Sean Bean to star in BBC crime drama 'This City is Ours'

May 28 (UPI) -- Sean Bean will star in the new BBC crime drama This City is Ours.

The BBC announced casting for the show in a press release Tuesday.

Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings) will star with James Nelson-Joyce, Hannah Onslow, Jack McMullen and Julie Graham.

Other cast members include Laura Aikman, Kevin Harvey, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Mike Noble, Bobby Schofield, Darci Shaw and Stephen Walters.

This City is Ours is created by Stephen Butchard (The Good Mothers, The Last Kingdom) and directed by Saul Dibb. The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures will produce for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.

Bean will play gang leader Ronnie Phelan, with Nelson-Joyce as Ronnie's friend Michael Kavanagh, Onslow as Michael's partner Hannah Onslow and McMullen as Ronnie's son, Jamie Phelan. Graham will portray Ronnie's wife, Elaine, who heads the Phelan family alongside her husband.

This City is Ours follows the romance between Michael (Nelson-Joyce) and Diana (Onslow), set against the disintegration of Michael's crime gang.

The show "explores what happens when Ronnie's son Jamie (McMullen) decides he wants to inherit their kingdom and that there is no longer a place for Michael at the table. Both Michael and Jamie have bold ideas to modernize the gang and they will battle for control of it. But Michael's biggest battle will be to save the woman he loves and the child he has always wanted," an official synopsis reads.

Production is underway in Liverpool and Spain.

"It's an absolute honor to be a part of this exciting show. I knew from reading the first episode that I had to take on this compelling story of crime, loyalty and above all, love," Nelson-Joyce said.

This City is Ours will consist of eight episodes.