Top Boy – Picture: Channel 4
Fans of Top Boy had a disappointing start to the year with some of the original show removed from Netflix and likely more to follow. Season 1 of Top Boy: Summerhouse is no longer on Netflix globally but has been relicensed following a recent season 3 renewal of the Netflix series.
Beginning its life on British television on Channel 4, Top Boy is beloved crime drama series created by Ronan Bennett. It ran for two seasons on the UK channel before eventually being canceled.
You can see an excellent breakdown of the history of the show via Netflix’s Still Watching Netflix channel (embedded below). After 6 years of being canceled, the show eventually received a revival on Netflix thanks to an unlikely source. Drake.
The Netflix series returned for a second full season at Netflix (technically season 4) in March 2022 and was given a third and final season order just a few weeks following its drop.
When Netflix revived the show they notably did not add the new season to the original despite technically being the third season.
Instead, Netflix renamed the first two seasons as Top Boy: Summerhouse with Channel 4 branding and gave the new season its own title entirely as just Top Boy with Netflix Original branding.
This is the first major time Netflix did this for a revival. If we look at Black Mirror (similarly acquired from Channel 4 although ownership is somewhat different) all seasons both old and new were and continue to be listed together. Likewise, shows like Lucifer and Designated Survivor are too.
Our working theory was that this meant that Summerhouse would eventually be removed as Netflix lost the license. After all, season 1 departed in January.
That was until April 2022, when we got word on April 14th that season 1 had returned at least to Netflix US. Netflix UK also has the first season streaming again. We’re still monitoring if and when Top Boy: Summerhouse will return to Netflix in all regions.
Netflix lost a number of show’s early seasons at the start of the year. The US lost all of the early seasons of The Great British Baking Show while most Netflix regions internationally lost early seasons of Heartland.
Are you glad Top Boy: Summerhouse is back on Netflix following its initial removal? Let us know in the comments down below.
Rating: TV-MA
