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The British-made Netflix Original “Top Boy” released its third season on Sep. 7. When the first season came out, it was met with extreme popularity in the UK — in fact, it is the second most popular show in England, according to IMDb. Typically, everything that starts out in England tends to become more well-known in the U.S. due to the widespread effect of social media. On TikTok, people would post clips of the most intriguing parts of the show, which made the people coming across them want to watch the entire show, indicating the influential power of social media.
“Top Boy” was originally created with two seasons on Channel 4, but the directors decided to add two more seasons, shifting the show to be a Netflix Original. Now, they added a third season to the previous two. The release of the last three seasons on Netflix benefited the “Top Boy” directors by increasing the revenue of the show.
The first two seasons of the show are mainly about Sully’s family and the drug business, and the third continues the storyline. The gangs and setting remain the same from previous seasons. Sully (Kane Robinson) and his best friend Dushane (Ashley Walters), Jamie (Michael Ward), and Dris (Shone Romulus). Sully, Dushane, Jamie, and Dris all hope to stay alive in South London, even if they contribute to the drug selling and gang violence.
The season starts with Sully shooting Jamie dead because of his drug business rivalry. He had to do that to become top boy — the one who runs the drug trade in a certain area — of East London again; he lost his status because he went to Jamaica in season two. Sully’s goal the entire season was to become top boy, and he even pointed a gun at his childhood friend’s face, Dushane, just to get the title. However, they worked it out and decided to run it together. The season’s action was mostly them eliminating anything that was in their path of becoming top boy.
Junior Jamauri Wooten loves “Top Boy” and started watching the third season as soon as it came out. He finished it in under one day. “I love the way they mix gang violence with family love,” Wooten said.
Junior Minnha Khan also enjoys “Top Boy” and she discovered it because of TikTok. She is on the app frequently and a clip of the first season caught her eye. “Although I’m a girl and predominantly men watch it, I do enjoy ‘Top Boy,’” Khan said. “It captures all emotions and feelings in a very well-done way,” Khan said.
JMU sophomore Abel Dereje started watching “Top Boy” even before it became a Netflix Original. He moved from Ethiopia where the show is extremely popular. “I believe ‘Top Boy’ is one of the best shows of all time, and it captures the life of a British teen in South London pretty well,” Dereje said.
