THIS CITY IS OURS (BBC1, Sunday and Monday, 9pm and iPlayer) has Michael Kavanagh (James Nelson-Joyce) having to compete with a new rival while MOBLAND (Paramount +) finds the eccentric Harrigan firm as crazy as ever!
Picking up from where things were left at the end of This City is Ours’ Season 1, Michael and Diana Onslow (Diana Williams) are more in love than ever when they arrive in their Spanish “Happy Town”. However, they are soon dragged back into the world of crime to answer questions around Ricardo’s death – and there’s a new Colombian to deal with now – Felipe (Alvaro Morte).
In Liverpool, a coup within the Phelan firm sends the business into disarray and, to make matters worse, there’s a new threat in town – Ozzie Thompson (Shaun Evans – switching over to the “dark side’ after his previous hit “Endeavour”). A newly-released old-school gangster from Ronnie’s (the much missed Sean Bean character) past, he is out looking for compensation or revenge – whichever comes first!
James said: “At the end of the first series Michael had decided that he wanted to choose a life with Diana, and they left for Spain. At the beginning of Series Two, that’s where we find them, in ‘Happy Town’ – and it’s picture-perfect. Then something happens that drags Michael back to Liverpool and, once again, he has to choose between Diana and his other life – he’s a complex mix of ruthless and vulnerable.”
He went on: “Filming in Liverpool again has been amazing. The city, now that they’ve seen the series, welcomed us with open arms and they’re proud of the show. There’s been a lot of people from across the world reaching out asking “Where is this location?”, or “Where is that restaurant?”. It’s a great opportunity for us to show the city, and everything it can offer, to even more to the world. I’m so, so proud of the series.”
James added: “It’s the people, we’re a unique breed, and we don’t pretend to be something we’re not. We treat people the way we want to be treated, and we have a plethora of culture coming from this city. You’ve got actors, musicians, footballers, and artists. Also, we love life. We know how to have a party. We stick together. We’re fun, warm, happy people. I’m so proud to be a Scouser!”
Once again, a terrific cast also includes Julie Graham (as Ronnie’s widow Elaine) and Jamie Phelan as Ronnie’s son Jamie. And, if you’re up for a good, old, late-night binge, all eight episodes are available on iPlayer now!
Moving from Liverpool to the streets of London – where we find life with the Irish crime family to be as mad as ever as they continue to battle to save their empire in “Mobland.”
It’s great seeing movie legends Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren having so much fun as the quite bonkers – if extremely dangerous – Conrad and Maeve Harrigan – and we can forgive their accents going a bit astray at times!
With American politician/gangster Kat McAllister (Janet McTeer) hiring creepy cop Colin Tattersall (Toby Jones) and the even creepier, rival gangster Frankie Cooper (Johnny Flynn) to topple the Harrigans, it would appear that only the family’s enforcer, Harry Da Souza (brilliantly underplayed by the superb Tom Hardy, is capable of saving the day – but he has his own problems as his long-suffering wife Jan (Joanne Froggatt) decides she’s finally had enough!
A lot of the show’s pre-publicity centred around the “so-called” feud between Mirren and Hardy – but both sides were quick to flatten the rumours, with Helen claiming they were, in fact, good friends and it was all a “maelstrom of lies and innuendo.”
Anyway, the good news is that Tom HAS signed up for Season 3 and this reviewer, for one, can’t get enough of this terrific Guy Ritchie show!
Well, that’s it for this week – keep out of mischief yourselves – and I’ll catch y’all next week for some more TV chatter. Stay safe!
Author: Steve
Editor of Hartlepool Life and author of TV Life