'Toxic Town' Netflix Series With Jodie Whittaker and Robert Carlyle Gets First Look & What We Know So Far

Toxic Town First Look – Photo Credit: Ben Blackall/Netflix

There are a bunch of big new series coming out of the United Kingdom throughout 2025, but one of our most anticipated is Toxic Town, which comes from the same production team behind Black Mirror. The new four-part limited series will tell the real-life Corby Toxic Waste Case story that dominated headlines in the UK. Here’s everything you need to know, including the brand-new first-look picture.

It’s been several years in the making, with the streamer having first announced the project on August 10th 2023. Jack Thorne, whose credits include National Treasure, Wonder, Enola Holmes, and more, is helming the project as the main writer with the exception of episode 3, which is co-written with Amy Trigg (Ralph & Katie). Minkie Spiro is directing all four episodes of Toxic Town. Her credits include Better Call Saul, Downton Abbey, and the upcoming Netflix series 3 Body Problem. Tony Miller serves as director of photography.

As mentioned, Black Mirror producers Broke & Bones (run by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones) are working on the series with executive producers, including Annabel Jones, Jack Thorne, Minkie Spiro, and Delyth Scudamore. Broke & Bones works with Netflix under an elaborate investment deal struck in 2020. Speaking about the project when it was first announced, Jones said:

“We are thrilled to be working with the hugely talented Jack Thorne. He is the voice of this generation and brings an intelligence, an intensity and an empathy to the human story behind this landmark case. Jack compassionately explores the interplay between a local community’s desire for economic prosperity and the environmental and human cost. A story which is as pertinent today as it was then.”

What’s the plot of Toxic Town?

The real-life legal battle following the Corby poisoning inspires the four-part limited series. Corby is a Northamptonshire town once home to a steelworks which closed in 1981 – but not before a massive amount of toxic waste was deposited there. Efforts to remove the waste led to it contaminating populated areas and communities, affecting local residents and their health. A landmark case later proved that the environmental damage caused by the way Corby Borough Council moved the waste led to birth defects, with a way-above-average number of people in Corby born with upper-limb defects.

According to Netflix, Toxic Town is a story about community, focusing on three mothers who take on a David and Goliath fight for justice. By tracing through the years of their fight, a terrible truth comes to the surface – one of stinging injustice.

Jack Thorne commented via the initial press release:

“The Corby Toxic Waste Case is one of those moments in history that is defining. It showed our ability to close our eyes and ears to the safety of our people. It also showed the remarkable way that people will fight for what’s right. Toxic Town tells the story of these funny, brave, incredible women and the way they scrapped for their children. It has been a true privilege working with Annabel, Minkie, Delyth and the whole Broke & Bones family on this incredible story, and we are so grateful to Netflix for giving us the opportunity and support in telling it.”

Who is cast in Toxic Town?

Cast grid for Toxic Town

Netflix’s Toxic Town stars Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who, Broadchurch), Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty, Trainspotting), Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education, Living), Rory Kinnear (The Diplomat, James Bond) and Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey, Spotless)

Three more prominent cast members were confirmed in a subsequent update: Claudia Jessie (Bridgerton), Joe Dempsie (Game of Thrones), and Michael Socha (This Is England).

We can also confirm that Lauren Lyle (Karen Pririe), Stephen McMillan (Boiling Point), Simon Harrison (Everest), Steven Elder (The Winter King), and Jaz Singh Deol (Code of a Killer) are also among the cast.

What’s the production status of Toxic Town?

Filming for Netflix’s Toxic Town started in late August 2023, with production taking place predominantly in Liverpool and surrounding locations in the East Midlands.

The Liverpool Echo reported in early September that camera crews and film equipment “were in position outside the Town Hall and in Exchange Flags in Liverpool city center.” The outlet states, “The council chamber will also be transformed into a courtroom for the production.”

Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures of Toxic Town filming courtesy of Mark Campbell/Paul Cousins MCPIX Ltd.