This City is Ours filming locations: Revisiting key places where the BBC show was filmed

The BBC crime drama This City is Ours is the most watched series on the network this year. The show has garnered critical acclaim and a lot of fanfare, with more than 6 million viewers tuning in to watch the first episode. The series, which follows the story of the Phelan crime family in Liverpool, will be returning for a second season on BBC. Season 1 of This City is Ours was shot in scenic locations across Liverpool in England and Málaga and Marbella in Spain.

This City is Ours revolves around the power struggle between longtime partner Michael Kavanagh (played by James Nelson-Joyce) and Jamie (played by Jack McMullen), son of the crime boss Ronnie Phelan (played by Sean Bean), who decides to retire from the business.

Against the setting of drug trafficking, the series not only takes the audience through the underbelly of crime syndicates in Europe but also explores the personal lives of the characters, including Michael’s whirlwind romance with Diana (played by Hannah Onslow).

This City is Ours filming locations

This City is Ours has been filmed in captivating locations across Liverpool and Marbella. While Liverpool is where the Phelan family headquarters is located, Marbella is the location for the notorious drug deals.

In the series, the Phelans live just outside of Liverpool, in the Wirral. The house where they live boasts stunning architecture and shows off the incredible wealth of the family. The show used various locations in Liverpool City. The Saint Philip Neri Church, Toxteth, was the setting for the christening scene in episode one, and Royal Albert Dock Liverpool appears frequently on the show.

In This City is Ours, Liverpool is more than just a location. It is a vital part of the story. The show has brought forth the historical as well as the picturesque aspect of Liverpool. As per RadioTimes.com, Saul Dibb, director of This City is Ours, shared about the city,

"It's a dock city (and) the dock is obviously important – historically and now for very different reasons. That's a massive impact. In terms of representing it, I thought of it more as how the Americans represent places like Boston, for instance… They make it really, very much a character; again, it's one that's got a lot of Irish influence, it's a dock city, but to represent it in a way that didn't feel like an ordinary representation of British cities."

The second location for This City is Ours is Spain. In the series, Marbella, which is located in the south of Spain, is a key site where major gangs operate from and is crucial to the criminal dealings across Europe. The cast had also spent about five weeks shooting at a scenic estate in Spain, where some of the more intense scenes from the show were filmed. Dibb stated,

“I think to some extent, (if) you take a group of people who are involved in crime and you go to Spain, there's a lot of cliches that surround that. And I think, generally, it's just (about) trying to push those to one side and concentrate on the characters and the story."

Spain becomes a significant backdrop where the interpersonal relationship between the characters comes alive. From stunning villas in Marbella to the old port and Torcal National Park’s Rocky Mountains in Málaga, the locations added a sense of drama and magnitude needed for the narrative. Dibb opined,

“Everyone's basically kind of lying or hiding something about themselves at all times – Cheryl stands out, actually, as the only person who tells the truth – and so really, Spain is the setting, but the main thing is to really drill down into all the inter-dynamics between the people in this very real world. So we shot in real places in and around Marbella; we didn't try to either glamorize it or diminish it. It is a place where all of this stuff happens, where loads of families like this end up, but it does give you a great visual landscape."

Season 1 of This City is Ours comprises eight episodes. The show is created and written by Stephen Butchard for BBC One and produced by Left Bank Pictures. Worldwide distribution for the series will be handled by Sony Pictures Television.

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