SERIES REVIEW –  At first glance, This City is Ours could pass for a classic British gangster drama, but from the very first moments, it’s obvious that there’s much more beneath the surface. The series currently sits near the top of HBO Max Hungary’s charts, and that’s no coincidence: whispered threats, sinister half-smiles, drugs, violence, and murder all simmer just below the surface, but everything is suffused with a unique tension marked by a constant sense of loss. While nearly every familiar gangster trope appears, This City is Ours ultimately delivers something refreshingly different—primarily through the character of Michael (James Nelson-Joyce), whose story opens a whole new perspective on Liverpool’s criminal underworld, revealing a world where fear, loss, and internal struggles add genuine weight to the drama.

Despite what you might expect from the premise, the BBC’s new series starring Sean Bean is far from a run-of-the-mill gangster drama. Yes, there are plenty of whispered conversations and chillingly friendly smiles. The show is packed with drugs, violence, and murder, and every character has something to lose. While it checks every box for a classic gangster drama, This City is Ours brings something extra to the table. That unexpected dimension unfolds mainly through the central figure of Michael (James Nelson-Joyce).

Family Legacy or a Vicious Circle?

The main story really kicks into gear when family patriarch and boss Ronnie (Sean Bean) starts to contemplate retirement. It’s a bitter pill for his son Jamie (Jack McMullen) when Ronnie picks his right-hand man Michael as his successor. Things get truly chaotic when a shipment of cocaine disappears and Ronnie suspects an inside job. It falls to Michael to uncover the traitor, but in doing so, he quickly drags both himself and his girlfriend Diana (Hannah Onslow)—as well as their shared future—into dangerous territory.

This is where This City is Ours breaks out of the usual gangster drama mold: it’s not just a case of the gangster’s girlfriend being in peril—par for the course in violent tales like this—but a series that digs into masculinity through the couple’s struggle with infertility.
“Not only is my sperm count low, but the guys I fire off can’t even swim.”

Masculinity and Vulnerability in the World of Crime

This storyline—especially the way Michael instantly questions his own worth in the relationship after learning about his fertility problems—offers a nuanced, rarely-seen portrait of what it means to be a man in this world.

The paradox of a ruthless, calculating man moving through the shadows of crime, secretly longing for fatherhood while showing his vulnerable side, brings an entirely new palette of emotions to this black-and-white, blood-red world. Naturally, other themes related to masculinity—power, pride, ego—also come up, but they’re just side notes in a story that puts genuine human frailty at center stage.

Buried Dreams and Dangerous Games

The supporting characters are anything but flat. Diana (Hannah Onslow) stands out among gangster wives; her naiveté and lack of experience add a fresh subplot, especially when the more seasoned Cheryl (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) starts offering warnings. Dig a little deeper, and This City is Ours reveals just how much unhappiness and tension lurk beneath the surface glitz and glamour in these women’s lives.

Bean also perfectly inhabits the role of the suspicious yet terrifying boss. The tension ratchets up with each episode: Michael finds himself questioning more and more whether the bloody struggle for power is worth it, or if he’d be better off choosing a life with Diana. Meanwhile, Jamie—wounded pride and all—would do anything to take Michael’s place, whatever the cost. All of this unfolds in a world brimming with paranoia, betrayal, and violence, where the relationship between Diana and Michael provides the pulse and the stakes that make this series truly unmissable.

-Gergely Herpai “BadSector”-