I'm going repost my review here now, that cancellation is confirmed. At the time of writing, Sky were still pushing the show relatively hard, but there's no indication that this has transformed into actual viewing figures. For what it's worth, I think I would have watched more if it was made, but there's definitely an argument to say that we've reached the natural end of the story.
Following an accidental but serious assault on a police officer, Gene Lord (Jack Rowan) and his relatively new girlfriend, Cindy Carter (Tahirah Sharif) go on the run to The Costa Del Sol, to stay with his uncle Tony (Dougray Scott). The Lords were once a feared South London firm but have fallen into irrelevancy as the years have gone on. Uncle Tony has implied that he is a big deal out here, but in truth his money is sunk into a coastal land, which could be lucrative, if a single hold out would agree to sell him their parcel.
Nick Love has made a career out of London Gangster/Hooligan films and, despite the advertising campaign making this look a little more comedic that the rest, "A Town Called Malice" is another one in the series. It's quite similar, premise-wise at least to "The Business", his 2005 Danny Dyer starring movie, as we are back on the Spanish Islands, exploiting the lack of extradition treaties and drug dealing with Moroccans. It is, to be fair, tonally a little lighter than some of his other work though. The 80's setting is utilised to the full, particularly the music and the cast occasionally sing along with a hit, in a fantasy sequence style, designed to demonstrate their emotional state. To call it a musical is way too far, but these elements are persistent. The language used is pretty strong, though I suspect that it will help to be British in the regard and more used to it.
Performances are pretty good, particularly from Jack Rowan and Tahirah Sharif. There are broader performances from Scott, from Jason Flemyng as patriarch Albert Lord and, most interestingly, from Martha Plimpton as matriarch Mint Ma. Wikipedia suggests that she's currently living in London, which explains the casting a little bit, she's good in this, even if she does occasionally struggle with the accent.
We breezed through the series pretty quickly and always found it to be sufficiently entertaining. It's not particularly original and I doubt it will live long in the memory, but it was solid enough.
Following an accidental but serious assault on a police officer, Gene Lord (Jack Rowan) and his relatively new girlfriend, Cindy Carter (Tahirah Sharif) go on the run to The Costa Del Sol, to stay with his uncle Tony (Dougray Scott). The Lords were once a feared South London firm but have fallen into irrelevancy as the years have gone on. Uncle Tony has implied that he is a big deal out here, but in truth his money is sunk into a coastal land, which could be lucrative, if a single hold out would agree to sell him their parcel.
Nick Love has made a career out of London Gangster/Hooligan films and, despite the advertising campaign making this look a little more comedic that the rest, "A Town Called Malice" is another one in the series. It's quite similar, premise-wise at least to "The Business", his 2005 Danny Dyer starring movie, as we are back on the Spanish Islands, exploiting the lack of extradition treaties and drug dealing with Moroccans. It is, to be fair, tonally a little lighter than some of his other work though. The 80's setting is utilised to the full, particularly the music and the cast occasionally sing along with a hit, in a fantasy sequence style, designed to demonstrate their emotional state. To call it a musical is way too far, but these elements are persistent. The language used is pretty strong, though I suspect that it will help to be British in the regard and more used to it.
Performances are pretty good, particularly from Jack Rowan and Tahirah Sharif. There are broader performances from Scott, from Jason Flemyng as patriarch Albert Lord and, most interestingly, from Martha Plimpton as matriarch Mint Ma. Wikipedia suggests that she's currently living in London, which explains the casting a little bit, she's good in this, even if she does occasionally struggle with the accent.
We breezed through the series pretty quickly and always found it to be sufficiently entertaining. It's not particularly original and I doubt it will live long in the memory, but it was solid enough.