ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

One of Netflix's biggest-ever crime shows is set for a spin-off

After the best part of 15 years, critical hit crime show could be getting a spin-off.

One of Netflix's biggest-ever crime shows is set for a spin-off
Andrew Williams
31 January 2024

Top Boy recently ended after its third and final Netflix season, but the streamer is already in talks about a spin-off.

Series creator Ronan Bennett broke the news broke the news on a BBC 5 Live radio show hosted by Nihal Arthanayake.

“We are talking to Netflix about a spin-off,” Bennett told the veteran radio host, according to Deadline.

The series would be based around Jay, played by Jasmine Jobson in the main line series.

“You just never know if they’re going to get made. And in fact, most shows that are developed actually don’t get made,” says Bennett. “You can write the script and, for whatever reason, they don’t get made. So you end up looking like a bit of a fool for mentioning it. But I have hopes that this will work.”

This might remind streamer fans of the recent news Apple TV Plus cancelled season 3 of musical series Schmigadoon, despite the script already being written and ready to roll.

As long-term Top Boy fans might expect, Drake is on-board with the idea of a Top Boy spin-off.

The music star was a crucial element of why Top Boy didn’t fade into history after the show was canceled by Channel 4 in 2013.

Top Boy movie?

Judging by a GQ interview from last year, it sounds like there’s a decent chance of this one actually making it to screens too.

Netflix “wanted to go on forever. And Kane and I were like… personally, we can’t,” show lead Ashley Walters said. “We don’t think it’s the right thing to do. It may have gone on too long anyway.”

There are three seasons of the Netflix take on Top Boy, and two made a decade earlier by Channel 4. It’s why you can either call the final run of the show season 3 or season 5, depending on the flavour of Top Boy fan you are.

But could Netflix be turned off by the performance of the final season of Top Boy? It peaked at number four on the Netflix global chart according to Tudum data, with a so-so weekly viewership of 28 million hours.

It may sound like a lot, but by Netflix numbers? Not quite so much. Still, the quality of the show never wavered and that's what matters most.