Here’s Why Everyone’s Talking About Brassic

It may have just missed out on a National Television Award, but everyone’s talking about Brassic. Why? The first four series just landed on Netflix in the UK, bringing the Sky original series to a whole new audience. Created by Joe Gilgun and Danny Brocklehurst, it’s one of Sky’s most successful comedy series of all time, with a star-studded ensemble cast including Gilgun himself along with Michelle Keegan, Damien Malony and Aaron Heffernan. If you, like us, have raced through all four seasons on Netflix already, you might be wondering whether a fifth season is on the cards. Here are all of the details.

Steve Evets (Farmer Jim), Bhavna Limbachia (Meena), Joe Gilgun (Vinnie), Michelle Keegan (Erin) & Ryan Sampson (Tommo) in Brassic series 5. (© Sky UK Limited)

Is There A Brassic Series 5?

Yes, a fifth season of Brassic aired from September to November in 2023, with a Christmas special episode also aired on 21 December 2023. If you’ve been watching on Netflix, you’ll have to make a switch to watch it: Brassic season 5 is streaming exclusively on NOW, Sky’s streaming platform.

First look at Brassic series 6 (© Sky UK Limited)

Will There Be A Brassic Series 6?

Yes, series 6 of Brassic has already been filmed, and it will launch on Sky and NOW on 26 September 2024. What’s on the cards? After the explosive end to series 5, the gang will be back together for more wild adventures and hilarity. The official synopsis reads: ‘Reeling from the explosive encounter with Manolito, they set about getting their lives back in order. Only now the landscape is changing, people are getting older and the question of growing up looms in the air. But what does “growing up” mean to a bunch like this?

‘Season 6 is a madcap journey involving man-eating crocodiles, bigamists and a naked cult,’ the synopsis continues. ‘The MacDonaghs are creating trouble again, stepping it up a gear as they get high on new-found power. And amongst all this, we’re taken on an emotional roller coaster, with some heartfelt goodbyes and new love interests on the horizon.’

Excited? Watch the trailer below.

Will It Be The Final Season?

If ‘heartfelt goodbyes’ in the synopsis has you worried, don’t: Brassic has already been renewed for a seventh season, with production officially underway. ‘Season 7! How did this happen?!?’ series co-creator and writer Brocklehurst said on the news. ‘Brassic is a delight to make and it’s a privilege to create more chaos for our loyal and loving audience.’

Joe Gilgun (Vinnie) in Brassic series 5. (© Sky UK Limited)

Who Stars In Brassic?

The ensemble cast includes:

• Joe Gilgun as Vinnie O’Neill
• Michelle Keegan as Erin Croft
• Damien Molony as Dylan Golding
• Tom Hanson as Cardi Titt
• Aaron Heffernan as Ash Dennings
• Ryan Sampson as Tommo Schaftner
• Parth Thakerar as JJ
• Steve Evets as Farmer Jim
• Dominic West as Dr Chris Cox
• Ramon Tikaram as Terence McCann
• Bronagh Gallagher as Carol Dennings
• Tadhg Murphy as Gary Cullen
• Joanna Higson as Sugar Jones
• Neil Ashton as Davey MacDonagh
• Rachid Sabitri as Manolito Calvo
• Bhavna Limbachia as Meena
• Camille Cottin as Fiona Frank

Meanwhile, high profile guest stars  in the Christmas special included Greg Davies as Dick Dolphin – the owner of Winter Wonderland – and Imelda Staunton as Edie, Chris Cox’s elderly aunt.

Bronagh Gallagher (Carol), Mark O’Halloran (Francis), Bhavna Limbachia (Meena), Aaron Heffernan (Ash), Ryan Sampson (Tommo) & Joe Gilgun (Vinnie) in Brassic series 5. (© Sky UK Limited)

Where Is It Filmed?

Brassic is set in Hawley, a fictional town in the Rossendale Valley. In reality, the series is filmed in Bacup, a Lancashire town near Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, which has become a home from home for the cast, who return to the tight-knit town with each series. ‘Everyone is so lovely there,’ star Michelle Keegan tells Sky. ‘And because it’s a small community as well, I think as soon as they get wind that we’re filming there, everyone just wants to come out and get involved and see it, see the crew and say hello. So it’s a really nice place to film.’

More Brassic filming locations include:

• The Star & Garter pub in central Manchester, where scenes at the gang’s go-to hangout, The Crow’s Nest, are filmed.
• The woodlands of Arley Hall, Cheshire, which is where Vinnie’s shack has been filmed from season 3 onwards; before that, it was in the woods in Bolton.
• Frederick Road Campus at Salford University, which is where Dr Cox’s surgery scenes are filmed.
• The outskirts of Burnley, where the real farm that stands in for Farmer Jim’s farm can be found.
• Ashton-under-Lyne, where Erin’s house can be found.
• Salford, near the AJ Bell Stadium, which is where the traveller site is located from series 3 onwards; before that, it was located at Eastlands.
• Haigh Hall in Wigan, which is where the wedding episode takes place in series 2.
• Blackpool’s North Pier, which stands into the Molden Pier amusement arcade in series 5.

Ryan Sampson (Tommo), Muzz Khan (Adyan), Joe Gilgun (Vinnie) & Neil Ashton (Davey) in Brassic series 5. (© Sky UK Limited)

Is Hawley A Real Town?

No, Hawley is not a real town, but series creator Joe Gilgun has confirmed much of the series is based on his experiences growing up locally in Chorley. It’s hard not to notice the resemblance between those two place names…

‘I can’t really go into it too much because I’m going to get in trouble in Chorley!’ Gilgun tells Sky. ‘All I’ll say is some of it happened, some of it is loosely based on reality and some of it we made up. You’ll have to guess what’s what!’

Some of the characters are also based on real people. ‘What I’ve done is hidden some clues to these people where only the person in question be able to be like, “Well that is f*cking supposed to be me, then!”,’ Gilgun says.

So why was Chorley so inspiring versus, say, Manchester? ‘It’s because it is not like the centre of Manchester, it’s on the far outskirts and is a very rural setting,’ series writer Brocklehurst says. ‘Taking the stories that Joe has told and setting them in an urban environment just didn’t feel right, so we wanted to stay in a rural setting.’

WATCH

Seasons 1–4 of Brassic are streaming now on Netflix. All five seasons are streaming now on NOW. Brassic season 6 kicks off on Sky and NOW on 26 September 2024.