Tin Star: Liverpool | Shaoxing Chocolate Chip Group Co.,Ltd

By Alex Fletcher

Published: 10 December 2020, 7.39pm | 5 min read

By Press Association

Published: 10 December 2020, 7.39pm | 5 min read

The jaw-dropping beauty of the Canadian Rockies has been left behind for the third and final season of Tin Star, but fans of Tim Roth's action-packed thriller can still expect the show's usual and unique mix of dark humour, family dynamics and thrills.

"Liverpool, there was an anarchy there," explains Roth, who returns for his final outing as troubled former copper Jack Worth.

"There is a wildness to it. We were doing the Wild West for the first two seasons and this was wilder than that!"

The third season, six razor-sharp episodes set in the heart of Liverpool, finds the Worth family coming home to the UK to confront the enemies and foes who had forced them out into the Canadian wilderness in the first place.

Funny, bleak, romantic and chaotic, Tin Star: Liverpool is the sort of series you’ll find hard not to binge in a single evening.

The full box set is available on Sky Atlantic with NOW and we caught up with the cast and executive producer Alison Jackson to talk about Tin Star's final chapter.

"We were so blessed in Canada with the incredible landscapes that made it easy to look cinematic and ambitious," said executive producer Alison Jackson.

"It's different in Liverpool. Liverpool is in itself a majestic city. It's such a city of contrasts and optimism. We spent a long while talking about the look of season 3. We wanted a nod to the first two seasons, but we wanted a new urban look. That was a big challenge.

"Liverpool did us proud and it's cinematic in a different way."

The change of location has given the show's writers and actors a whole new world to play with and helps them avoid repeating themselves.

Genevieve O’Reilly, who plays Angela Worth, said that the "welcoming" locals would make the filming experience a lifelong memory, and said that a day where they were all gathered together in Everton FC gear with extras bused in from Sheffield and Manchester would always stay with her.

"We were all having cups of tea and rubbing shoulders and it was really special. I’m so aware right now that those sorts of scenes couldn't happen and I feel so lucky that we got to shoot that," she said.

Roth added: "Weren't some of them Liverpool supporters dressed as Everton supporters as well? That caused all sorts of furore."

Abigail Lawrie has spent two seasons of Tin Star ‘impressing’ Tim Roth with her vocal skills during backstage moments on set.

"It came from her ability to sing your ears off," he joked.

Anna Worth is reunited with her family in the season 3 opener at a drag night in a Liverpool karaoke club and it was the perfect place for the reunion after two seasons of Lawrie's warbling off camera.

"We would be in Canada and the weather was stopping play, we couldn't film and I’d be in the car with these guys [Abigail and Genevieve]. They would have a sing-off, for real," said Roth.

"They know the lyrics to everything. It was showtune central. We had to have that scene happen in season 3. The fact we find her onstage in a karaoke club, it only seemed natural to me. It was organic."

It was Lawrie's first day back on set and the young actress admits she was "absolutely bricking it" when filming started.

"We had a choice of songs and of course I chose the Spice Girls. After we did it once, it was like being on a night out," she said.

"All the drag queens on set were amazing. It was one of my favourite days ever filming.

"I remember thinking I nailed it, but then listening back it was a bit, ‘Ooh, that's a bit pitchy’. But it was so much fun."

O’Reilly added: "You were so good. You had to sing again and again. Those drag queens were in eight-inch heels and they just danced and danced. It was just glorious."

How do you end a series like Tin Star? After three seasons of tension, action and cat-and-mouse, it's a tricky challenge to deliver a worthy finale.

O’Reilly believes that the third season does finally give some closure to her character and answer the questions hanging over from season two.

"I think our writers and creators really did us justice in really digging and understanding her choices," she said.

"We understand her drive and her need to escape to Canada because of what we discover in Liverpool."

What to watch next

"The show is so wild. It could go any which way. I had no idea how it would end," said Roth.

"For me, it was a journey into a backstory. We’d heard glimpses of who they once were and we’d sown seeds of that when we knew were heading back to Liverpool and back home. But it's a wild journey for everybody. We’re going to show who they were and then slowly reveal who they are."

"Season 3 helped me understand the complexity of Angela," said O’Reilly.

"I love how complicated she is. I knew she was troubled, I knew she had a fractured past and that she was escaping it. But season 3 really allowed me to discover her. I think that's one of my favourite things is that I got to play different versions of her and by season 3, we got the whole woman."

Lawrie said fans could look forward to a more "bad-ass" version of Anna in Liverpool.

"She knows exactly what she wants, she's decisive and she goes after it. I love that about her," said Lawrie.

"She knows how to use a gun. There's a lot of cool things I got to do in season 3. She's a woman who knows exactly what she wants and she's fiercely loyal. I like that about her."

Roth admits he's probably struggled the most as Tin Star drew to a conclusion.

"At the end of it and leading up to the end, I found it incredibly hard," he said.

"I hated that it was ending and it was one of the most challenging times I’ve ever had. I didn't want it to stop. I felt withdrawals."

The show's writers and creators announced officially that Tin Star: Liverpool would be the show's last season, but if fans are desperate for more is there really no chance of a comeback?

"I know the ending and I think yes, it could come back," said Jackson.

"We went into season 3 thinking that the big conclusion to the overarching story, But never say never. It's three amazing characters and there's more to find out about them for sure. But for now, this is it."

"There is only a point in doing more series of anything if there's something more to be said. But these three are endlessing interesting to me."

Roth joked: "It will be the next Marvel franchise."

Watch Tin Star: Liverpool on December 10 on Sky Atlantic with NOW Entertainment Membership.

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