Set here in the West Midland's, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight's new television series "This Town" is soon to be released. I'm here on the red carpet at Birmingham Town Hall for a special screening of the first episode of what Steven Knight calls a "love letter" to the region.
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00:00 You know, what I wanted to do was tell this Birmingham commentary story through four or
00:08 five central characters who are all in difficult situations.
00:14 It's a family story, really, first and foremost.
00:17 It's about that time in your life when you're a teenager, when you're really discovering
00:22 who you are.
00:23 While embracing universal themes, this town remains deeply rooted in the region's culture,
00:29 it's clear that those involved took great care to capture the West Midlands spirit authentically.
00:36 It definitely does.
00:37 I mean, that's not to say that people from other places can't play Birmingham characters,
00:42 they can, but it is, for some reason, I don't know why, it's a difficult accent to get.
00:48 Stephen writes in such a way that kind of captures that just on the page, so you fall
00:54 into a rhythm with it anyway, and even though my accent is very close to my own, it's still
01:01 serving that writing.
01:04 In this production, music also played a pivotal role, Scar serving as a symbol of unity, regardless
01:11 of individual backgrounds.
01:13 Well, the selection for us, the style is based around Scar, two-tone and reggae, and that
01:21 music, what they have together is, they have a voice, they have a voice of change.
01:27 The premiere tonight brought together leaders of Birmingham's cultural scene to celebrate
01:31 the work of the man who turned the spotlight on their city and presented it to the world.
01:37 Well, we're good friends with Stephen Knight, and he supports us in everything we do, we
01:43 support him in everything he does, so we're excited to, I mean, this whole thing is very
01:49 relevant to us anyway, you know, and the birth of the band and the place we come from, so
01:54 we're fascinated to see what he's doing, you know, I can't wait.