Top Boy

Series two, episode one
A year on from series one and Dushane (Ashley Walters) is the drugs kingpin of the Summerhouse estate. It’s something of a mixed blessing. His mate Sully (Kane Robinson) is still more interested in cracking skulls than making enough money to get out. Everyone is leaning on Dushane to keep supplies going. And most importantly, he has no idea how to get out of the game.

This last point is particularly pertinent given the presence of a slightly clunkily introduced love interest who seems likely to widen our man’s horizons as the story develops. ‘Top Boy’ still feels like a striking and realistic slice of a certain kind of London life, maintaining a certain understated melancholy which sucks the gangster braggadocio clean out and leaves something altogether more thoughtful.