Top Boy season 4 review: On storming form in most ambitious season yet
Netflix's knotty crime drama occasionally threatens to topple but, like Dushane, it always ends up back on top.
Back in 2019, Netflix's Top Boy was a soft reboot par excellence – reviving a series that Channel 4 had dropped rather unceremoniously six years prior, it recaptured much of what had made the original so great while also broadening the show's focus to have events play out on a larger, more international tapestry. It's no slight then to say that the latest batch of episodes, which land on the streaming platform on 18th March, provides more of the same.
Though it's been almost three years since the relaunch, the spectre of events from the previous season looms large over this new outing, with a myriad of storylines picking straight back up from where they left off and little concession given to anyone with a short memory who hasn't swotted up.
For those for whom a recap might prove useful: young upstart Jamie (Micheal Ward), who once looked set to overthrow drug kingpin Dushane (Ashley Walters), is now working for his nemesis under duress, though it's clear from the off he's not looking for this to be a permanent arrangement, while Dushane's old partner Sully (Kane Robinson) is looking to keep a low profile and escape the sins of his past, but efforts to make amends soon backfire and drag him back into the chaos.
More so than ever before, this season of Top Boy takes place on a global landscape, at points resembling one of Netflix's Narcos offshoots as much as it does the original Channel 4 series. But with the previous season having laid the groundwork for this shift with its scenes set in Jamaica, the location-hopping doesn't feel as jarring as it once might have – instead, it feels like an organic expansion of the original, building out from the street-level criminality ongoing in East London to explore higher up the supply chain. As Dushane's ambitions grow, so naturally does the scope of the series.
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It also helps that the core of what Top Boy is about hasn't really changed – series creator/writer Ronan Bennett continues to spin an epic crime saga that weaves in and out of smaller, more personal stories, juggling a sizeable ensemble cast to deliver effective emotional beats for characters old and new. The new episodes touch on themes ranging from homophobia to gentrification, but all in a way that deftly spins out from the main narrative.
This new season also continues to play to the show's strengths as a generational tale: from the original show's Ra'Nell to the reboot's Stefan (Araloyin Oshunremi), Top Boy has always found pathos, pain and humour in how it depicts its youngest characters and the way in which operating in this world impacts them. It's another detail that could've been lost in any reboot but has happily remained a through-line across both versions of the show.
The other constant besides Bennett's skilful handling of his themes, his setting(s) and his characters has been the quality of performances on show. Walters remains charismatic as ever as Dushane, even as the character appears increasingly willing to sacrifice everything that once mattered to him to reach the top, while perhaps the show's secret weapon and certainly its most underrated performer is Robinson, whose portrayal of a broken Sully is nothing short of magnificent – in every scene, you can see, even feel, the pain behind his eyes.
Jasmine Jobson, who was nominated for a BAFTA in 2020 for her breakthrough role as Jaq, is no less impressive in her second outing as the character and benefits from getting to explore aspects of the character only briefly glimpsed in the previous season, as does Simbiatu Ajikawo – better known by her stage name Little Simz – as a figure from Shelley's past returns bearing a grudge.
Meanwhile, Erin Kellyman – worlds away from her role as a super-powered terrorist in Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – is a perfect fit as Pebbles, a new character who brings big trouble to Sully's door, and though his character is on the backfoot for much of the season, Micheal Ward solidifies his rising star status with another magnetic turn as Jamie.
With its dense plotting and large cast of characters, Top Boy might occasionally threaten to topple but, like Dushane, it always ends up back on top – it's a show now unapologetically made for its loyal fanbase and they'll find much to enjoy in this latest chapter, which succeeds in building on 2019's launch to deliver the show's most blockbuster season yet, without sacrificing the heart and the grit which made the series sing when it first premiered more than a decade ago.
- Read more: Where is Top Boy filmed? Location guide for Netflix’s season 4
- Read more: Top Boy season 4 ending explained
Top Boy debuts new episodes on Netflix on Friday, 18th March – check out our guide to the best series on Netflix, or find something to watch with our TV Guide. Visit our Drama hub for more news, interviews and features.
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