Barry Keoghan is set to lead and executive produce "Jonny Boy", a five-episode Netflix prequel to the BAFTA-winning crime drama "Top Boy", reprising his role as Irish gang figure Jonny McGee. The series, produced by Cowboy Films and Keoghan's own company Wolfcub, extends the franchise following its acclaimed 2023 finale and underlines Netflix's continued investment in the "Top Boy" universe, which built a large following after Drake helped revive it in 2017.

Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett returns to write the prequel, Drake remains on board as an executive producer, and Ali Abbasi ("The Apprentice", "The Last of Us") will direct, with filming due to start in 2027. Jonny McGee was introduced in the fifth and final season of "Top Boy", which aired in 2023 and won the BAFTA for best drama in 2024; the original series ran on Channel 4 from 2011 before Netflix revived it with stars Ashley Walters and Kane Robinson. Netflix's UK content chief Anne Mensah announced the news at the Edinburgh TV Festival.