Development Top Boy was written and created by
Belfast-born novelist
Ronan Bennett. He also produced the series through his production company Eastern Partisan. Bennett was inspired to write the series after he saw a twelve-year-old boy dealing drugs at his local
Tesco supermarket in
Hackney, London. Bennett, assisted by his friend Gerry Jackson, interviewed several drug dealers in the area about their lifestyle in order to portray the society realistically. Jackson was later credited as a story consultant on the series. The series pilot was originally commissioned by the
BBC, but the head of drama was very critical about the strong violence and profanity in the script. Eventually, Bennett met with producers Charles Steel and Alasdair Flind of Cowboy Films, who gave support. In July 2010, it was announced that the series had been commissioned by
Channel 4 as a four-part drama.
Casting The series cast UK rappers, along with seasoned and newcoming acting talent.
So Solid Crew rapper turned actor
Ashley Walters and British rapper
Kane Robinson were cast as lead characters Dushane and Sully, respectively. Following his breakthrough performance in the 2004 film
Bullet Boy, Walters turned down several roles in urban films and TV shows but he chose to audition for
Top Boy because of its realistic characterization. The character of Sully was written as an Asian drug dealer, but casting director
Des Hamilton, director
Yann Demange, and Bennett were all impressed with Robinson's chemistry test with Walters and rewrote the character for Robinson. Walters and Robinson led the series alongside other rappers, including
Scorcher as London Fields gang leader Kamale. UK rappers
Giggs and
Sway make cameo appearances in the first series. The first series also featured Shone Romolus as Dris, Dushane and Sully's trusted enforcer; newcomers Malcolm Kamulete and Giacomo Mancini as best friends Ra'Nell and Gem;
Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Ra'Nell's mum Lisa;
Nicholas Pinnock as Leon, Lisa's friend and a father figure to Ra'Nell;
Kierston Wareing as Lisa's pregnant friend Heather;
Benedict Wong as cannabis dealer Vincent; and
Geoff Bell as drug lord Bobby Raikes. The series also featured a then-eighteen-year-old
Letitia Wright as Chantelle, a member of the Summerhouse gang and Gem's love interest. The second series features the reprisals of Walters, Robinson, Romolus, Kamulete, Mancini, Duncan-Brewster, and Wong with new additions including rapper
Bashy as Jermaine, Sully's cousin;
Lorraine Burroughs as Rhianna Parkes, Dushane's lawyer;
Paul Anderson as Mike, Sully's new business partner;
Nabil Elouahabi as Babrak Mustapha, Gem's father; Ricky Smarts as Jason, Sully's friend and son figure; and
Michaela Coel as Kayla Thomas, a woman who was in contact with Kamale. In April 2019, following the series' revival by
Netflix, it was announced that
Micheal Ward would join the cast as the new London Fields leader Jamie. He previously auditioned to play Jamie's younger brother Aaron. Rappers
Dave and
Little Simz were cast as Modie and Shelly, respectively. New additions to the third and fourth series include
Jasmine Jobson, Hope Ikpoku Jr., Araloyin Oshunremi, Keiyon Cook, Jolade Obasola, Kadeem Ramsay, Lisa Dwan, Joshua Blisset,
Saffron Hocking and
Adwoa Aboah.
Filming locations The
Heygate Estate and
Loughborough Estate, both in South London, were used as the Summerhouse Estate during the first two series. Production visited several locations in
Kent for the third series. Filming took place in
Margate at Walpole Bay and Fulsam Rock Beach and nearby streets including Athelstan Road. Production also visited
Ramsgate, where they filmed at Jacob's Ladder, outside the Rose of England pub on the High Street and Ramsgate Station. Gordon Place in
Gravesend doubles as the fictional Summerhouse Estate throughout the series. For the third and fourth series, the
Samuda Estate in
Cubitt Town on the
Isle of Dogs in the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the De Beauvoir Estate in
De Beauvoir Town in the
London Borough of Hackney double as the Summerhouse Estate. Locations in Liverpool were shown throughout Series 4 Episode 5, with the Dockside Outlet Shopping Centre in
Chatham,
Kent doubling as an imitation shopping centre in
Liverpool. Legal scenes in series 4 were filmed in the old
Blackfriars Crown Court.
Music The original score for the series was composed by Brian Eno and Michael Asante. In addition to its original music,
Top Boy features
grime,
hip-hop and
R&B from artists including
Ghostpoet,
AJ Tracey,
Giggs,
Central Cee,
Roots Manuva,
Burna Boy and
J Hus. On 13 September 2019, an original soundtrack for the series, titled
Top Boy (A Selection of Music Inspired by the Series), was released by
OVO Sound and
Warner to accommodate with the release of the third series. The soundtrack includes appearances from OVO's
Drake,
Baka Not Nice, and
Popcaan and British artists
AJ Tracey,
Avelino,
Dave,
Fredo,
Ghetts,
Headie One,
Little Simz,
M Huncho,
Nafe Smallz,
Central Cee and
SL. In September 2023, Brian Eno released
Top Boy (Score from the Original Series).
Cancellation and revival series Despite its successful ratings and critical acclaim, in 2014, it was announced by Walters that Channel 4 had cancelled the series after two series. Speaking in 2019, Bennett expressed his disappointment about the abrupt cancellation, feeling that Channel 4 cancelling the series was a "smack in the face to the community". Around the time of the show's cancellation, Canadian rapper
Drake became a fan of the series after watching it in parts on
YouTube and posted screenshots of the series on his social media. After learning that a third series was cancelled, Drake met with Walters and the series' producers about reviving the series. Drake bought the rights to the series and pitched it to
Netflix, who greenlit the third series in November 2017, with Drake serving as executive producer and most of the original cast and crew reprising their roles. The third series was filmed from July 2018 to February 2019 and was released on 13 September 2019, the first series on Netflix, consisting of ten episodes. In January 2020, the series was renewed for a second series on Netflix (fourth series overall), with filming set to start in the spring of that year. However, due to
COVID-19, filming was delayed and started in late November/early December. The series was released on Netflix on 18 March 2022, consisting of eight episodes. In March 2022, shortly after the debut of the following series, it was announced that the series was renewed for a third series on Netflix (fifth series overall), which was announced as the final series of the show. Filming began in July 2022. ==Reception==