Our Friends in the North is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996. Written by Peter Flannery, it tells the story of four friends from the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England over 31 years from 1964 to 1995. The story references many real political and social events, both specific to Newcastle and to Britain as a whole, which occurred during the era portrayed, including general elections, police and local government corruption, the UK miners' strike (1984–1985) and the Great Storm of 1987.