10 Films You Didn’t Realise Became TV Shows

Gritty British gangster flick Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels was a huge hit in the late 90s, propelling the career’s of both director Guy Ritchie, star Jason Statham and to a lesser extent Vinnie Jones. Whereas the film is often considered one of the best British films of the last few decades, and influencing a number of future directors, the show on the other hand was largely ignored.

Simply known as Lock, Stock, the series first aired in 2000, two years after the film's release. It ran for only six one hour episodes with Ritchie serving as both producer and co-writer of the pilot. None of the film's main cast returned for the show, and they were instead replaced by a group of largely unknown's.

For fans hoping it would resolve the movies dramatic climax, it doesn’t. Instead, introducing new, less interesting characters and featuring a very similar premise. Like the film, the show was set in East London, and focused on four friends who try their hands at organised crime, with things soon turning disastrous. Unlike the film however, it failed to attract viewers and was cancelled 6 episodes later.