Having not yet seen Charlotte Regan’s highly acclaimed Scrapper, I honestly had no idea what to expect with Mint. In this eight part miniseries Regan takes the leap from film and transitions into the long form of television. At the British Film Institute’s preview and Q&A with Regan and the cast, I was unprepared for what I would see.
Shannon (Emma Laird) is the daughter of infamous crime boss, Dylan (Sam Riley). As the only daughter in the family, she has never wanted for anything. She is truly a real life princess. Dylan, his wife Cat (Laura Fraser), and mother Ollie (Lindsay Duncan) are the family who rule the region, pulling all the strings. Shannon has, however, never been able to fall in love due to her overprotective and controlling father. It is not until she meets Arran (Ben Coyle-Larner) when things begin to change. As a member of the rival gang, Arran and Shannon’s budding romance unravels Shannon’s originally simple world.
I should have at least known from the blogline that Mint would be a spin-off of Romeo and Juliet. You can just sense the two lovers doomed from the start as Shannon and Arran meet. Regan does set the stage quite well. With the familial background, she shows us how both Shannon and Arran respectively each grew up. We are given the chance to get to know and connect with our protagonist and her love interest. This added background definitely makes it a bit easier to keep the “want to know what will happen next” through their journey. As there are other problems within the series that might separate you from the content, the character development at least keeps you there.
Unaware of how Regan visually shares her stories, I could not begin to say whether or not her choices in Mint are typical. My viewing of the eight episode mini-series was bizarre. The choices she made were unusual and interesting. Using strange behind the character point-of-views, VHS styled shots, and even lighting Arran and Shannon in a blackness, these are just a few of the ways the story was shared. Though they were at times visually pleasing, I felt as if overall she tried doing too much. Regan truly pulls out every different choice she could, and in doing so creates episodes that are slightly too messy to stay involved with.
Each episode, through the script and character development — as I had previously mentioned — does manage to pull you into the drama. In fact, the casting of this ensemble is what helps the series in conveying its story. Without the talented cast, the messiness of the editing and style would have lost the viewers’ attention straight away. Instead, we get the chance to want to know about each character, not just the protagonist. In fact, Laird and Riley steal the show.
Just what you, or at least I, would have hoped for. Shannon is truly a princess, innocent and unknowing. Her world has been so simple since birth. Her father might have blocked out love in the past, but besides that she was given everything. Laird’s portrayal of Shannon is just what is needed in a character such as this: innocent, silly, and childish. She might only be in her early 20s, but she comes across as so much younger. Then, when you take Riley’s portrayal of a strong, manly, mob-boss father, the two go head to head and you are waiting to see what happens next. Having loved Riley from his role in both Maleficent films, seeing him in a scarier and angrier role left me truly impressed.
Unfortunately, without giving too much away, the ensemble and character background was not enough to keep me engaged with Mint. Eight episodes, though they may have been under 30 minutes each, were definitely messier then need be. Regan has the mind for storytelling as this spin on Romeo and Juliet is nuanced. Yet, her choices and stylistic elements left me out of the story far too often. Perhaps now, however, I should try for Scrapper and see if I can recognize what I saw in Mint.
After its world premiere at the 2026 Berlin Film Festival, and the BFI’s preview and Q&A, Mint has now released on BBC iPlayer. From 20 April, 2026, you can witness the loveable writer-director’s transition from film into television. Maybe you yourself will understand why she did what she did. Or maybe you will simply enjoy the story that is being told.