Netflix announces Top Boy cast

Netflix has confirmed its cast for a 10 part revival of UK crime drama Top Boy.

The original series follows the lives of a group of people involved in drug dealing and street gangs in Hackney, East London and screened for 2 seasons from 2011-2013.

Ashley Walters (Bulletproof, Sugarhouse) and Kane Robinson reprise their roles as ‘Dushane’ and ‘Sully’, joined by newcomer Micheal Ward as ‘Jamie’ (The A List, Blue Story). New cast members include Lisa Dwan (Trust), Jasmine Jobson (Lie Low, Obey), Kadeem Ramsay (Sex Education, Blue Story), Saffron Hocking (London Kills, White Gold), Kola Bokinni (Hunter, Killer, Black Mirror) and Hope Ikpoku.

Shone Romulus (Out) returns as ‘Dris’ and Ashley Thomas (24: Legacy, The Night Of, Black Mirror) returns as ‘Jermaine’.

The new episodes pick up as Dushane (Ashley Walters) returns from exile to his home in London to reclaim his throne in the highly lucrative drug market. He teams up with Sully (Kane 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 (Micheal Ward), the young, hungry and ruthless gang leader whose ambitions leave no place for Dushane and Sully.

Writer Ronan Bennett shared “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.”

Series veteran Ashley Walters shared, “Top Boy is a raw, real representation of street culture. 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.”

Netflix currently screens both original seasons which first screened in Australia on ABC2.