Quick summary
- Good Housekeeping UK says Tom Hardy‘s drama Taboo is the “exceptionally good” crime series to start tonight, putting it up against MobLand.
- Taboo first aired on BBC One in 2017 and was created by Hardy with Steven Knight of Peaky Blinders.
- Hardy plays James Keziah Delaney, an adventurer who returns to London after years in Africa to claim his late father’s shipping company.
- The publication says the full series is available to stream now.
Tom Hardy’s Taboo is being pushed back into the spotlight. On 11 November, Good Housekeeping UK told readers to “step aside, MobLand” and start the Gothic period thriller tonight, calling it an exceptionally good crime drama. It is a useful reminder that Hardy’s best-loved television work sits well outside the present-day gangster world of MobLand.
What Taboo is about
According to Good Housekeeping, the series follows James Keziah Delaney, played by Hardy. He is a heavily tattooed, calculating anti-hero who returns to London after a decade or more in Africa. The magazine places the story in 1814 and links it to the War of 1812.
James arrives with a collection of stolen diamonds. His father has died, and he is set to inherit what is left of the family shipping company. He has a second reason for coming home, though. He wants revenge on those who wronged his family, and the magazine says he is haunted by an atrocity he witnessed in Africa that was connected to the East India Company.
He refuses to sell the business. That puts him in the sights of a powerful enemy led by Sir Stuart Strange, played by Jonathan Pryce. Britain and America are also battling for control of valuable territory, and James is caught between them. He gathers allies and accomplices along the way, including Atticus, played by Stephen Graham, whom the magazine describes as an Artful Dodger-style informant.
The cast and the people behind it
Good Housekeeping lists Hardy alongside Pryce, Jefferson Hall) as Thorne Geary, Nicholas Woodeson as Robert Thoyt and Edward Fox as Horace Delaney.
The writer behind the drama is Steven Knight, best known for Peaky Blinders. The magazine credits the idea to Hardy and his father, Edward John “Chips” Hardy, who first conceived the character after the actor worked on a very different period project, the 2007 BBC One miniseries Oliver Twist, in which he played Bill Sykes.
Hardy told Digital Spy that he wanted to play a mix of classic figures in one role. He named Sherlock Holmes, Hannibal Lecter, Heathcliff and Marlow from Heart of Darkness. That ambition explains much of the character’s menace. Good Housekeeping calls Hardy frightening and unpredictable, yet impossible to look away from.
Why it suits MobLand and Peaky Blinders fans
The magazine’s pitch is that Taboo flips the romanticism of the usual period drama and explores conspiracy and corruption behind the British Empire. It recommends the series to anyone who enjoys Peaky Blinders or MobLand.
It also points viewers to another Hardy performance. In Peaky Blinders he plays Alfie Solomons, a Jewish mob boss who becomes an uneasy ally of Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy. The magazine says Peaky Blinders is on BBC iPlayer in the UK. For a lighter option it suggests Ellis, with Sharon D Clarke as a DCI sent into failing investigations in northern England, which it lists on Channel 5.
Availability is for UK viewers in that guide, so Australian readers should check their own streaming services before settling in. For more on the show’s future, see our earlier report, Tom Hardy’s Taboo Returns to Streaming as Season 2 Is Written.
What happens next
The piece is a viewing recommendation, not an announcement, and it does not report any new casting or release news. Fans who finish the first series can follow developments on the show through our TV & Dramas coverage and our wider Celebrities section.
Frequently asked questions
What is Taboo about?
It is a Gothic crime drama in which James Keziah Delaney, played by Tom Hardy, returns to London from Africa to inherit his late father’s shipping company and take revenge on his enemies.
Who created Taboo?
Good Housekeeping says it came from Tom Hardy and his father, Edward John “Chips” Hardy, with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight behind the series.
When did Taboo first air?
It first aired on BBC One in 2017.
Is Taboo like Peaky Blinders or MobLand?
Good Housekeeping says it suits fans of both, though it is a darker period story rather than a modern gangster tale.
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