Step aside Romeo and Juliet, we've got a new crime love story to obsess over – BBC's Mint. It's been a good time for new releases, from Netflix's Beef to Channel 5's Missed Call.
The eight-part series is created, written, directed, and executive-produced by Charlotte Regan, and follows a forbidden romance plot set in a wider gangster drama. Sign us up.
Here's what we know so far about Mint, including who makes up the stellar cast for the new BBC series.
What is Mint about?
A synopsis reads: "Twenty-two-year-old Shannon is the daughter of the dominant crime family in the area. Standing in the shadow of her father Dylan, she is desperately searching for romance and falls head over heels for Arran, a member of a rival crime family which has recently arrived in town. They develop a deep bond that changes both their lives for good, but not everyone around them is willing to accept it.
“While Shannon and Arran are pursuing their forbidden love, elsewhere things are imploding for Shannon’s family. However, rather than focusing on the crime world or the politics of succession, our gaze is directed towards the distinct emotional worlds of Shannon’s family – her parents Dylan and Cat, her older brother Luke and her indomitable grandma Ollie.”
Mint cast
Here's who you may recognise from the cast of Mint:
Emma plays female protagonist Shannon, whose romance with Arran (Loyle Carner) is the forbidden love that lies at the centre of the series. Having grown up around crime – with her dad at the centre of a criminal organisation, no less – she is now navigating matters of the heart while her family deal with their own dramas.
Emma has already opened up about the importance of Mint's “female-centric storytelling”. “I've spent a very long time playing people's girlfriends and not having much of a story arc, but this is a great project with great people,” she says. “You really see into the souls of the women, which I think will make the show really special, and not just for a female audience. We need something with heart, to rest our eyes from violence, and audiences needs a break from guns and fights, right? You need those moments of stillness, heart and story, and Mint has so much of that.”
You may have seen Emma in recent releases from the 28 Days Later horror franchise, including 28 Years Later and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
You may recognise him as musician Loyle Carner (see what he did with his real name to make his stage name?) but the star has now moved into TV star territory, playing protagonist Shannon's love interest Arran. The key problem? He's a member of a rival crime family, of course.
“This is my first acting role so, as a student of the game, I was excited for that, every day has been a dream for me. I'm here to learn, and I've learned a lot,” he told the BBC.
"I'm in a super privileged position where I can do this for the love, not money, because I have a job already. So, it's taken me a long time, a lot of things have been put in front of me, but I was getting sent a lot of things that were like a stereotype. I knew of Charli already through Harris [Dickinson] and Molly Manning Walker. I met her just by chance, on the market near my house and I went over and was like ‘I'm such a big fan of your film.’ She said she was making a TV show, and I should audition for it. I didn't really think much of it. I wanted to do it, obviously, but I thought there's no way and then to read it, to fall in love with it, to understand what she does, was a real blessing for me. She took a risk on me, which I'm very grateful for."
Better Call Saul star Laura plays Cat in Mint, who she describes as the “middle matriarch” – the wife of a crime boss and Shannon's mum. “For me, my character has no connection to crime in any way, other than being in denial about the fact that is where their money comes from,” Laura told the BBC.
“It's all about Cat’s relationship with her daughter, her relationship with her husband, how she’s being perceived by people. That's a big one for her, she’s so obsessed with how she appears and how the outsider perceives her. It's very much about the relationships and the character struggles, certainly for the women. Actually, I think for the men too.”
Riley – who you may have seen in Netflix's Rebecca and 2010's rendition of Brighton Rock – plays the crime boss himself, Dylan. “It's the most impressive thing about this job for my son, that I'm working with Loyle Carner,” he told the BBC. “Ben's new to acting but he has a natural gift of charisma and charm, and he's a performer. He's doing a brilliant job on this, and he's a lovely guy.”
He is also set to star in season 2 of Black Doves alongside Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and co.
The Morning Show and The Death of Bunny Munro star Lindsay Duncan will play Ollie, the grandmother within the Mint crime family.
“She's such a strong flavour and challenging to everyone around her and has a very healthy sexual appetite. As an older woman, I find that rather pleasing,” she told the BBC.
Other Mint cast members to look it for are Connor Newall (28 Years Later: The Bone Temple) as Liangelo, Neil Leiper as Sam, Thierry Mabonga (I Swear) as Spencer, Gordon Brown (no, not the politician) as Eddie, Russ Bain as Ben and Murray Fraser as Jasper.
