James Nelson-Joyce says The city is ours is heading back into Liverpool’s criminal world in series two, and Michael is being pulled away from the life he wanted with Diana. The new run starts after the end of series one, with the couple in Happy Town in Spain before crime drags them back in.
"I'd describe it as the New York of the UK," Nelson-Joyce said of Liverpool, tying the show’s appeal to a city that keeps drawing attention from across the world. He said he was shocked when he read the script for the final episode: "When I read the script for the final episode, I was shocked!"
Michael and Diana in Spain
The first break in the story comes at the beginning of series two, when Michael and Diana arrive in their Spanish Happy Town in love and trying to build a life outside the old violence. That setup gives the show a clean pivot point: the relationship is not the problem, the return of the criminal world is.
Michael’s investigation into Ricardo’s murder pushes him into difficult territory, and the new plot turns his private choice into a practical one. He has to devise a plan that depends on Diana’s cooperation, which keeps the series focused on loyalty rather than simple survival.
Ozzie Thompson and the Phelan firm
Felipe joins series two as a new Colombian character, while Ozzie Thompson enters as a newly-released old-school gangster from Ronnie’s past looking for compensation or revenge. At the same time, a coup within the Phelan firm sends the business into disarray in Liverpool, and the Phelans start exploring business opportunities with a new supplier.
Freddie forms an unlikely friendship with Ozzie, which gives the new run another moving part inside the same conflict. Michael may have to once again join forces with the Phelans, so the story keeps forcing him toward the world he tried to leave.
Liverpool’s pull back
James Nelson-Joyce said filming in Liverpool again has been amazing, and he said people from across the world have been asking where the locations and restaurants are. He also described the city as very working-class and pointed to its architecture, river, natural parks, docks and less-gentrified areas.
That matters because the series is not just revisiting a setting; it is using Liverpool as the place where every character’s next choice gets sharper. Michael wants a life with Diana, but series two keeps testing whether he can stay outside crime when the pressure keeps pulling him back to Liverpool.
