James Nelson-Joyce has shared an update ahead of the upcoming series of This City is Ours. The actor gained wide recognition for his role as conflicted gang boss, Michael Kavanagh, in the Liverpool based programme. The crime-drama has an impressive cast as Sean Bean, James and Hannah Onslow all took leading roles.
The show follows the power struggle between crime boss Ronnie Phelan, who’s looking to retire, his partner Michael Kavanagh and his ambitious son Jamie. This City is Ours is set in Merseyside and has been filmed across the region. Film crews were spotted across Merseyside in the summer of 2024.
Viewers watched the successful first series as Michael (James Nelson) and Diana’s (Hanna Onslow) love affair happened during the disintegration of Michael’s crime gang. For years, together with Ronnie (Sean Bean), Michael had successfully been bringing cocaine into the city and beyond, directly from Columbia.
A huge part of the show explored what happened when Ronnie’s son Jamie (Jack McMullen) decided he wanted to inherit their kingdom and that there is no longer a place for Michael at the table. Both Michael and Jamie had bold ideas to modernise the gang and battled for the control of it.
The BBC has announced This City Is Ours will return for a second season. The series has been a huge success as it is the BBC’s most watched new drama launch of the year so far.
On Instagram last night, James shared a picture of the cast and an image of his script for season two episode one, as he took part in a table read for the new series. A timer emoji was used by the actor as he captioned it “TCIO”.
In May, the director of the BBC drama said she has been amazed by the response to the show and revealed there are still plenty more twists and turns to come in the story of who will take over Ronnie Phelan’s crime gang.
Lindsay Salt said: “This City is Ours was one of our team’s first commissions when I joined the BBC, and I could not be happier with how Stephen [Butchard], Saul [Dibb] and the Left Bank team have brought it to the screen so classily.
“The response from viewers has been a joy to see, with millions discovering its thrilling, character-driven drama for themselves to become gripped by the raging war of the Phelans.
“I’m delighted that we now get to build on this fantastic first run and show that things are only just getting started for this very special series.”
The programme was created by Kirkby writer, Stephen Butchard, who is looking forward to pen the next chapter of the battle between Michael Kavanagh and Jamie Phelan (Jack McMullen).
He said: “We have all been blown away by the incredibly positive response to This City is Ours, I can’t thank the audience enough for their time and emotional investment.”
Ahead of the first season premiere, Walton born star James explained how he wanted the series to do the city proud. The 36-year-old actor, who also starred in this year’s A Thousand Blows with Stephen Graham, said: “It’s a love letter to Liverpool, in a way.
“The city looks absolutely stunning and I’m just really proud of it”. He added: “I hope the city watches it and it’s something they’re proud of. That’s all I hope for.”
Fans of the show took to Instagram to share their delight, with many leaving comments such as “can’t wait” and praising the show as one of the “best”.