Is ‘Legends’ based on a true story?
Netflix just welcomed a high-profile crime thriller, Legends, written by Neil Forsyth, to its catalogue, simultaneously making spectators curious whether the story has a true foundation.
Well, as it turns out, it does. Inspired by an untold true story, Legends stars Tom Burke as Guy Stanton, Steve Coogan as Don, and Hayley Squires as Kate – characters that are also based on real people.
The six-episode Netflix thriller is based on a group of seemingly ordinary British Customs staff, whose mission in the early 1990s was anything but ordinary. For those scratching their heads, Legends is indeed based on real-life events, chronicling when Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise initiated a covert operation, sending that very group of Customs employees called “Legends” undercover to infiltrate dangerous criminal drug gangs.
In the early 1990s, drug smuggling was at its peak, and the influx of heroin was at an all-time high in the nation. To combat the same, HM Customs and Excise came up with the idea of sending customs officers who lacked extensive training undercover, giving them new identities to take down the drug trafficking operations from inside.
Speaking of the decision the employees had to take before heading out on this undercover operation, Forsyth told Netflix, “[The team are] from working-class backgrounds without any kind of financial support – they’re trapped. They can see how the next 30 years are going to play out for them, and they don’t really fancy it, but they’re not in a position to go down a different route. And suddenly, they have this opportunity to do something different that satisfies a lot of their personal motivations and hopes and dreams, but with it comes an enormous danger.”
Forsyth tracked down the real-life people to learn about their experiences, spending over a month or two with them and gradually earning their trust. “For most people, including myself, knowledge of customs officers is the people that check your suitcases at the airport. It’s incredible to know that world even existed,” he confessed.
What Forsyth learned about their experiences is the immense “pressure” they had been through to bust the drug trafficking operation, which was killing hundreds a week. While he acknowledged that the employees were “charged up by personal ambition and the wish for excitement,” what primarily made them take up the mission was the “moral” appeal.
The Legends lived this undercover life for 11 years, and Guy Stanton has actually penned his experiences in his memoir, The Betrayer: How An Undercover Unit Infiltrated The Global Trade, which further inspired the Netflix series, Legends.
“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. This is unique, in that the work of the Legends is barely known at all…” So, in case you’re wondering when you can watch the crime thriller, well, Legends is currently streaming on Netflix!