A Town Called Malice (TV series)

A Town Called Malice is a British crime thriller television series created by Nick Love for Sky Max. The series premiered on 16 March 2023, with the full set of episodes being made available on Now.

The series was cancelled in April 2023 after one season due to ratings not meeting expectations.

Synopsis
Set in the 1980s, the Lord family is past their criminal heydays, but that does not mean they do not feel nostalgic for it. Gene, the youngest of the family, feels overlooked and neglected by his family who fail to recognise his intelligence and killer instincts. After narrowly surviving a gangland battle, Gene and his fiancée Cindy flee to the Costa del Sol, Spain to evade arrest and find themselves embroiled in the local underworld, desperately trying to avoid trouble. Things heat up even further when the rest of the Lords join them on the Costa del Sol and try to reclaim their halcyon days as criminal top dogs.

Main

 * Jack Rowan as Gene Lord
 * Tahirah Sharif as Cindy Carter
 * Jason Flemyng as Albert Lord
 * Martha Plimpton as Mint Ma Lord
 * Lex Shrapnel as Leonard Lord
 * Daniel Sharman as Kelly Lord
 * George Jaques as Anthony Lord
 * Eliza Butterworth as Carly Lord
 * Leanne Best as Detective Inspector Lindsay
 * Josh Tedeku as Eddie Carter
 * Dougray Scott as Uncle Tony

Recurring

 * Marcelo Converti as Mayor César Cabrol
 * Bruno Sevilla as Officer Alfonso
 * Yassine Fadel as Metin
 * Coen Bril as Luuk
 * Joe Hughes as DC Davidson
 * Ramiro Blas as Ernesto
 * Melina Matthews as Lola
 * Ana Santos as Manuela
 * Sarah Shahin as Amira
 * José Luis Ferrer as Diego

Guest

 * Ernesto Collado as Emilio Suárez
 * Paul Weller as a drinker in the bar

Production
In February 2021, it was announced Nick Love was developing A Town Called Malice with Vertigo Films for Sky. Sky had officially ordered the eight-part series as of the Edinburgh Television Festival in August 2021, with Rogue State having boarded the project.

The cast was announced in January 2022, including Jason Flemyng, Jack Rowan, Tahirah Sharif, Martha Plimpton, Dougray Scott, Lex Shrapnel, Daniel Sharman, George Jaques, and Eliza Butterworth.

Principal photography began in London in November 2021 before moving to Tenerife at the end of January 2022. Production on the first season wrapped in June 2022 in Tenerife.

Release
NBCUniversal Global Distribution handled international distribution.

Reception
Nick Hilton from The Independent gave the first episode three out of five stars, remarking, "It is admirably unrestrained in a genre where restraint has been all the rage. It's just a shame, then, that its vivacious styling couldn't be matched by a smarter script". Lucy Mangan of The Guardian awarded the first episode three stars out of five, declaring, "In short, for those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like. The rest of us may just need to keep taking the Sanatogen and wait for someone to wheel us into the shade for a nap".