With BBC One’s latest crime drama This City Is Ours lighting up primetime, Jack McMullen steps into the spotlight once again—but this time, it’s different. There’s more weight. More backdrop and more honesty. 

For years, Jack McMullen has quietly built one of the most compelling careers in British television. From early roles in Brookside and Waterloo Road, to critically praised performances in Time and The First Team, McMullen has proven himself not just as a versatile actor, but as someone with range, depth, and an unshakeable sense of character.

Now, with BBC One’s This City Is Ours—a brooding, violent, and heartbreakingly current crime drama—McMullen isn’t just stepping into another role. He’s stepping into a moment.

THE PROJECT: THIS CITY IS OURS

Set in modern-day Liverpool, This City Is Ours follows a fractured group of childhood friends pulled into the escalating world of organized crime. It’s part police drama, part family saga, part existential reflection on what happens when your hometown changes faster than you can survive it.

At the center of the chaos is Liam Bowers, played by McMullen—a character with equal parts guilt and grit. Once a promising student, now deep in the game, Liam is torn between loyalty to his blood and the ever-fading version of himself he thought he’d grow into.

The show isn’t just crime for crime’s sake. It’s personal. It feels lived in. And Jack McMullen makes it believable.

“Liam’s not a villain,” McMullen says. “He’s not a hero, either. He’s someone who took the wrong turn once and just… kept walking. What makes him interesting is he knows it, and it’s eating him alive.”

Directed by BAFTA-winner Aisling Walsh and written by newcomer Tariq Khan, the series blends stylish noir with raw social realism. The result is a show that hits hard—and lingers.

MCCMULLEN’S SHIFT: FROM SUPPORT TO CENTER

Jack McMullen is no stranger to television. He grew up in it. But This City Is Ours feels like the moment the industry is finally seeing what longtime fans already knew: he’s leading-man material.

For years, McMullen has brought nuance to every role he’s taken—whether as a loveable oddball in The First Team, a struggling inmate in Time, or an ambitious techie in Loaded. He’s always had the talent. But this project feels different. It feels like he’s taking control of the narrative—his and his characters’.

“There’s a lot of pressure when you’re playing someone like Liam,” he says. “Not just because of the lines, or the accent, or the physical stuff. But because people like him are real. You’ve seen him at the bus stop. You’ve passed him in the pub. There’s a responsibility there.”

McMullen prepared for the role by working with community organizations, ex-offenders, and former gang outreach workers in Liverpool. He wanted to understand the psychology, not just the aesthetic.

“This isn’t about looking tough on screen,” he says. “It’s about showing what that toughness costs.”

THE CITY AS A CHARACTER

Liverpool isn’t just the backdrop for This City Is Ours—it’s a main character. The show doesn’t flatten the city into grey tower blocks or romantic skylines. It shows the back alleys, the corner shops, the half-abandoned pubs. It shows wealth sitting two postcodes away from poverty. And it shows how that proximity breeds pressure.

“I love this city,” McMullen says. “But it’s complicated. It’s beautiful, but it’s bruised. The show doesn’t shy away from that.”

There’s a clear line in McMullen’s work—an attention to place, a respect for setting. Whether he’s playing a scouser, a Manc, or someone lost in London, his performance is always grounded in context. You believe him because he knows where he is.

PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS VS. PERSONAL GROWTH

With a show like This City Is Ours, expectations inevitably pile up. The trailer alone racked up over three million views within its first week. Twitter/X threads dissect every frame. The pressure to deliver—not just from fans, but from the industry—is massive.

McMullen isn’t immune to it. But he’s also not intimidated by it.

“I’ve learned not to read every headline,” he says. “Because people will decide who you are before you’ve opened your mouth. I just focus on the work. That’s the only thing that’s real.”

He’s not wrong. In an industry obsessed with surface—followers, soundbites, snapshots—McMullen’s focus on craft over clout feels refreshing.

“At the end of the day,” he says, “it’s about telling the truth. If the scene isn’t honest, it’s not worth filming.”

INFLUENCES, MENTORS, AND MISSTEPS

When asked about his influences, McMullen doesn’t name the usual suspects. Instead, he nods to actors like Stephen Graham, Olivia Colman, and Lennie James—performers who move quietly but carry entire shows on their backs.

“They make it look effortless,” he says. “But you know they’ve lived it. You can feel the miles in their performances.”

He’s also quick to talk about his own missteps—roles he regrets, auditions that flopped, moments where he wasn’t ready.

“I’ve done things for the wrong reasons,” he admits. “But you learn. You figure out what matters to you. And for me, it’s never been fame. It’s storytelling.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR MCCMULLEN?

With This City Is Ours making waves, the doors are wide open. But McMullen isn’t in a rush.

“I’m not chasing Hollywood,” he says. “If the right script comes, great. But I’d rather do something small and powerful than big and empty.”

Still, he’s already fielding offers—from streaming platforms, theatre directors, and a couple of indie filmmakers. He’s interested in writing, too. Possibly directing.

“There are stories I want to tell that no one’s written yet,” he says. “Maybe it’s time I start.”

Impression

Jack McMullen is entering a new phase—not just as an actor, but as an artist. He’s no longer the kid on the telly. He’s a grown man with something to say.

This City Is Ours is more than just a show. It’s a challenge: to see complexity where we’re taught to see stereotypes, to listen when we’re told to judge, and to feel empathy in the places we often overlook.

And at the center of it all is McMullen—quietly intense, deeply human, and finally getting the spotlight he’s earned.

“The lights are on,” he says. “Now let’s do something real.”

 

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