There were many surprises at last night’s Baftas: The Crown – the most nominated programme of the event – coming away with nothing; an unknown French series, Class Act, taking home the Best International Series award; Succession losing out. But the most shocking was Top Boy’s win in the Best Drama category. Not because it didn’t deserve it – but because it beat Happy Valley.
Top Boy follows the precarious highs and violent lows of the lives of two drug dealers – Dushane (Ashley Walters) and Sully (Kane Robinson, otherwise known as rapper Kano) – working to survive on a Hackney council estate. It’s made stars of its relatively unknown cast and has marked the acting debut of some of the UK’s best musicians, including Dave and Little Simz. Jasmine Jobson, who is a scene-stealer as gang minion-turned-boss Jaq, also won the Best Supporting Actress Bafta.
Over five series (two on Channel 4 before Netflix revived the drama for another three with the help of rapper and superfan Drake), Top Boy has developed into a commentary on the struggle of Britain’s black working class and the obstacles they face – from poverty to immigration status to overzealous policing to the prevalence of gang warfare. It’s one of the best British dramas ever made.
But so is Happy Valley. Led by Sarah Lancashire’s deadpan, sweary and overstretched copper Catherine Cawood, its three series have enraptured British audiences since 2014 and its finale was the most watched drama last year (and the most watched programme overall, second only to the King’s coronation). This final chapter finally brought Catherine’s nemesis, Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), to justice in one of the most edge-of-the-sofa-gripping hours of television I’ve ever watched.
It’s bold of Bafta members to vote for Top Boy over one of the most popular dramas in history. But I’m certainly glad they did. A Bafta win is an indication to the industry of what we – both the audience at home and insiders – want to see more of, and Top Boy is exactly the sort of big risky swings I want to see British TV bosses make.
The truth is that both Happy Valley and Top Boy were worthy of the win. Both are moreish, nuanced series with articulate, intelligent writing that tells authentic stories about real communities without ever veering into stereotypes or caricatures. But while Happy Valley harks back to an older, more traditional idea of what a TV drama should be – a police procedural peppered with light moments that cut through the darkness of murder and rape storylines – Top Boy is a more modern, inventive inversion of what we expect crime dramas to look like.
In Happy Valley, we’re placed firmly on the side of the righteous – where the police force is the ultimate good and the baddies are afforded only the slightest hint of absolution. On Top Boy, the line between good and bad isn’t just blurred, it’s erased altogether. As Sully and Dushane navigate their friendship alongside the ever-changing rules of gang life, we’re constantly asked to pick a side, questioning our own morals along the way. It’s challenging TV that never coddles its audience; its darkest moments make even Happy Valley – one of the grislier Sunday night dramas – look cosy.
There’s nothing duller than an awards ceremony that pats the favourites on the back time and time again. Happy Valley has already won two Best Drama Baftas and it’s not like it missed out entirely – Sarah Lancashire took home the award for Best Actress and Catherine’s showdown with Tommy was voted by the public as the year’s “Most Memorable Moment”. It’s not groundbreaking to anyone that Happy Valley is worthy of praise.
But if this win turns a previously unaware audience onto a series as brilliant as Top Boy, then the Baftas is doing its job right.
‘Happy Valley’ is streaming on BBC iPlayer and ‘Top Boy’ is streaming on Netflix.