Sky renews Gangs of London for Season 2
Staff Reporter | On 26, Jun 2020
Sky has renewed Gangs of London for a second season.
The series, which is created by The Raid director Gareth Evans and his creative partner Matt Flannery, is set in the heart of London, a city being torn apart by the turbulent power struggles of the international gangs that control it and the sudden power vacuum that’s created when the head of London’s most powerful crime family is assassinated.
Starring Sope Dirisu, Joe Cole, Colm Meaney, Lucian Msamati and Michelle Fairley, the nine-oart show is the biggest Sky Original drama launch on Sky Atlantic of the past five years with a 7-day cumulative audience of over 2.23m viewers for the opening episode – overtaking other smash-hit Sky Originals including Chernobyl and Save Me. Gangs of London is also Sky’s most binged premiere boxset this year with just under a million choosing to watch to the ninth and final episode of the series within two weeks. It has had over 16.6m downloads across the series so far.
We praised the show in our review for its “dizzyingly brutal action in a grippingly dark underworld”.
The series is produced by Pulse Films in association with SISTER for Sky Studios. Now, AMC has picked up rights for Season 1 and will join as a co-producer for the second run.
Zai Bennett, Sky UK’s Managing Director of Content, said: “Not only is Gangs of London Sky’s most binged premiere box-set this year, it’s the biggest original drama launch on Sky Atlantic of the past five years. It’s dark, dangerous and we are thrilled it is coming back for a second series. We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome AMC to our gang for Series two alongside the teams at Pulse Films, SISTER and Sky Studios. Will the Wallace family rise again, will the Dumanis remain loyal to their new allies and who is Elliot really working for? All these questions and more will be waiting for Sky viewers when Gangs of London returns.”
Dan McDermott, President of Original Programming for AMC and Co-President of AMC Studios, added: “Gangs of London is a cinematic thrill ride that set screens ablaze with a stellar cast, elevated drama and epic storylines, and we couldn’t be more excited to raise the pulse of our audiences with this explosive crime series. We’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with Sky Studios, Pulse Films and SISTER to continue to push the boundaries on a bold new season of the series.”
Filming on Season 2 is planned for next year, with the series set to return in 2022.
Gangs of London: Sky’s most binged show of 2020
18th May 2020
Gangs of London is Sky’s most binged show of 2020 so far.
The visceral, action-packed thriller takes audiences on an immersive journey into the hidden heart of the capital. Starring Sope Dirisu, Joe Cole, Colm Meaney, Lucian Msamati and Michelle Fairley, the nine-part drama was created by The Raid director Gareth Evans and his creative partner Matt Flannery. Set in the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic and multicultural cities, it tells the story of a city being torn apart by the turbulent power struggles of the international gangs that control it and the sudden power vacuum that’s created when the head of London’s most powerful crime family is assassinated.
“Gareth Evans’ first TV series serves up dizzyingly brutal action in a grippingly dark underworld,” we wrote in our review.
Audiences evidently agreed, with the series exploding on to screens with a 7-day cumulative audience of 2.23m* viewers for the opening episode, making it Sky Atlantic’s second biggest original drama launch ever. People kept watching from then on, with the series becoming the most binged Sky series this year too: 997,000 people choosing to watch to the ninth and final episode of the series within two weeks, and that number has already increased to 1.26m as the series pushes into its third week.
Director of Drama and Sky Studios Cameron Roach says: “We are delighted by the response to Gangs of London and to have brought Gareth Evans’ unique cinematic vision to the small screen for the first time. This epic saga, with family at its heart and visceral action-packed fight sequences has taken audiences on an immersive journey into the underbelly of London’s modern-day criminal underworld. The record-breaking results are testament to Sky’s ongoing commitment to innovation and championing the very best of bold, British drama.”