# This City Is Ours (2025)

> A man who tried to quit the criminal life is pulled back into Liverpool's gang war when old enemies and loyalties resurface.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/170352

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 16
- Episode runtime: 58 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Stephen Butchard
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: James Nelson-Joyce, Hannah Onslow, Jack McMullen, Mike Noble, Julie Graham, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Shaun Evans, Álvaro Morte
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31438328/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, brooding, tense, bleak, propulsive

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its ensemble cast and plot twists that keep the gangland story engaging.

## Synopsis

This City Is Ours (2025-present) is a British crime drama series created by Stephen Butchard for BBC One. Michael Kavanagh (James Nelson-Joyce) has tried to leave the criminal world behind, but he is dragged back into the fold to answer questions about events he would rather forget. Around him, Diana Williams (Hannah Onslow) and Jamie Phelan (Jack McMullen) represent the remaining members of a gang whose loyalties are bubbling toward breaking point in Liverpool. Meanwhile, a gangster newly released from prison (Álvaro Morte as Felipe Guzman) arrives demanding answers, and every conversation carries the risk of violence. The engine of the series is a tug of war between escape and obligation, with each episode built from tense confrontations, shifting alliances and the slow tightening of old debts. The show runs across two seasons and sixteen episodes of hour-long drama, following one continuing story rather than standalone cases. Its tone is gritty, brooding and tense, with a grounded, working-class atmosphere and a sharp sense of place. Fans of Peaky Blinders, Line of Duty and Happy Valley will find resonance in its British crime textures and morally compromised characters.

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