The Modern-Day Peaky Blinders Deserves Its 91% RT Score

This City is Ours is a gritty and hard-hitting drama, starring Sean Bean as Ronnie Phelan, a cocaine kingpin who is considering retiring. The show has been popular with both critics and audiences, who have given it 91% and 93% positive Rotten Tomatoes scores, respectively. The underrated British crime series is a must-watch with standout acting from its cast.

This City is Ours is a typically British show like Gangs of London, and it has also been compared to the excellent Peaky Blinders, which follows a crime family, but in Birmingham rather than Liverpool. This is high praise, as the best episodes of Peaky Blinders are a triumph in acting, direction, and writing, but This City is Ours deserves the comparison.

This City Is Ours Is One Of The Best Crime Shows Out There

Sean Bean is the most well-known name in the cast of This City is Ours, but the show has an impressive cast around him. James Nelson-Joyce plays Robbie's resentful right-hand man, and fans of gritty dramas will recognize him from the cast of A Thousand Blows, the bare-knuckle boxing show created by Steven Knight, who is also responsible for Peaky Blinders.

This City is Ours also stars Jack McMullen as Ronnie's hot-tempered son, and both he and Nelson-Joyce worked alongside Sean Bean in the harrowing prison drama Time, in which Bean plays a teacher convicted of causing death by dangerous driving. With a cast this strong, it will not surprise viewers to learn that the acting in This City is Ours has received excellent reviews.

The show feels authentic, capturing the spirit and atmosphere of Liverpool, where it was filmed, and while many otherwise great crime shows keep the female characters on the sidelines, This City is Ours does not. The show is a must-watch for fans of crime thrillers, especially if you enjoyed the personal dramas and character writing in Peaky Blinders.

This City Is Ours Has DNA In Common With Peaky Blinders

There are not many TV shows like Peaky Blinders, which filled a unique void in the crime drama landscape by blending its period setting with extremely modern cinematography and music. However, This City is Ours has several features in common with the hit show. Both center on powerful crime families in British cities that must navigate betrayals from within.

Peaky Blinders' Tommy Shelby must constantly defend his position from outsiders, rivals, and family members, while in This City is Ours, Ronnie's murder leaves a power vacuum that is the catalyst for the rivalry between Ronnie's second-in-command and his son. Both shows are similar in tone and style, and have similar Rotten Tomatoes ratings, with This City is Ours getting ready to continue the saga.

This City Is Ours Season 2 Is Already Confirmed

BBC News has confirmed that This City is Ours will return for a much-anticipated season 2, which will star many of season 1's cast as well as a few new faces. This includes Endeavour star Shaun Evans, who is set to play a dangerous ex-gangster who, according to James Nelson-Joyce's interview in Radio Times, "brings a bit of villainy to the show."

Many shows that have been influenced by Peaky Blinders have had long runs with multiple seasons, and it is possible that the new season of This City is Ours will end up being early in a long-running show. While the details of season 2's plot remain unknown for now, the series is set to arrive onscreen later in 2026.

The exact plot of This City is Ours might still be a mystery, but Nelson-Joyce's Radio Times interview offered a few hints, with the actor reporting that his character will begin the series in "happy town" with his wife, but his actions will ruin it. This City is Ours ended with a dangerous gangster being mown down, and revenge may soon be on its way.

Source: BBC News, Radio Times