Not much about the north. This is a drama set in the Cray twins era brimming with violence extortion and corruption. The acting is good but there is far too much brutality for me to enjoy it. I did not bother with episodes 4 - 9. Recommended if you think Layer Cake should be a PG certificate.
It was as good as I remember it in the 90s. Such a good and accurate portrayal of life at that time, both politically and socially. Brilliant acting - loved it!
Ignore the reviewer who only watched a third of it and dismissed it as a 1960s gangster show. It is not that. The themes and the period change as the show goes on, ending in the 1990s - the London crime storyline is only a very small part of it. The episode about the miners’ strike was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen on British TV.