''Top Coppers'' (released 19 August 2015) is a British

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

, co-written and created by Andy Kinnear and Céin McGillicuddy and directed by Céin McGillicuddy. It was broadcast on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

, and was available on Netflix UK. Céin and Andy

Background

''Top Coppers'' follow the adventures of cops John Mahogany (

Steen Raskopoulos Steen Raskopoulos (born 3 July 1987) is an Australian comedian, actor and improviser. He is best known for his live character solo sketch shows, playing Dr. Evan in '' The Duchess'' (Netflix), Pete Lewis in '' Feel Good'' (Netflix), John Mahogan ...

) and Mitch Rust ( John Kearns) as they attempt to rid the fictional world of Justice City from its deranged criminal underworld. They both have red hair (ie copper coloured), giving a double meaning to the show's title. The universe and its characters are derived from the conventions of American and British police shows of the 70s and 80s, from ''

Starsky & Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by th ...

'' to ''

The Professionals A professional is someone who is skilled in a profession. Professional or professionals may also refer to: * Professional sports Music *The Professionals (band), a British punk rock band formed in 1979 * ''The Professionals'' (The Professionals ...

'', but is set in no specific time or country. The series is based on an independent mini series of the same name, also created by Andy Kinnear and Céin McGillicuddy and with the same actor playing Chief, Donovan Blackwood.

Episodes

Series 1 (2015)

The first series premiered on 19 August 2015 on

and ran for 6 episodes which aired on Wednesdays. The first series was repeated on

on Sundays from 4 October 2015. The series was available on Netflix UK from June 2021 to June 2022.

Cast

Main Cast

- John Mahogany * John Kearns - Mitch Rust * Donovan Blackwood - Chief * Gabby Best - Helga * John Hollingworth - Peterson *

Phil Wang Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi (born 22 January 1990) is a British-Malaysian stand-up comedian and comedy writer who is a member of the sketch comedy group Daphne, and co-creator of their BBC Radio 4 series, '' Daphne Sounds Expensive''. He cur ...

- McGockey * Rio Myers - Zach *

Rich Fulcher Richard Fulcher (born November 18, 1968) is an American comedian, actor and author. He played Bob Fossil and other characters in the British comedy series ''The Mighty Boosh'', and Edward Sheath in the American series '' Jon Benjamin Has a Van''. ...

- Mayor Grady *

Alan Dale Alan Hugh Dale (born 6 May 1947) is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale enjoyed theatre and rugby. After retiring from the sport, he took on a number of occupations, before deciding to become a professional actor at age 27. Dale subsequentl ...

- Frank (Voice & photograph)

Guest Cast

Paul Ritter Simon Paul Adams (20 December 1966 – 5 April 2021), known professionally as Paul Ritter, was an English actor. He had roles in films including ''Son of Rambow'' (2007), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' ...

- Harry McCrane *

Danny John-Jules Daniel John-Jules (born 16 September 1960) is a British actor, singer and dancer. He is best known for playing Milton Wordsworth in The Story Makers and ''Red Dwarf'', Barrington which are both children's series. Also he played in ''Maid Maria ...

- Captain Woods (the 'rival' police chief of 'Ace Town') *

Diana Vickers Diana Vickers (born 30 July 1991) is an English singer, songwriter, actress and fashion designer, who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Vickers signed a record deal with RCA Records and, after to ...

- Chris *

Kayvan Novak Kayvan Novak ( fa, کیوان نواک; born 23 November 1977) is a British actor and comedian.Kadivar, DariuSyriana breaks Iranian stereotypes, ''Persian Mirror''. Retrieved 3 August 2007. He co-created and starred in the comedy series ''Fone ...

- The Notorious French Thief Gerard Cliché *

Natasia Demetriou Natasia Charlotte Demetriou is an English comedian, actress, and screenwriter. She is best known for her roles as Nadja in the FX horror comedy series ''What We Do in the Shadows'' (2019–present) and Sophie in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Stath Le ...

- Gale *

Alex Beckett Alexander Michael Beckett (born 19 February 1954) is a former Scottish footballer who played as a defender. Beckett is best known for his time with St. Mirren where he made 195 league appearances with the Paisley side, he also played for Fal ...

- Martin *

Simon Farnaby Simon Farnaby (born 2 April 1973) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He is a member of the British Horrible Histories troupe in which he starred in the television series ''Horrible Histories'', ''Yonderland'' and ''Ghosts''. He has writte ...

- Dr. Schafer *

James Fleet James Edward Fleet (born 11 March 1952) is an English actor of theatre, radio and screen. He is most famous for his roles as the bumbling and well-meaning Tom in the 1994 British romantic comedy film ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and the dim-w ...

- Charles Leatherby * Tom Bennett - Steve *

Lydia Rose Bewley Lydia Rose Bewley (born 9 October 1985) is an English actress known for her roles as Jane in ''The Inbetweeners Movie'' and ''The Inbetweeners 2'', Metella in '' Plebs'' and Bunny in '' Drifters''. She trained at Oxford School of Drama before wo ...

- Agent Byrne *

Jessica Gunning Jessica Gunning is an English television and theatre actress. She was educated at Holmfirth High School near Huddersfield before attending Rose Bruford College, graduating in 2007.

- Agent Romero *

Terry Mynott Terry Mynott (born 21 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, impressionist and singer. He stars as Martin Hurdle in Channel 4’s '' The Mimic'', having previously appeared in ''The Morgana Show'' and '' Very Important People''. In 2022 ...

- Nolan *

Adam Riches Adam Riches (born 29 March 1973) is an English comedian, and 2011 winner of the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award. After his success at the Edinburgh Fringe, he became familiar to UK television audiences through his exaggerated comic parody of act ...

- Flanagan *Joseph Varley - Varley

Supporting Cast

*John Chancer - Randall Rodgers / Captain Steele * James Doherty - Television Producer *Simon Balch - 'Face Swap' Doctor *Roxy Dunn - Girl in Car *Max Dinnen - Guy in Car *Mark Davison - Clive *Nick Raggett - Security Guard *Julian Seager - Shady Guy *Emily Tebbutt - Chris' Body Double *Belle Williams - Police Officer *Micky Woodman - Burger Chef *Daniel Young - Young Mitch *Tommy Young - Young Vince *Simon Varney - Mitch/Vince Body Double *Richard Banks - JCPD Police Officer (uncredited) *Roz Brierley - Hospital Patient (uncredited)

Locations

Whilst the series is mainly shot in at

West London Film Studios West London Film Studios ("WLFS") is a British film studio and television studio complex located in Hayes, Middlesex. The studios cater to small and large productions; for films, television shows, TV adverts and photo shoots. History Frank ...

, there were also some exterior shots and sequences filmed on location. The exterior of Justice City Police Department is filmed at the main entrance to the Dagenham Civic Centre on Rainham Road North, Dagenham Essex, with the JCPD sign above the door digitally composited to replace the crest above the doorway and a city skyline composited behind the building.

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, tt4961788 2015 British television series debuts BBC television sitcoms English-language television shows