is happening on our streets today. It needs to be talked about and the show doesn’t shy away from giving us the platform to tell our story. We can’t change things if we do not acknowledge it and understand it first. Netflix is the perfect platform for this show, there aren’t many networks who would be brave enough to keep it this real.”
“Top Boy” is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, Nia DaCosta, Aneil Karia and Brady Hood. The series features original music by Brian Eno and additional music by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante.
New episodes of Top Boy will debut on Netflix this fall.
Watch the trailer above.