Will Toxic Town Experience The Mr Bates Effect?

Netflix is making headlines after unveiling its smog-covered billboards promoting Toxic Town yesterday – the streamer’s first ever promotional material to take an environmental stance. The digital posters use air quality data from Accuweather to overlay an image of series stars Claudia Jessie, Jodie Whittaker, Aimee Lou Wood and Karla Crome with smog – with a thicker cloud floating across the screen in areas where the real air quality is poorer.

It’s topical for the factual drama, which chronicles the real Corby mothers’ fight for justice when polluted air from a poorly handled steel plant closure lead to upper limb differences in their children. You can read the full true story underpinning the drama here, but if Toxic Town left you with questions, you’re not alone. Here’s where our minds wandered after watching.

3 Questions We Had After Watching Toxic Town

Aimee Lou Wood as Tracy in Episode 4 of Toxic Town. (Ben Blackall/Netflix © 2024)

Who Are The Real Mothers?

Nineteen families fought Corby Borough Council for its mishandling of toxic waste, supported by lawyer Des Collins. Collins is played by Rory Kinnear in Toxic Town, and mother Susan McIntyre (Jodie Whittaker) is at the heart of the series, whose son Connor was born with a limb difference – with their story based on real people and real events.

We also hone in on Tracey Taylor (Aimee Lou Wood), whose daughter died at just four days old, and Maggie Mahon (Claudia Jessie), whose son Sam was born with a club foot – both based on real people who provided Netflix and its cast with vital experience to draw on in the series.

Sam Hagen (Robert Carlyle) is also based on a real person who sadly passed away in 2022. Sam played a key role in the fight against Corby Borough Council after he was alerted to unsafe practices at the steel plant reclamation site.

Aimee Lou Wood as Tracy, Jodie Whittaker as Susan, Karla Crome as Pattie in Episode 3 of Toxic Town. (Ben Blackall/Netflix © 2024)

Will Toxic Town Experience The Mr Bates Effect?

Described as the ‘British Erin Brokovich’, Toxic Town follows the huge success of ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, a four-part drama which revitalised interest in the Post Office scandal and sped up the course of justice for its victims. Will the same happen with Toxic Town? Only time will tell – but we know the case was already closed and settled for £14.6 million in 2009. The function of Toxic Town is more to shed light than to reopen old wounds.

Toby Eden, Jodie Whittaker & Matthew James Hinchliffe in Toxic Town. (© Ben Blackall/Netflix)

What Does It Mean For Environmental Rulings?

Toxic Town sheds light on the tragic consequences of lax environmental rules and the mismanagement of toxic waste. The settlement was a landmark ruling in environmental law: it was the first legal case to link airborne pollution with limb differences in children. Hence the common comparison with Erin Brokovich, who fought for justice against Pacific Gas and Electric for contaminating the water supply in Hinkley, California.

As the UK moves away from EU environmental standards and the US rolls back its pollution regulations, Toxic Town serves as a stark warning: environmental issues are health issues. While Toxic Town and the Corby toxic waste case seem like a one-time worst-case-scenario, it’s actually an example of what happens when environmental safeguards are pushed to the wayside in favour of profit and efficiency. As Des says at the end of the drama, ‘A town that is made by burning up red tape and using it as fuel does so much damage.’

WATCH

All four episodes of Toxic Town are streaming on Netflix now. netflix.com