The first two series of the channel 4 drama written and directed by shane meadows revisiting the characters from his 2007 film this is england in this is england 86 thomas turgoose reprises his role as shaun a school leaver with few prospects in mid 1980s england shaun and his friends must attempt to deal with the issues posed by the transition to adulthood in an unstable social climate where 3 4 million people are unemployed and there are strikes race riots and anti nuclear protests