Legends: Netflix’s new British drug thriller with Strike star and Steve Coogan is based on ‘incredible’ true story
And it's dropping very soon...
Legends, a new thriller coming to Netflix with Strike star Tom Burke and Steve Coogan, is inspired by a true story you almost certainly have never heard before.
It’s already been a big year for Netflix. Stranger Things came to an end, Peaky Blinders returned with The Immortal Man, and two big titles are due to drop this month: Beef season 2 and Siobhan Finneran’s Unchosen.
There’s plenty more in the works, too, whether it’s The Gentlemen season 2, The Hunting Wives season 2, or a new version of Pride and Prejudice with The Crown’s Emma Corrin.
Legends is one of Netflix’s most exciting upcoming TV shows, so here’s what you should know about it.
What is Legends about?
An “untold” true story serves as the inspiration for Legends. In the ’90s, an undercover group tackled illegal drug smuggling.
“In the early 1990s, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise was losing its battle with illegal drug smuggling across Britain’s borders,” the official logline reads.
“The solution was extraordinary. In a top-secret operation, a small team of Customs employees were sent undercover. Their task – to infiltrate Britain’s most dangerous drug gangs.
“But these were not trained spies. They were normal men and women, plucked from ordinary lives around the UK, put through a basic training regime and tasked with building new identities in the criminal underworld. These identities were called Legends.”
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When is Legends out?
Legends will premiere on May 7, 2026, on Netflix.
This is its release date globally, so you’ll be able to watch it wherever you are in the world.
Who’s in the Legends cast?
Legends is led by Steve Coogan, who plays Don, the group’s head of operations.
Coogan is one of the UK’s most recognisable stars, thanks to his Alan Partridge persona and roles in The Trip, Night at the Museum, and Tropic Thunder.
“Don is someone who has been there, seen that, got the T-shirt, and all that — but he’s also someone who has made mistakes, which the audience gets a sense of,” he told Netflix.
“In some ways, his role is like parenting because [there’s] a duty of care that has to be coupled with the fact that they have a job to do. He’s not there just to look after their welfare. He’s there to get them to do their job effectively.”
How much does Netflix cost in 2026?
- Standard with adverts: £5.99 per month
- Standard: £12.99 per month
- Premium: £18.99 per month
The main difference is obvious: the cheapest plan comes with adverts. However, there are other drawbacks – and benefits! – you should be aware of before you commit to a subscription.
Standard with adverts
- Ad-supported, all but a few movies and TV shows available, unlimited mobile games
- Watch on 2 supported devices at a time
- Watch in Full HD
- Download on 2 supported devices at a time
Standard
- Unlimited ad-free movies, TV shows, and mobile games
- Watch on 2 supported devices at a time
- Watch in full HD
- Download on 2 supported devices at a time
- Option to add 1 extra member who doesn't live with you for £5.99 per month
Premium
- Unlimited ad-free movies, TV shows, and mobile games
- Watch on 4 supported devices at a time
- Watch in ultra HD
- Download on 6 supported devices at a time
- Option to add up to 2 extra members who don't live with you for £5.99 per month
- Netflix spatial audio
He co-stars alongside Tom Burke as Guy, a customs agent who becomes one of Don’s recruits. “His draw to the recruitment poster asking ‘Could you offer more?’ feels quite universal,” Burke told Netflix.
“There’s a feeling that he’s never quite done what he needed to do; a side of him that he’s pushed down, or which has been pushed down by his environment.”
Who else is in the cast?
Charlotte Ritchie (Ghosts, You) plays Sophie, Guy’s wife and a fellow customs agent.
Hayley Squires, who The Night Manager fans should recognise from season 2, also plays one of the ‘Legends’. The wider cast includes:
- Aml Ameen (Kidulthood)
- Jasmine Blackborow (The Gentlemen)
- Douglas Hodge (The Night Manager)
- Tom Hughes (Victoria)
- Johnny Harris (A Gentleman in Moscow)
- Gerald Kyd (The Assassin)
Who’s writing Legends?
Legends comes from Neil Forsyth, the same acclaimed Scottish writer behind The Gold and Guilt, two of the best BBC dramas. When he makes a TV show, you need to watch it.
For Forsyth, Legends had a “unique” appeal.
“I’ve written shows in the past that are about well-known events. You then tell the story behind it that isn’t so well known,” he said.
“This is unique, in that the work of the Legends is barely known at all. There was this core team of people that did all of this, and they did it almost without any public recognition.”
How many episodes are there?
There will be six episodes of Legend in total, with every episode being available to stream at the same time.
This is typical for Netflix releases, so you’d better watch it quickly if you don’t want to see any spoilers.
Read more: The 15 best Netflix series you should watch in April 2026
