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Netflix true crime drama Legends premieres May 7

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Key Points
  • Legends is a six-part true crime drama streaming on Netflix from May 7.
  • The series is based on a true story and inspired by the book The Betrayer by Guy Stanton.
  • Set in the early 1990s, it follows undercover customs officers in Thatcher's war on drugs.

Set in the early 1990s, the show follows a group of customs officers who go undercover to infiltrate Britain's drug gangs as part of Margaret Thatcher's war on drugs. Steve Coogan stars as Don, the head of the top-secret group, and uses his real Northern English accent for the role. According to Daily Mirror - 3am Showbiz, Coogan described it as the first time he has been able to use his unfiltered, native accent in his work.

Tom Burke plays Guy in the series. Other cast members include Charlotte Ritchie, Hayley Squires, and Tom Hughes. The series was adapted for screen by Scottish screenwriter Neil Forsyth.

Like Steve Coogan, or crack, it's one of my life's great shames.

Courtney Love, Musician

Coogan's personal life has also drawn attention. He previously dated Courtney Love, who described their fling as one of her life's great shames on social media. According to Daily Mirror - 3am Showbiz, Coogan described the relationship as 20 per cent cock and 80 per cent bull.

Coogan is father to Clare Coogan Cole with TV producer Anna Cole, and is thought to be dating model and actress Caitlin Walsh since 2021. According to Daily Mirror - Main, Neil Forsyth believes the story of Legends deserves to be told and that they have told it well. He praised the cast as incredible and highlighted Steve Coogan's performance.

Some of it was true, most of it was b******s. To borrow the title of the film [2005's A Cock and Bull Story], it was 20 per cent cock and 80 per cent bull.

Steve Coogan, Actor

The exact real-life events and individuals that inspired the series remain unspecified, and critical reception is not yet available.

I’ve played a lot of different people in my career, and it was quite nice to play someone who is from the North of England, which is where I’m from. It’s the first time I’ve been able to do my unfiltered, native accent, and that’s also quite enjoyable.

Steve Coogan, Actor

He’s no-nonsense and plain speaking, and people who meet him for the first time might consider him to be rude, unfiltered and direct. But they soon learn that he does care very deeply about the welfare of the people who work for him. He’s quite a moral man, despite his bluff, forthright nature, and that’s always an interesting character to play.

Steve Coogan, Actor

I think (the story) deserves to be told and I think we've hopefully told it well. You can worry as a writer about themes and shining lights on areas of society, all that stuff, and it's important and I wouldn't belittle that, and I tried to incorporate that all in my work, but everything needs to be attached to a great story if you're really going to make an impact. And I think that's what we concentrated on and we all worked extremely hard on it.

Neil Forsyth, Screenwriter

They're just an incredible cast. I just can't believe the cast we assembled for it. All just fitted together in such an interesting way. They all brought something different. I thought Steve and Dougie (Douglas Hodge) as the bosses were lovely double act and then Tom and Julie as the Legends but then I think the criminal cast as well were so good because they all brought a bit of humanity to their parts, even though they wer

Neil Forsyth, Screenwriter
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Netflix true crime drama Legends premieres May 7 | Reed News