Art & Culture

Two ‘Top Boy’ Spin-Offs Are Officially on the Way

BYYassine Hariss

August 31, 2026

It’s been three years since fans of the cult-classic series Top Boy bid farewell to the show that, over more than a decade, became one of the defining portrayals of life in modern-day London. Premiering in 2011, the television drama focused on the trials and tribulations of Dushane and Sully, two friends and drug dealers navigating the fictional Summerhouse estate in Hackney, as they tried to make their way to the top of East London’s criminal underworld.

Originally airing on Channel 4, the program was canceled after just two seasons in 2013, seemingly bringing its story to a rather premature end. That was until Drake stepped in. A fan of the show himself, the Canadian rapper helped revive Top Boy this time on Netflix, where it returned six years later with much of its original cast and, eventually, three more seasons.

By the time its fifth and final season arrived in 2023, Top Boy had grown well beyond the die-hard following of its early years. But while Dushane and Sully’s story may have already reached its end, it turns out the world they inhabited isn’t quite done with us yet. According to a recent press-release shared by the global streaming platform, two new spin-off series will see the light of day, both expected to center on characters we’ve already met in the original show.

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From what we know so far, the first will be a five-episode prequel centred on Johnny McGee (Barry Keoghan), better known as Johnny, the nephew of Irish crime boss Tadgh McGee. Introduced during Top Boy’s final season, the new series will wind the clock back to Johnny’s younger years, exploring the character’s life before the events of Top Boy and, presumably, how he found his way into the criminal world that eventually brought him to Summerhouse in the first place. And in case you were worried about the spin-off straying too far from the original, Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett will be writing it himself.

Jaq, meanwhile, will turn its attention to Jacqueline, a high-ranking member of the Summerhouse Gang, with Jasmine Jobson reprising her role in a six-episode series created and written by Ryan Calais Cameron. Rather than looking backwards, Jaq will pick up her story where it more or less left off. When we last saw her, she was fresh off trying to return kilos of narcotics she’d stolen from Sully’s stash, lying down with her concerned girlfriend, Becks (Adwoa Aboah), assuring her that “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

As for when we’ll actually get to watch either of them, there’s still some waiting to do. Both Jonny Boy and Jaq will begin filming in 2027, with no release date confirmed for either show just yet.

And yes, for those wondering, Drake will be sticking around too. After helping bring Top Boy back from the dead and serving as an executive producer throughout its Netflix run, the Canadian rapper will carry the same role into both of the upcoming spin-offs.

Two ‘Top Boy’ Spin-Offs Are Officially on the Way

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Two ‘Top Boy’ Spin-Offs Are Officially on the Way

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