This Town viewers blast new BBC series over one ‘appalling’ aspect

New TV drama is set in Birmingham in the 1980s

BBC viewers have been full of praise for the broadcaster’s latest drama This Town – but remain unconvinced by one aspect of the production.

Created by Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight, the series focuses on a group of people orbiting a burgeoning music scene in 1980s Birmingham amid a backdrop of social unrest. The cast includes Levi Brown, Jordan Bolger, Ben Rose, Eve Austin, Michelle Dockery and Nicholas Pinnock.

The series has been well received by critics and viewers alike, with plaudits being lavished on the show’s recreation of the time period and its jukebox soundtrack.

However, fans have complained about the authenticity of the Birmingham accents being deployed by various members of the show’s cast.

“This Town living up to expectations. Been class so far (apart from some of the accents),” one viewer wrote.

“Watching This Town proves once again that people can’t do our accent,” complained another.

“My parents are watching This Town and my god some of the accents are so appalling i might have to leave the room? plz just cast brummy actors!” someone else remarked.

Michelle Dockery in ‘This Town' (BBC/Banijay Rights, Kudos)

The complaint will be a familiar one for Knight, who previously faced allegations of regional inauthenticity when it came to the accents in Peaky Blinders. The crime drama, starring Cillian Murphy, was also set around Birmingham in the early years of the 20th century.

“When Peaky Blinders had highly questionable Birmingham accents, the producers went with ‘WELL ACTUALLY, NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THE ACCENTS WERE LIKE BACK THEN’. Looking forward to see the excuses they roll out for This Town...” one person wrote.

In a review, The Independent’s TV critic Nick Hilton awarded This Town four stars, writing: “Knight isn’t a writer who deals with his themes particularly subtly. Peaky Blinders always quivered on the verge of being ‘prestige’ TV, but was ultimately too tempted by the impulse to be something mainstream, lapped up by primetime TV viewers. This Town is blunt, too. Issues such as structural racism are dealt with sympathetically but crudely[...]

“For all the sadness, all the exploitation and abuse, there is a joyful streak. Compared to many of Knight’s recent projects, the show feels personal to him, and, as a result, the characters come bursting into life.”

This Town is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.