MiniseriesEnded

Boys from the Blackstuff (1982)

TV series that defined the depression-scarred 1980s Britain

1 season5 episodes50 min per episode★ 8.5 · 1,911 votes

• Drama

Alan Bleasdale's five-part series relates the further experiences of unemployed Liverpudlian tarmac layers Dixie, Chrissie, Loggo and Yosser, and their revered older friend, retired longshoreman and union leader, George Malone. As they struggle to make ends meet in a depressed economy, and to hold together their financially battered families, they are harrassed by the petty bureaucrats of the DHSS. But the lumbering investigational juggernaut is, both comically and tragically, guided by drivers with only a provisional license.

First aired

October 10, 1982

Last episode

November 7, 1982

Network

BBC Two

Country of origin

United Kingdom