10 TV Shows With No Redeemable Characters
7. Top Boy
The British crime drama recently revived by Netflix (and Drake) takes a far more sensitive look at drugs and gangs than most shows it its ilk. This is for the most part a sensitive and restrained depiction of drug pushers, customers, and the neighbourhoods it effects.
To that end, there’s a sensitivity afforded to its characters. These young men selling drugs and carrying guns aren’t doing so for a laugh; often it’s the life they were born into, the only opportunity afforded to them.
But while the depiction is thoughtful, it simultaneously refuses to shy away from the horrors it portrays. Dushane and Sully, the titular kingpins, are by no means psychopaths, but they’re obliged to run their estate with an iron fist. Gruesome fates befall many characters, ordered by or related to our protagonists.
The third season brings in young upstart Jamie, and while he’s similarly motivated by the noble goal of keeping his family fed, we’re under no illusions as to what one must be willing to do in order to thrive in a trade so brutal and short lived as this.
Top Boy walks a tightrope well, keeping its storytelling exciting and non-judgemental while never shying away from the cruelty and blood that fuels this world.