New BBC drama series Mint follows Shannon, the daughter of a crime boss, played by Emma Laird. It charts her journey as she meets Ben Coyle-Larner's character Arran, a boy she falls in love with, but who's situation puts him at odds with her family.
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The series may nominally be a crime drama, but it shows very little of the specifics surrounding the criminal world it inhabits. We don't see the operations of the family, but instead focus on the individuals within it and their interpersonal, emotional relationships.
The series comes from Scrapper writer and director Charlotte Regan, who spoke exclusively with Radio Times about what inspired her to create the series.
"I think it came from watching a lot of stuff like this on TV, and seeing some of the characters I wanted to see," he said. "Like a character like Shannon, who's really shut off from the world but then going through quite a lot, or a character like Arran who has so much vulnerability.
"So, I think it came from loving that stuff – I love gangster films, I love crime TV – but wanting to see more about the intimate moments between what we see on screen."
When asked about why the series doesn't include any details or portray any of what the crime family actually does, Regan explained: "I think it's just knowing that so many shows do that and do it really well, and you probably don't need me to throw my project into that as well."
"There's probably a lot of them doing it on a bigger budget as well – our shootouts would have been looking cheap if we did gang scenes," she added, laughing.
Ben Coyle-Larner as Arran and Emma Laird as Shannon in Mint. House/Fearless Minds/BBC
"But no, I guess I'm interested in what people are speaking about and the emotional relationships between people. So I think it also comes from, it's not what I want to see.
"I want to know what Arran is struggling with emotionally, or I want to know about Shannon's relationship with her dad. I don't want to see all the men sat in rooms planning big gangland bits."
As well as Laird and Coyle-Larner, the drama also stars Sam Riley (Firebrand), Laura Fraser (Patience), Lewis Gribben (Black Mirror) and Lindsay Duncan (Sherwood).
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The official synopsis for Mint says that it's a "story about soaring romance, crushing heartbreak and what love might feel like when everyone outside of your family is terrified of you".
Mint will begin airing on BBC One at 9pm on Monday 20 April, with all episodes available on BBC iPlayer that day at 6am.
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James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
