An Unforgiving, True-to-Life Dive into ’90s War on Drugs

Picture Credit: Netflix

In Legends, a team of undercover customs workers assumes new identities — known as their ‘Legends’ — and attempt to infiltrate drug gangs and dismantle them from the inside. What’s more, it’s based on an unbelievable true story. 

Legends creator Neil Forsyth already has a distinguished roster of British crime dramas; look no further than The Gold, a series based on the true 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery, regarded among the most seminal events in British criminal history. In Legends, he takes viewers back to 1990s England to recount the unbelievable true story of how a small team of largely untrained customs officers became the most important task force in Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s ‘War on Drugs.’ While rooted in true events, much of the true Legends story is altered for dramatic purposes. It also creates fictional elements to protect the real people involved. 

Legends opens with a teenager in Liverpool acquiring heroin and quickly succumbing to its effects, resulting in death. This instant depiction displays just how fragile lives are when it comes to drug use, showing viewers the devastating real-world consequences. It’s not only the dealers, the leaders, or undercover officers who suffer mentally and physically; the most affected are young, innocent lives drawn into the wrong crowd. And I think this starkness is what makes the show so compelling. It offers a comprehensive look at the drug empire, revealing its impact on every rung of the ladder. 

From there, the show then builds its team of ‘Legends’ — a team of four customs officers thrusts undercover into the epicenter of the drug empire in England, which stems from London and Liverpool. The team is spearheaded by acting legend Steve Coogan, who plays former undercover detective Don, who has a troubled history. He puts together a team that he believes are capable of toppling a drug empire. Don doesn’t choose the strongest officers or the smartest, but the people he trusts the most. 

The first of the officers to take part in the task is Guy (Tom Burke), a family man who works in airport security. Guy is tough and street-smart, having grown up in one of London’s roughest boroughs. A man who prefers to work alone, Don gives him the freedom to oversee the London side of the operation by himself. The other two officers are Kate (Hayley Squires) and Bailey (Aml Ameen), who are both sent up north to Liverpool, the city with the biggest drug distribution network in the UK. Kate is resourceful and clever, but stubborn and haphazard in her ways; conversely, Bailey values more methodical approaches. The two undoubtedly clash personalities at times, but working in the cliquey and dangerous streets of Liverpool, teamwork is a must. 

Acting as the glue, or ‘engine room,’ between the operation in London and Liverpool is Civil Service secretary Erin (Jasmine Blackborow). She is tasked with making the force’s transition into their individual ‘Legends’ seamless, giving them detailed paper trails and providing the correct personas and backstories for them to fit into their relative societies. 

Legends. (L to R) Tom Burke as Guy, Jasmine Blackborow as Erin, Steve Coogan as Don, Aml Ameen as Bailey, Hayley Squires as Kate, in Legends. Cr. Courtesy of Sally Mais/Netflix © 2026

With the Legends team in place, the show pits them in the middle of the drug empire, where they must establish themselves as key players while masking who they truly are. In doing so, the show offers an incredible cross-section of the drug empire: we meet everyone from opium production in Pakistan to transportation to street-level dealers in the UK to those leading the entire operation. Throughout all six episodes, the Legends find themselves embroiled in brawls and confrontations at each level. 

The ‘double lives’ side of the story is particularly fascinating. It affects each of our Legends in different ways, but perhaps the most profound is Guy. He’s a family man, and he becomes so deeply invested in his double life that he almost never lets his guard down. He finds himself almost too deeply embedded within his Legend that it becomes difficult for him to break out of it, even when he’s surrounded by his undercover colleagues. 

One thing that becomes instantly noticeable is how the show diverts from its titular Legends. The undercover officers are the people who we venture into the drug underworld with, but once we arrive, the show then spends a lot of time focusing on the big players within the heroin operation. One of which is young Liverpudlian Carter (Tom Hughes), the leader of the Northern drug trafficking operation who cuts an imposing figure but nevertheless becomes heavily insecure when the facade is torn away — especially when he returns home to his mother. Meanwhile, in London, Turkish leader Hakan (Numan Acar) proposes a new plan for a distribution network that Guy has to contend with. 

Out of all the plot lines, one side story shines the most: we follow Eddie (Johnny Harris), a Liverpudlian father of a typical nuclear family. He secretly works alongside Carter in his drug distribution operation. This plot has a strong Breaking Bad feel; a family man becomes a key figure in the drug business. When Eddie witnesses firsthand the devastating impact of heroin on his son, ultimately leading to his death, he’s overcome with remorse and determined to dismantle Carter’s empire.

Eddie’s story symbolises what makes Legends so powerful to watch. It doesn’t embellish anything. It keeps the story raw and grounded. It’s about normal people, and it throws gut-wrenching moments at viewers. 

MVP of Legends

Tom Burke — Intense and emotionally vulnerable, Tom Burke delivers a powerful, layered performance. The strength and fervour of Guy comes naturally to Burke, but I was continuously taken aback by his wide-ranging emotional performance. 

Verdict

We’ve already seen British crime shows cover stories about officers going undercover; look no further than Line of Duty. But Legends cuts deeper. This is rooted in real events, and that gives it an edge over the others. 

It depicts a deep story about the intricacies of the drug business in 1990s England. But it also shows how profoundly it mentally changes its characters. They end the series in a completely headspace to where they started. (Spoiler alert) There’s a scene at the end when Guy returns home to his family after successfully dismantling the drug distribution business. It’s the middle of the night and he struggles to sleep. He hears a noise outside and stands at his window, in silence, watching for threats. The undercover job might be over, but there will never be peace. These people will be watching their backs for the rest of their lives. 

‘Legends’ is now streaming on Netflix.