This City Is Ours returns for a second series, reviewed by the Guardian and Daily Mail
The Liverpool-set gangland drama This City Is Ours is back for a second series, an eight-part run with Shaun Evans joining the cast. Both reviewers praise the tension and the car wash scene, but they differ in tone and emphasis.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2The Liverpool-set crime drama This City Is Ours returned for a second series, reviewed on 25 October 2026 by the Guardian and the Daily Mail. The GuardianLC “This City is Ours is back for a second series of high-stakes gangland bastardry.” Read at The Guardian ↗ Daily MailR “as the show returned, was often violent but seldom upbeat.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Left · 1The Guardian's reviewer says the new series comes seventeen months after the first ended. It is written by Stephen Butchard, and the Guardian describes it as a mob saga. The GuardianLC “Seventeen months after it huffed off in its Toyota Omertà”“Stephen Butchard’s mob saga” Read at The Guardian ↗ Right · 1The Daily Mail says the new run has eight parts. It expects a war between Michael Kavanagh (James Nelson-Joyce) and a newcomer, Ozzie, to be its mainspring. Daily MailR “a war between the two of them promises to be the mainspring of this eight-part season” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Mixed · 2The opening episode picks up after the first series. In Spain, Michael and Cheryl (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) bury the body of her husband Davy (Stephen Walters), whom the Guardian says Ronnie Phelan (Sean Bean) shot for leaking information about a drug deal. Cheryl and Michael's partner Diana (Hannah Onslow) are then kidnapped by Felipe (Álvaro Morte), the brother of the Colombian cartel boss Ricardo. The GuardianLC “Shot by erratic kingpin Ronnie Phelan (Sean Bean) for leaking information about a drug deal”“Felipe (Álvaro Morte), a sockless snarler who promptly kidnaps them all at gunpoint” Read at The Guardian ↗ Daily MailR “finding her dead husband’s rotting corpse in a body bag in the Spanish hinterland” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2Both reviews say Ricardo was run over in a Liverpool road by Banksey (Mike Noble), and that Felipe wants to find out who killed his brother. The Guardian says Cheryl and Diana will be held until Michael returns from Liverpool with the killer's name. The GuardianLC “hapless, Ricardo-flattening Banksey (Mike Noble)”“until Michael returns from “fockin’ Leeverpole” with the name of Ricardo’s murderer” Read at The Guardian ↗ Daily MailR “Banksey running over a Colombian cartel boss” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2Shaun Evans joins the cast as Ozzie Thompson, an ex-prisoner. The Guardian calls him "a sublimely chilly old lag" and the Mail credits him with "an air of amiable menace". Julie Graham returns as Ronnie's widow Elaine. The GuardianLC “a sublimely chilly old lag who keeps asking questions about Ronnie” Read at The Guardian ↗ Daily MailR “Shaun Evans joins the cast as an ex-jailbird called Ozzie, with an air of amiable menace.” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Mixed · 2Both critics single out a tense car wash scene. The Guardian says it took three attempts to watch, and the Mail says the jet hoses made the reviewer jump. The GuardianLC “a scene in a car wash that is so exquisitely palpitation-inducing” Read at The Guardian ↗ Daily MailR “When the jet hoses hit the windscreen, he and I both jumped out of our skins.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2The Guardian gives a warm verdict: the acting is "terrific", and the drama's ordinary, unglamorous characters make it "as lovable as it is bloody". The Mail is more mixed. It enjoys a darkly comic moment in which Banksey shoots a henchman, Ando (Theo Nate), but calls the grief-heavy middle stretch oppressive and "as entertaining as a migraine". The GuardianLC “The acting is, as always, terrific.”“making this ambitious crime drama as lovable as it is bloody” Read at The Guardian ↗ Daily MailR “until the drama began to feel as entertaining as a migraine.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 1The Mail also notes that the show uses Matt Monro's On Days Like These as its title music. It links Ozzie's reappearance among gangsters who thought he was still in prison to "Labour's early release scheme", a political aside the Guardian does not make. Daily MailR “Labour’s early release scheme is upsetting everyone, even the criminals.”“the show has adopted Matt Monro’s gorgeous hit On Days Like These as its title music” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- A comic, affectionate review that treats the series as a lovable, bloody mob saga and contrasts its dithering Liverpudlian gangsters with the glamorous criminals of The Gentlemen and MobLand.
- Emphasis
- The acting, the tension, the mundane domestic details and the characters' lack of coolness.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not give the number of episodes or discuss the Mail's complaint that the drama is grim.
- Charged language
- “gangland bastardry”“as lovable as it is bloody”
- For example
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“The acting is, as always, terrific.” — The Guardian
“These tortured, blouson-wearing Liverpudlians are not, by any stretch of the imagination, “cool”.” — The Guardian
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- A more mixed review that leads with a darkly comic scene and a dumb henchman, finds the drama oppressive in places, and ends with a political aside on Labour's early release scheme.
- Emphasis
- Violence, the grim mood, the car wash tension, the eight-part structure and Evans's new role.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Says little about the performances beyond Evans, and does not mention Felipe by name or the Guardian's reading of the characters as endearing.
- Charged language
- “Labour’s early release scheme is upsetting everyone, even the criminals”“as entertaining as a migraine”
- For example
-
“Labour’s early release scheme is upsetting everyone, even the criminals.” — Daily Mail
“All this grimness became oppressive” — Daily Mail
What every side reports
- This City Is Ours has returned for a second series.
- Shaun Evans joins the cast as Ozzie.
- Banksey ran over the Colombian cartel boss Ricardo, and Ricardo's brother has kidnapped Cheryl and Diana.
- A tense car wash scene stands out in the opening episode.
Where accounts differ
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How Diana is related to Michael
- Left
- The Guardian calls Diana Michael's wife and mentions her IVF injections.
- Right
- The Mail calls her Michael's pregnant girlfriend.
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Overall verdict
- Left
- The Guardian finds the drama terrific and lovable.
- Right
- The Mail enjoys the dark comedy and the car wash scene but finds the grief-heavy middle stretch oppressive.
Left1 article
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The GuardianLC · · Opinion
Celebratory A comic review that praises the cast and tension and finds the ordinary-seeming gangsters endearing.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right1 article
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Daily MailR · · Opinion
Mixed A review that enjoys the black comedy and suspense but finds the middle slow and grim, with a political jibe about Labour's early release scheme.
- 25 Oct 22:00 First The GuardianLC This City Is Ours review – the Liverpudlian gang drama is back … and the acting’s as terrific as ever Opinion
- 25 Oct 22:13 +13m Daily MailR Even the criminals don't like Labour's early release scheme in this dark saga: CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews This City Is Ours Opinion
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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