A TOWN CALLED MALICE
Sky Max, 9pm
Few dramas feel so immediately alive, so crackling with personality and style, as A Town Called Malice. Set in the early 1980s, it follows the Lords, a family of struggling south London gangsters. They are led by tough patriarch Albert, played by Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ Jason Flemyng. This first episode, however, is more concerned with his son, Gene (Jack Rowan), whose whirlwind romance with barmaid Cindy (Tahirah Sharif) leads to them fleeing to the Costa del Sol in Spain, where they take refuge from the law under the guidance of Albert’s gaudy brother, Tony (Dougray Scott, having a suntanned ball). It is created by Nick Love, whose past credits are awash with stylised cockney crime movies such as The Business and 2012 remake The Sweeney. The tone here is similar, but far more polished and invigorating – a six-part gangster story that feels more like it was ripped from the pages of a comic book. The dialogue flows with a fast, sparky wit; its characters are brimming with personality; while visually, scenes are elevated by a marriage of nimble direction and a striking neon-soaked colour palette. Not to mention the selection of surgically deployed 1980s pop classics, and a cameo from Paul Weller himself.