DRG to Launch Channel 4’s Top Boy

LONDON: Leading off DRG’s drama slate is the upcoming Channel 4 series Top Boy, from the producers of the Oscar-winning film The Last King of Scotland.

The four-part HD drama stars Ashley Walters (Five Days 2, Small Island), Kierston Wareing (Fish Tank, Luther), recording artist Kane Robinson and Malcolm Kamulete. It is a Cowboy Films and Easter Partisan production for Channel 4, which will launch the series in the U.K. in November.

DRG has also sold the the BBC One crime dramas Five Days 2 and Criminal Justice 2 into new territories. Fox International Channels in Norway and AXN in Spain picked up both series for prime time. Canada’s ARTV went for Criminal Justice 2 for its French-speaking territories. Five Days 2 is set for a home-entertainment release in the U.K. with IMC Vision and in Australia with ABC.

Anke Stoll, the head of acquisitions and co-productions at DRG, said, “We are incredibly proud to be launching Charles Steel, Alasdair Flind and Ronan Bennett’s Top Boy. This is a truly out-standing drama. A powerful and gripping story of thriller meets heart-tearing emotion, Top Boy is brought to life through an exceptional cast of new and famous talent and captured in stunning cinematic-style photography. Top Boy is a story for every nation, a story of young people living in the toughest of city housing estates, where they are all determined to change their lives, for better or worse and with any consequence.”

Patrick Roberts, the senior VP of international sales at DRG, added, “DRG has a trusted reputation for bringing modern, fast-paced network commissioned dramas to major scheduling slots around the world. The superb Top Boy is set to replicate that success. I am delighted to confirm further new homes for BBC Productions’ Five Days 2 and Criminal Justice 2, both of which have become two of the U.K.’s most popular drama exports.”