Shetland meets The Missing: inside the BBC’s “emotional” new family crime drama Mint

What would it be like to be part of a powerful crime family? That’s the theme of the BBC’s emotional new crime drama, which unites former stars of Shetland and The Missing. It’s a story that involves love, darkness, humour and crushing heartbreak in a world we wouldn’t ever want to find ourselves in - and it sounds right up our street.

Championing the females within the family, at the heart of the drama is daughter Shannon (Emma Laird) who, like many of her peers, is desperately searching for love. But love isn’t easy when you’ve grown up in the dangerous world of the criminal elite, your dad is a gangster – and when everyone outside of your family is absolutely terrified of you.

Ahead of the drama’s arrival on BBC One, we’ve got all the inside details, including the plot, cast and how to watch it...

What is Mint about?

The eight-part series will introduce us to Shannon (Emma Laird), the naïve and fiercely romantic daughter of a powerful crime family. Shannon is desperately searching for love in the shadow of her gangster father, Dylan (Sam Riley), devoted mum Cat (Laura Fraser, previously seen in The Missing), older brother Luke (Lewis Gribben, previously seen in Shetland) and family matriarch, grandma Ollie (Lindsay).

While Shannon has grown up protected within the surreal yet violent confines of the "family business", things are set to change when Arran (Ben Coyle-Larner) enters her life. According to the official synopsis, it’s a “story about soaring romance and crushing heartbreak, love, infatuation, darkness and tragedy."

The synopsis continues: "Shannon is trying to find herself whilst dealing with the plain weirdness of living alongside the lawless world of the criminal elite and pursuing her own version of power."

Unlike many other crime dramas, it’s an emotional series that puts the actual family – not the godfather, but the kids, the mum, the grandma – at the centre of it. It seeks to show the reality of the crime world from the perspective of those we don’t often see in these sort of dramas.

Written, directed and executive produced by filmmaker Charlotte Regan (Scrapper), the series marks a poignant moment in her career. "I had a little cry the other day thinking about how incredible this cast are," she says.

"Absolute emotional wreck. But I honestly can’t imagine these characters being brought into the world by better human beings. Every single one of them is going to smash it and I feel so grateful to have them all onboard."

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama says: "Mint is a crime drama like no other from the brilliant mind of Charlotte Regan and the teams at Fearless Minds and House Productions. Championing the females in the family, it shows a very different side to what a life of crime is really like for those who live alongside that world. I’m over the moon that Charlotte has chosen to work with the BBC on her first TV series."

Who’s starring in Mint?

The cast of Mint includes:

• Emma Laird (The Brutalist, Mayor of Kingstown) as Shannon
• Sam Riley (Firebrand, Rebecca) as Dylan
• Laura Fraser (The Missing, Breaking Bad) as Cat
• Lewis Gribben (Shetland, Black Mirror) as Luke
• Lindsay Duncan (TrueLove, Sherwood) as grandma Ollie
• Ben Coyle-Larner (better known as musician Loyle Carner) as Arran

How can I watch Mint?

The BBC hasn’t yet shared a release date for Mint, but we do know that filming is currently underway in Glasgow. All being well, that means we might see the series arrive on BBC One and iPlayer before the end of the year. As soon as we have a confirmed date, we’ll update you here.