The Cage is a British crime thriller television miniseries created by Tony Schumacher, and starring Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha. The five-part series premiered on BBC One on 26 April 2026 and was on the same day made available on the BBC iPlayer.
Contents
Synopsis
Two casino workers in Liverpool, Leanne and Matty, realise they have both been embezzling profits from the casino they work at. Unknown to both of them, the casino itself is a front for money laundering and the police are already watching the casino, while the casino managers try to establish who is stealing their own stolen money.
Cast
Members of the cast include:
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 as Vincent
Julia Papp as Irina
Katy Carmichael as DCI Hannigan
Dave Hart as Danny
Johnny Schumacher as Pit Boss
Eileen O'Brien as Nanna
Eithne Browne as Annie
Mona Goodwin as Trace
Gemma Barraclough as Jade
Max Ainsworth as Neil
Menyee Lai as Mai
Isobel Khan as Paige
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. The series is directed by Al Mackay.
Filming for the five-part series took place in locations around Liverpool and Merseyside, including the Wirral, in the first part of 2025.
Broadcast
The series began airing on BBC One and was made available on the BBC iPlayer on 26 April 2026.
It premiered on ABC Television and ABC iview in Australia on 30 August 2026.
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". Metro's reviewer considered it to be "one of the most impressive British thrillers in years" and gave it four stars. 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."