Top Boy has had one of the more exciting rollouts in television history. The crime series premiered on the British network Channel 4 in 2011 before being revived by Netflix (and executive producer Drake) in 2017. There’s also been some retroactive rebranding, with the Channel 4 seasons now being called Top Boy: Summerhouse to differentiate it from the current version.
All that said, Top Boy is back. Netflix has released the trailer for the third season, and in addition to showcasing a bleak, tense batch of episodes, the trailer revealed the release date for what is going to be the end of a decade-long story.
Top Boy season 3 release date
Top Boy season 3 will premiere on Sept. 7, 2023 on Netflix. The trailer does an excellent job of explaining what will happen to the characters we’ve come to know and love without showing us too much. Sully (Kane Robinson) shot Jamie (Michael Ward) in the head last season, and the new footage suggests that the drug dealer must be prepared for retaliation. There’s a real sense of finality, whether it be through death or other means.
Robinson and Ashley Walters, who plays Sully’s partner, Dushane Hill, released a statement in conjunction with the trailer. “For those that have followed the journey from the start, you will know how much this show means to everyone on our team, and we wholeheartedly know how much it means to you,” they wrote. “These characters have been a part of our lives for over a decade now, and without everyone’s support, we couldn’t have come this far.”
Based on Netflix’s usual release schedule, Top Boy will be available to stream starting at 12am PT on Sept. 7. So, if you are up late and want to get your crime fix right away, you can binge throughout the night. There will be six more episodes in season 3, bringing the show’s total number to 32 episodes (all currently streaming on Netflix).
Top Boy season 3 cast members
Robinson and Walters will be returning, as will veteran cast members Jasmine Jobson, Simbiatu Ajikawo, Araloyin Oshunremi, Natalie Athanasiou ‘NoLay,’ and Saffron Hocking. There will also be newcomers in the form of Brian Gleeson and Barry Keoghan. Gleeson, best known for his roles in shows like Love/Hate (2010) and Peaky Blinders (2019), will play Tadgh, while Keoghan, a recent Academy Award nominee for The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), will play Johnny. While the specifics of their characters are being kept under wraps, the talent of both men suggests they will play a crucial part in the show’s conclusion.
Walters talked about the upcoming season during a recent interview with GQ. He touched on several aspects of the show’s production, but the most revealing tidbit was why Top Boy ended despite its popularity. “[Netflix] wanted to go on forever! And Kane and I were like, personally, we can’t,” Walters explained. “We don’t think it’s the right thing to do. It may have gone on too long, anyway. Not that it’s not been great, and the seasons have all been great, and everyone’s loved them, and I’ve loved them. But it wouldn’t have been right. I like to end on a high.”
We can’t say we blame, and we can’t wait to see what the show has in store for us.