Wolverhampton filming: All you need to know about six-part series being shot in city
A major new six-part series from the mind of Peaky Blinders' creator Steven Knight will dive into the world of ska and two-tone music in the region.
This Town – which has been filming in Wolverhampton – tells the story of an extended family and four young people who are drawn to the music genre.
And the show will open in 1981 at a moment of huge social tensions and unrest according to the BBC, in a reference to the Handsworth riots in July 1981.
The incident saw injuries to 40 police officers and 121 arrests over three days in the area of Birmingham after riots in London, Liverpool and Manchester.
The six-part show will feature the youngsters "fighting to choose their own paths in life, and each in need of the second chance that music offers" them.
Steven Knight, writer, creator and executive producer of This Town who grew up in Walsall, said: "This is a project very close to my heart. It’s about an era I lived through and know well and it involves characters who I feel I grew up with. It’s a love letter to Birmingham and Coventry but I hope people from all over the world will relate to it."
Michelle Dockery, from Downton Abbey, Nicolas Pinnock from Life, David Dawson from My Policeman, will be among the cast of the major drama series – alongside an "exciting cast of rising talent".
Jo McClellan, BBC Drama commissioning editor, says: “Steven’s scripts are absolutely brilliant – they capture the wild energy of youth and a pivotal moment in time, all set to a fantastic soundtrack, and we can’t wait to see this incredibly talented cast bring it all to life.”
The six-part series is produced by Kudos (a Banijay UK company) and Nebulastar for the BBC, co-produced with Mercury Studios, in association with Kudos North, Stigma Films and Nick Angel. Filming is now underway in the region, and at Steven Knight’s new Digbeth Loc. Film and TV Studios.
