Belfast actor Séainín Brennan has been cast in a thrilling new BBC series produced by the creator of Peaky Blinders Steven Knight.
This Town tells the story of an extended family and four young people who are drawn into the world of ska and two-tone music, which exploded from the grassroots of Coventry and Birmingham in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, uniting black, white and Asian youths.
Séainín, who is best known for starring alongside Jamie Dornan as Liz Tyler in The Fall, said it has been "an honour" to be part of the new "high octane" project.
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The epic six-part series is produced by Kudos (a Banijay UK company) and Nebulastar for the BBC, co-produced with Mercury Studios, in association with Kudos North, Stigma Films and Nick Angel.
Filming is now underway on location in the Birmingham area, and at Steven Knight’s new Digbeth Loc. Film and TV Studios.
Séainín said: "It is such an honour to be working on This Town. Steven Knight’s fascinating scripts are filled with so much energy and life.
"I am so excited to be working with director Paul Whittington and am loving every minute on set with the incredible cast that has been assembled to bring the piece to life.
"This Town is storytelling at its absolute best."
Both a high-octane thriller and a family saga, This Town opens in 1981 at a moment of huge social tensions and unrest. Against this backdrop, it tells the story of a group of young people fighting to choose their own paths in life, and each in need of the second chance that music offers.
The series will be co-produced with Mercury Studios (part of the Universal Music Group) who will bring in an exciting range of high profile musical artists to help lay the backdrop for Knight’s incredible story. Acclaimed producer Dan Carey, and Brit and Mercury nominated musician, novelist and poet Kae Tempest, have written the songs performed by the band in the series.
Steven Knight, writer, creator and executive producer, said: “This is a project very close to my heart. It’s about an era I lived through and know well and it involves characters who I feel I grew up with. It’s a love letter to Birmingham and Coventry but I hope people from all over the world will relate to it.”
Jo McClellan, BBC Drama Commissioning Editor, added: “Steven’s scripts are absolutely brilliant – they capture the wild energy of youth and a pivotal moment in time, all set to a fantastic soundtrack, and we can’t wait to see this incredibly talented cast bring it all to life.”
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