Top Boy star's "remarkable" Netflix thriller is now streaming for free

Kane Robinson's dystopian drama The Kitchen is now available to watch for free. Before the 2023 film, Robinson made a name for himself in acting as Sully on gritty crime drama Top Boy, although he was already known for being a rapper and pioneer in the UK grime scene.

Directed by Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya, The Kitchen first aired on Netflix three years ago, and it's still available to stream there. However, UK fans can now watch the flick on free television after it aired on Channel 4 this past Sunday night.

Robinson plays Izi, who lives in dystopian London where there is an absence of social housing, except for The Kitchen, which is still intact. The story follows his friendship with 12-year-old boy Benji, played by Jedaiah Bannerman.

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Benji has just lost his mother and Izi aims to protect the boy from the police who want to remove the remaining residents from The Kitchen so it can be demolished.

The Kitchen has an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Loud and Clear Reviews describing Robinson’s Netflix film debut as "remarkable".

Empire called it a "solid British sci-fi with a social-realist flavour", while Variety described it as "an intimate, humane study of Black male bonding in a time of systemic social oppression."

"Visually interesting, smartly written, and lifted up by two great central performances. It is a thought provoking film that engages with its social issues with pointed determination," wrote In Their Own League.

Digital Spy's four-star review branded the film as "brilliantly defiant".

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Though it looks and feels very different, The Kitchen is set in London, which is why Robinson, who is from the capital, related to the project.

“It feels like London,” Robinson told The Guardian in 2024. “The London I grew up in, the confidence and bravado and community and connection between the people.

“Usually, when you make a film about an attack, it becomes a film about the attacker, as opposed to the people under attack. What we wanted to explore was those people’s identity and [sense of] community in spite of the attacks.”

The Kitchen is available to stream on demand on Channel 4.

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