A Jaq Spin-Off Could Be the Perfect Next Move for Top Boy

It’s rare for a hit TV show to end quite as definitively as Top Boy. The London-set crime drama finished in September 2023 with a full stop instead of a comma. After five acclaimed series (two on its original Channel 4 home before cancellation and three after its Drake-assisted revival on Netflix) the series came to a close, and fans had to wave goodbye to the Summerhouse Estate.

But not for too long. Soon after the final series concluded, Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett published a tie-in novel Jaq: A Top Boy Story, which is out now in paperback. It’s the story of the Summerhouse gang as told from the perspective of one of its lieutenants who climbed the ranks all the way to a major confrontation with the gang leaders – Jaq, as played by Jasmine Jobson.

On the promotional circuit for the paperback release, Bennett announced that he was in discussions with Netflix about a potential new Top Boy TV spin-off, with the involvement of the show’s celebrity executive producer Drake.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live’s Nihal Arthanayake, as reported by Deadline, Bennett said: “We are talking to Netflix about a spin-off, which will be around Jaq.” He went on to emphasise that the talks were provisional and there were no guarantees as yet.

As a reminder, Jobson’s Jaq is a fan-favourite character who started out running the corners and “youngers” as a lieutenant in the Summerhouse gang. Quickly, her initiative and dedication earned her a promotion from gang leader Dushane (Ashley Walters) on his character’s return from Jamaica. Jaq took over from Dris, but her life became complicated when her sister Lauryn was revealed to have accidentally leaked gang secrets to their rivals, leading to an attempt on the life of Summerhouse boss Sully (Kano).

Things got worse for Jaq after Lauryn became involved with an abusive partner, and then turned to drugs while pregnant. Her sister’s story eventually made Jaq want to leave the criminal life behind, and she tried to trade her way to a safe exit for her girlfriend and baby nephew. Whether or not her final words in the show “Everything’s going to be okay” turned out to be true or not though, was left up to the viewer to decide.

Some viewers chose to decide that Jaq was the hoody-wearing killer behind a pivotal assassination in the show’s final moments, but Jobson has so far kept her powder dry on that front. She told The Guardian in November 2023 “I have no idea. Everybody’s asking. I’m hearing so many conspiracy theories. I like hearing everything, but I’ve no idea.”

If the potential spin-off moves forward, Top Boy fans should get an answer to their theory as well as the next chapter in the life of one of the show’s break-out characters. Will Jaq succeed in getting away from dealing? What will happen to her baby nephew? And if she is found to have pulled the trigger in that Top Boy finale, will she face repercussions?

If Netflix wants the spin-off, it had better move fast as Jobson’s star is rising. She recently led ITVX’s supernatural thriller Platform 7, she’s about to co-star once again with Top Boy series three and Saltburn‘s Barry Keoghan in Andrea Arnold’s next film Bird, and has filmed a role in the forthcoming Hamlet film with Riz Ahmed in the lead role. The clock’s ticking…

Top Boy is available to stream now on Netflix.