The series Boys from the Blackstuff follows the stories of the five now-unemployed men who lost their jobs following the events of the original play "The Black Stuff". Set in Bleasdale's home city of Liverpool, and reflecting many of his own experiences of life in the city, each episode focuses on a different member of the group. The series was highly acclaimed for its powerful and emotional depiction of the desperation wrought by high unemployment and a subsequent lack of social support. Although Bleasdale wrote most of the episodes before Margaret Thatcher came to power, the series was noted by many reviewers as a critique of the Thatcher era, which was seen as being responsible for the fate of many of the unemployed working-class, particularly in the North of England. By early 1982, unemployment had reached 3,000,000 people (some one-eighth of the workforce) as a result of economic recession and restructuring of industry.