Taboo is the first big premiere series for 2017 and it couldn’t be more visually interesting. It gives the 19th century a certain grime and sketchiness that makes it stand out while giving Tom Hardy a chance to act like a wild man. The miniseries was created by Hardy, his father Chips Hardy and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, meaning there’s some excitement behind the creative team. It’s also got the backing of Ridley Scott, meaning some very hefty names are involved and quality should be expected. Doesn’t mean it’s promised, but the odds are a little better.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Set in 1814, Taboo follows James Keziah Delaney, a man who has been to the ends of the earth and comes back irrevocably changed. Believed to be long dead, he returns home to London from Africa to inherit what is left of his father’s shipping empire and rebuild a life for himself. But his father’s legacy is a poisoned chalice, and with enemies lurking in every dark corner, James must navigate increasingly complex territories to avoid his own death sentence. Encircled by conspiracy, murder, and betrayal, a dark family mystery unfolds in a combustible tale of love and treachery.
The series is already ruffling a few feathers with historians over its portrayal of the East India Company, turning it from a business empire into a treacherous spy agency according to The Telegraph:
The Corporation has commissioned a major drama about the firm, which – according to its script writer – will depict it as the historical equivalent “the CIA, the NSA, and the biggest, baddest multinational corporation on earth”.
The characterisation has already raised eyebrows among historians, who argue that it gives an overly negative view of the organisation, which operated from the 17th to the end of the 19th century, coming to account for around half the world’s trade and helping the British achieve dominance in India.
It’s basically wild man Tom Hardy as James Delaney up against the company for what looks to be eight episodes of visual grittiness. After this, Hardy will stay busy with Fonzo as Al Capone, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, and apparently the next Mad Max film, The Wasteland.
It should be a good time if you’re a Tom Hardy fan.
(Via Indiewire / The Telegraph)
