If you’re suffering with Shelby withdrawal symptoms and need a new gangster series to sink your teeth into, we have your next watch covered with the BBC’s The Long Firm. The four-part saga is exceptionally engaging and possibly better than Peaky Blinders. One thing’s for certain: crime fans will love it.
To call its central character multi-faceted would be an understatement – Harry Starks (Mark Strong) is a charismatic nightclub owner, racketeer, porn king and avid Judy Garland fan operating in the murky underworld of 1960s London. Across four episodes, the drama charts his rise and fall through the eyes of four very different characters in his orbit.
Intrigued? With the series available to watch this week, here’s everything you need to know about The Long Firm, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.
What is The Long Firm about?
Adapted from Jake Arnott’s critically acclaimed novel, the four-part series first aired on the BBC in 2004 and takes us the gritty underworld of 1960s London ganglands, where the alluring East End gangster Harry Starks (Mark Strong) mixes night clubs, racketeering, porn and violence as he attempts to infiltrate respectable society.
Bearing a resemblance to the infamous Ronnie Kray, Harry is far from the typical representation of a gangster. He suffers with his mental health, is obsessed with Judy Garland and is desperate to become more than his reputation allows him to be.
Each episode tells Harry’s story through somebody who encounters him. We meet aristocratic politician Lord Teddy Thursby (Derek Jacobi), actress Ruby Ryder (Lena Headey), low-life drug dealer Jimmy (Phil Daniels) and academic Lenny (Shaun Dingwall). Everyone he encounters is marked permanently by the experience, while every meeting offers up a new take on Harry through his meteoric rise and fall.
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Who’s in the cast of The Long Firm?
The cast of The Long Firm includes:
- Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Kingsman: The Secret Service) as Harry Starks
- Derek Jacobi (Last Tango In Halifax) as Lord Edward ‘Teddy’ Thursby
- Judy Parfitt (Call The Midwife) as Lady Ruth Thursby
- George Costigan (Happy Valley) as DI George Mooney
- Neil Conrich (Midsomer Murders) as Manny Gould
- Geoff Bell (Green Street) as Jock McClusky
- Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones) as Ruby Ruder
- Phil Daniels (The Hatton Garden Job) as Jimmy
- Shaun Dingwall (Maigret) as Lenny
Is The Long Firm any good?
Yes – Harry Starks’ sleazy Soho underworld is every bit as fascinating as the Shelby family’s Birmingham empire. Like Tommy, Starks is a deeply complicated, ambitious, flawed and charismatic character – and Mark Strong’s portrayal of him makes him impossible to turn away from, even in his darkest moments. There are also strong parallels to Peaky Blinders as he attempts to move beyond the criminal world into the establishment, with some of the series’ most compelling moments coming when gangland London collides with the elite.
How can I watch The Long Firm?
You can watch all four episodes of The Long Firm now on U.
What other crime dramas can I watch now?
For a dark police saga, we’d suggest the six-part detective series River, which follows Detective Inspector John River (Stellan Skarsgård), who’s investigating the murder of his close colleague, Detective Sergeant Jackie ‘Stevie’ Stevenson (Nicola Walker). But River continues to speak to Stevie after her death through ghostly apparitions, along with other figures connected to his cases… You can watch River now on ITVX. For a moving crime drama, we’d suggest Common, which tells the story of a vulnerable teenager Johnjo (Nico Mirallegro), who unwittingly gets caught up in a murder case after a fatal stabbing. You can watch Common now on BBC.
