BBC This Town fans go wild over new drama but left issuing major complaint

Sunday night saw the arrival of the BBC’s big new drama This Town – and while fans praised the scenes and music of the show, they were less kind about the accents.

The new BBC show comes from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and explores the rise of the ska music scene against a backdrop of civil and social unrest. The show includes a large ensemble cast including Levi Brown as Dante Williams, Michelle Dockery as Estella and Eve Austin as Jeannie Keefe.

The actions take the cast of characters and drama to several locations – including Birmingham, Coventry and Northern Ireland. The show also includes music on the soundtrack from bands and performers including Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, UB40, Sir Tom Jones and Desmond Dekker.

But while the drama, characterisation, dialogue and soundtrack have all been praised by those at home watching the show on TV, many have taken to social media to complain about one thing: the accents. Many viewers have agreed that Midlands and Birmingham accents can be tough to emulate – but some have even suggested they were forced to abandon watching the show after becoming so distracted by the acting.

One viewer grumbled online: “Enjoying this so far but dislike their fake Birmingham accents. The Brummie accent doesn’t sound like that. #ThisTown.” Another wrote: “Not sure about the Brummie accent. #ThisTown. But hoping it will improve. These were my times.” A very unimpressed fan wrote: “F**king awful attempt at a Brummie accent #ThisTown” – along with a crying-with-laughter emoji. And another fumed: “#ThisTown Accent issues ….. I cannot overlook.”

A more sympathetic viewer wrote: “Say what you like about accents from the midlands, they are f**king hard to do for actors. Nothing sticks out more than a bad Midlands accent! #ThisTown #BBCiPlayer.” But another complained: “I have had Brummie mates most of my life so I am used to the accent but I have no idea what the blonde lady is saying #thistown.”

Some viewers sadly couldn’t stand the accents at all – and were forced to reach for the remote. One wrote on X: “Turned it off. Too many blag accents. #ThisTown.” And with some scenes set in Northern Ireland, others had issues with the actors attempting to emulate the accents there too. One grumbled: “Same with the Irish accents but I just give it the 8th wall #ThisTown.”

The six-part drama is airing on BBC One on Sunday nights – however, the full show is already available to watch on iPlayer. Show star Michelle Dockery explained that the show will be a nostalgia-fueled romp for those who lived in the ‘80s, telling OK! magazine: “I loved being back in the 80s… The production side is incredible. You’d spot certain things like the old Fairy Liquid bottles. Things like that took me right back to my childhood. And the costumes and the whole world. It was really fun to be part of it, seeing shop windows with advertising for milk for 50p!”