The Cage (TV series)
British television series
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The Cage is a British five-part crime thriller television series from Tony Schumacher, starring Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha. The series premiered on BBC One on 26 April 2026 and was on the same day made available on the BBC iPlayer.
| The Cage | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime thriller |
| Screenplay by | Tony Schumacher |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Clare Shephard |
| Running time | 56-59 minutes |
| Production company | Element Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 26 April 2026 |
Synopsis
Two casino workers in Liverpool, Leanne and Matty realise they have both plotted to steal from the safe at their casino.[1]
Cast and characters
Members of the cast include:[2]
- Sheridan Smith as Leanne
- Michael Socha as Matty
- Barry Sloane as Gary
- Geraldine James as Nancy
- Sue Jenkins as Shelagh
- Anton Bibby as Thomas
- Freya Jones as Emily
- Sophie Mensah as Ning
- Abby Mavers as Kelly
- Shaun Mason as Alan
- Louis Emerick as Paul
- Ian Puleston-Davies
- Julia Papp as Irina
- Katy Carmichael
- Dave Hart
- Johnny Schumacher as Pit Boss
- Eileen O'Brien as Nanna
- Eithne Browne
- Mona Goodwin as Trace
- Gemma Barraclough as Jade
- Max Ainsworth as Neil
- Menyee Lai as Mai
- Isobel Khan as Paige
- Sue Jenkins as Shelagh
Production
The series is written by Tony Schumacher and produced by Element Pictures. Hilary Martin, Christopher Aird, Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe are executing producers alongside Schumacher and Sheridan Smith, who leads the cast alongside Michael Socha. Lucy Richer is an executive producer for the BBC with Clare Shepherd as series producer.[3] The series is directed by Al Mackay.[4]
Filming for the five-part series took place in locations around Liverpool and Merseyside, including the Wirral, in the first part of 2025.[5][6]
Broadcast
The series began airing on BBC One and was made available on the BBC iPlayer on 26 April 2026.[7]
Reception
In a five-star review in The Guardian, Lucy Mangan described the series as "an astonishing, deeply angry, deeply moving state-of-the-nation piece merely masquerading as a mesmerising, perfectly paced and plotted thriller".[8] Metro's reviewer considered it to be "one of the most impressive British thrillers in years" and gave it four stars.[9] By contrast, the three-star review in The Independent concluded that "The Cage feels like its heroes: sweet and simple, not bad but not terribly good either."[10]