The BBC has confirmed that The Cage, the Liverpool-set thriller starring Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha, will not return for a second series.
Five-part thriller ends after one series
The first series of the five-part drama, created and written by The Responder writer Tony Schumacher, drew around three million viewers and received warm reviews during its run. However, the broadcaster has opted not to commission more episodes.
A BBC spokesperson said: "We loved bringing Leanne and Matty's story to BBC viewers and send our heartfelt thanks to Tony Schumacher, Element Pictures and all the cast and crew who worked on this powerful and poignant series."
Plot and cast details
The synopsis of The Cage reads: "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."
Alongside Sheridan and Michael, the cast featured Barry Sloane as Gary Packer, Geraldine James as Nancy Packer, Freya Jones as Emily Flynn and Sophie Mensah as Detective Sergeant Fen Ning. The series premiered on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in April 2026.
Sheridan Smith on filming in Liverpool
Previously speaking about the show, Sheridan said: "What was interesting was for the casino scenes, we had real croupiers from the casino come in and do it all. So, in between takes you'd turn around and [Michael] would be playing blackjack! So, Michael learnt loads of skills. I was useless. I had to learn to count money out really fast, which was fine until Al [Mackay, director] shouted 'action!' and then it all went to s***. But hopefully in the edit it'll be fine."
She continued: "And then, chips. I had to deal with a lot of the chips. But again, I've got nails, so I wasn't great. I was dropping them a lot. So I didn't come away with many skills, but it's amazing how they do it. It's so second nature to them, which is why it was such a genius idea to have the real deal in the scenes with us."
Sheridan also harboured only positive recollections of shooting The Cage throughout Liverpool. "Liverpool is my favourite city," she told the BBC at the time. "Everyone makes me so welcome. The crew were amazing. Clare Shepherd and Al Mackay, our producer and director, created the most amazing set. It's my favourite job."
Ending and future projects
Fans of the series will know that things did wrap up on a pretty final note by the end of season one, with Leanne and her kids living with Nancy and Matty serving time in prison, having taken the blame for both him and Leanne's actions. Whilst some fans may have appreciated further episodes, it did serve its purpose as a limited series and ended definitively.
Writer Tony had spoken previously about the deeply personal roots of the drama, telling the BBC that he wrote The Cage partly to better understand his brother's addiction. Element Pictures has further BBC projects in development, including a second series of Nightsleeper and the new drama You Are Here. The Cage series one is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
