Critically-acclaimed drama dropped by BBC after one season
Set against the backdrop of Birmingham and Coventry, the series featured music from legendary local bands including UB40 and The Specials. It followed an extended family and four young people drawn into the explosive and iconic music scene of the early '80s. Steven had hoped This Town would follow in the footsteps of Peaky Blinders and become his next big hit.
When the first series aired in March last year, he made no secret of wanting to continue the story, saying: 'I certainly have enough ideas for more episodes going forward.' He added at the time: 'I hope we are with these characters for a long time to come', however, the BBC has decided not to renew the series.
A BBC spokesman told The Sun : 'We're hugely grateful to Steven Knight (pictured) and the cast and crew for bringing This Town to life — in no small part due to Steven's passion for the West Midlands. We look forward to working with him on new projects in the future, and we're in talks about what's next.' Despite winning the Royal Television Society Award for Limited Series and Single Drama earlier this year, the show lost over a million viewers during its six-week run – pulling in more than 3.2 million for its premiere but failing to maintain those figures.
According to The Sun, a BBC insider confirmed that the decision to axe the show was not due to Steven's busy schedule – which includes the ten-part World War Two epic Roads To Freedom. Nor was it due to the availability of the star-studded cast, which included Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery. Daily Mail has contacted the BBC for comment. However, it's not all bad news for Steven, as he's just been signed to write the latest James Bond movie, Amazon MGM Studios confirmed earlier this week.
The British screenwriter – best known for creating the hit BBC crime drama Peaky Blinders starring Cillian Murphy - said penning a 007 script has always been on his 'bucket list'. The latest Bond film is currently in development and is to be directed by Dune's Denis Villeneuve, with Amazon MGM Studios overseeing the project after longtime producer Barbara Broccoli gave up creative control. Meanwhile, Amy Pascal and David Heyman are on board to produce the movie via Pascal Pictures and Heyday Films, respectively, while Tanya Lapointe will serve as executive producer.
Speaking about his involvement in the film, Steven told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast : 'It has always been on my bucket list and it's fantastic to be invited to do it - I can't wait to get started. 'I'm hoping that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will be imbued into me and I will be able to produce something that's the same but different, and better, stronger and bolder.' However, Steven failed to give any indication about who will replace Daniel Craig in the titular role.
The actor, 57, stepped down from the iconic spy role after 2021's No Time To Die, having starred in five of the films over a 15-year period. Several actors have been tipped to step into his shoes, with stars including Taron Egerton, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Mescal, and Theo James thrown into the mix. When pressed on who could be the new Bond, he responded: 'That is a very, very good question, and one I can't give you the answer to'.
The last outing for James Bond was 2021's No Time to Die , with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga on the writing team. Speaking of the selection process for the latest film, Steven shared: 'I was invited to a meeting with [producer] Amy Pascal, didn't know what it was about, and very quickly discovered what it was about and became very, very excited and hopeful. And then a process is followed where you do some meetings, you discuss some ideas, and then you find out you've got it. So I found out a while ago, but it was announced last night, which is great.' He added that it was a 'high pressure' job, before noting: 'you've just got to do what you do, do it as well as you can'.
It comes after Taron Egerton responded to speculation that he could be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig's exit. Many A-list names have been thrown into the ring during the months of speculation about who will play 007 next following Amazon's takeover of the franchise. Rocketman star Taron, 35, has been rumoured to be in the running to be Bond as far back as 2019, with Sir Roger Moore 's son Geoffrey even backing him for the role.
However, Taron has now dashed fans' hopes as he poured cold water on the idea, insisting he is too 'messy' to play the suave secret agent. 'I don't think I'm a good choice for it, I think I'm too messy for that,' he told Collider. 'I really love James Bond and particularly Daniel Craig's tenure, but I think I wouldn't be good at it. I think there's so many cool, younger actors who would be great for it, I think it would be wasted on me, probably.' Taron also acknowledged that taking on the Bond mantel is quite an undertaking and insisted nobody has actually approached him about the role. But he didn't rule out taking on another major commercial project as he revealed he wouldn't turn down a different opportunity, though he remained coy about what that might be.
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