Mostly set in Liverpool, the series focused on a group of unemployed tarmac layers (tarmac being "the black stuff") as they struggle to support their families during a depression whilst avoiding the attention of benefit fraud officers. The show is often seen as a critique of the economic policies of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government and their consequences for ordinary people.note
The ensemble includes: Chrissie (Michael Angelis) and his wife Angie (played by Julie Walters in an early role); Chrissie's friend Loggo (Alan Igbon); Dixie (Tom Georgeson) and his son Kevin (Gary Bleasdale); George (Peter Kerrigan); and Jimmy "Yosser" Hughes (Bernard Hill). Each episode focused on one of the main characters. The most famous story/character was undoubtedly Yosser, whose mental health disintegrates under the strain of having no work and no money and ultimately loses everything. His oft-repeated remarks "gis a job" ("give us [me] a job") and "I can do that" entered the popular lexicon in Britain.
Gis a trope:
- Accidental Misnaming: Malloy keeps getting Chrissie's name wrong. The priest at George's funeral refers to George as Patrick.
- Alliterative Name: Dixie Dean.
- British Brevity: There were only six episodes in total.
- The Cameo: Footballers Graeme Souness and Sammy Lee (both of whom played for Liverpool FC), appear in Yosser's Story.
- Catchphrase:
- "Gizza job", "I can do that" (Yosser).
- "Shake hands" (Shake Hands)
- Confessional: A despondent Yosser visits a priest looking for help, resulting in this exchange in the confessional box:Yosser: I'm desperate, father.Priest: Please, call me Dan.Yosser: I'm desperate, Dan.
- Crushing Handshake: Shake Hands likes to deliver these, hence the nickname. Things don't go as well when he invites Yosser to shake hands though.
- Deadpan Snarker: There's a lot of this:Shake Hands has just given Loggo a Crushing HandshakeShake Hands: What can I get you?Loggo: An ambulance!
- Downer Ending: At the end of The Black Stuff, they all lose their jobs and get scammed by the Irishmen. At the end of Jobs for the Boys, Snowy Malone gets killed. George dies in George's Last Ride.
- Driven to Suicide: After losing everything, Yosser tries to drown himself in a lake. He doesn't succeed though.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The Black Stuff is Lighter and Softer compared with Boys From the Blackstuff, they all still have jobs, and Yosser is not as unhinged as he became later.
- Humiliation Conga: Yosser progressively loses his job, his wife, his children and his house.
- Known Only by Their Nickname: Yosser, Loggo, Snowy, Shake Hands.
- Mugging the Monster: Shake Hands makes a big mistake when he invites Yosser to shake hands.
- Not Actually His Child: Yosser's estranged wife reckons none of their children are actually his, noting that they all have blonde hair while she and Yosser have dark hair. The real father might be a German sailor ("he was blonde").
- Oh, Crap!: This is the general reaction whenever Yosser shows up.
- Oop North: The setting, specifically Liverpool. A lot of the original play is set in Middlesbrough.
- Police Brutality: Yosser gets a beating from four police officers.
- Rotating Protagonist: Most episodes focus on one particular character, to the point where the rest of the ensemble cast are either reduced to extras or absent altogether.
- Screen-to-Stage Adaptation: A stage version was announced in 2022.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the men at the pub decide to throw an annoying patron through the window, the landlord pours himself a scotch and walks out.It's either them or me, and it's them!
- Shout-Out: Yosser claims that he and Graeme Souness look like Magnum.
- Use Your Head: Yosser does this a lot.
