A Town Called Malice is a crime drama series about a gangster family living in London, UK. It takes us on a nostalgic trip into the 1980s crime world of the United Kingdom and Spain.
Further, it smartly uses 1980s music to take back in time. Besides, the primary shooting locations of this thrilling show are in London and Shooting Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
Synopsis (summary) of this 2023 Crime Drama set in the 1980s era
This intoxicating cocktail of crime thriller and family saga in the early ’80s follows the Lords – a family of South London gangsters – who recognise a golden opportunity to re-capture their former glory on the Costa Del Sol in Spain. In this crime drama, a family of petty thieves from South London decamp to Spain to profit from an unexpected windfall.
Spoilers Free review of A Town Called Malice (2023) Series
About the plot line of the show
The Lords are the gangster crime family in this 1980s thriller. Once upon a time, they used to lord over London. But then, their criminal power and influence declined drastically. Even then, the Lord family patriarch Albert Lord (Jason Flemyng) seeks to reverse his dwindling family fortunes. So, when the opportunity knocks on his family doors, he responds. Along with his entire family, he shifted bases to Spain and started afresh to establish the Lord family name in the criminal as well as the business world of Costa Del Sol town.
It recreated the 1980s era
The stylish era of the 1980s has been painstakingly created in this show. We loved all those jazzy clothes, the topless lengthy cars and the low-tech. electronic gadgets in it.
But, then nothing is as easy as it seems. And then there is the revenge angle too. Furthermore, many complications in the family arise. Their criminal behaviour comes to the fore. Thus, to keep its viewers engaged, this show has quite a few murders, fights, lies, deceits, secrets, double-crossings, etc., Then there is suitable popular music from the 1980s to back all the scenes musically and keep us interested.
Its actors, story, music and the conclusion
Despite being surrounded by the gun-toting and fist-friendly male testosterone, the smart and intelligent women dominate the show. Even though they are part of a dysfunctional criminal family, they make it work to their advantage. So, rather interestingly, in the crime drama about gangsters, two actresses dominate Tahirah Sharif (Cindy Carter) and Martha Plimpton (Mint Ma Lord) with their superb acts. Especially, both of them have made it a charming show.
This was a lively show to watch, despite its flawed storyline. Consequently, we could could predict, where its plot was going. Maybe, this has something to do with those entertaining movies and series from the 1980s era. By all means, those stories were predictable and yet it made us feel good. For this reason, we liked the certainties of their cheerful ending.
The music was rocking. The title of each of the eight episodes of this show is named after the 1980s pop hit. Those were much simpler times. And yet a smashing one.
However, we wish that its script could be much tighter. But then it will lose the charm of the 1980s era. We liked this fun-filled crime show. It is a good show to pass your time.
Spoilers Alert – a peek into the Episodes of this 2023 Crime Drama
The summary of its eight (8) episodes
1. I Want to Know What Love Is
{I Want To Know What Love Is – Foreigner – song | 1984}
The youngest son Gene Lord (Jack Rowan) of a crime family flees 1980s London. But even in Spain, enemies are circling.
2. Daddy Cool
{Daddy Cool – Boney M – song | 1979}
Cindy Carter (Tahirah Sharif) leads Gene Lord (Jack Rowan) on a mission to evade police suspicion and reminds him of the potential in Uncle Tony’s (Dougray Scott) land. But can they keep their dream secret from the Lords, who arrive in Spain and have questions they want answered?
3. Two Tribes
{Two Tribes – Frankie Goes To Hollywood – song | 1984}
Kelly Lord (Daniel Sharman) does Mint Ma Lord’s (Martha Plimpton) secret bidding back in London. Meanwhile, sparks fly when the Lords parlay with the local Gitano community {Roma} in a bid to get their support for the hotel plans.
4. Let’s Go All The Way
{Let’s Go All The Way – Sly Fox – song | 1985}
Gene Lord (Jack Rowan) and Cindy Carter (Tahirah Sharif) exercise their smarts to unify warring factions, but the arrival of a face from Cindy’s past creates tremors between them – can she hang on to the man she loves?
5. Cruel Summer
{Cruel Summer – Bananarama – song | 1983}
Gene Lord’s (Jack Rowan) mettle is tested during business negotiations in Morocco; Albert Lord (Jason Flemyng) tests Mint Ma Lord’s (Martha Plimpton) patience; and Cindy Carter (Tahirah Sharif) is forced to take drastic action to protect Eddie Carter (Josh Tedeku).
6. I’m Still Standing
{I’m Still Standing – Elton John – song | 1983}
Cindy Carter (Tahirah Sharif) alienates Eddie Carter (Josh Tedeku) to breaking point; Kelly Lord (Daniel Sharman) loses control and Albert Lord’s (Jason Flemyng) battle for power threatens to leave Gene Lord’s (Jack Rowan) dreams of a bright new future in tatters.
7. Ghost Town
{Ghost Town – The Specials | 1981}
The Lords are at their lowest ebb, and the game might be up for Cindy. Meanwhile, Albert is back on the rise – but for how long?
8. Living On A Prayer
{Living On A Prayer – Bon Jovi | 1986}
Albert seems to be an unstoppable force, stopping short of nothing to reclaim his former glory – who dares stand in his way and curb his reign of terror?
Poster of this 2023 Crime Drama set in the 1980s era
Key details of this 2023 Crime Drama set in the 1980s era
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller |
| Original language | English (UK) and a bit of Spanish |
| Released | March-May, 2023 |
| Season | One (1), please note there will not be any more seasons. |
| Episodes | Eight (8), please note, so there will not be any more episodes. |
| Creator | Nick Love |
| Cast | Jack Rowan (Gene Lord), Tahirah Sharif (Cindy Carter), Jason Flemyng (Albert Lord), Martha Plimpton (Mint Ma Lord), Lex Shrapnel (Leonard Lord), Daniel Sharman (Kelly Lord), Dougray Scott (Uncle Tony), Eliza Butterworth (Carly Lord), George Jaques (Anthony Lord), Josh Tedeku (Eddie Carter), etc. |
| Production | Sky Studios |
Trailer of this 2023 Crime Drama set in the 1980s era
Rating of this 2023 Crime Drama set in the 1980s era
| FM’s rating | 3.45/5 |
| FM’s short comments | This show has successfully made fun of certain criminal families operating in London in the 1980s era. So, some of its characters are inspired by real-life criminals of that period. They have successfully added fun elements to this crime drama mystery show. And we really liked this aspect of the show. |
Featured Image & Poster of A Town Called Malice (2023) Show | Sky Studios.
