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As the weather gets chillier, a gritty, addictive period drama from a TV legend might just be the perfect antidote.
Well, you’re in luck, because Tom Hardy’s gruelling historical series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and Tom’s dad Chips Hardy, Taboo, has landed back on BBC iPlayer after it was removed earlier this year.
If that’s not your sign to watch it, we don’t know what is.
The 2017 series, made up of eight episodes, is set in 1814 and follows James Keziah Delaney (Hardy), who returns to London from Africa and finds himself ‘encircled by conspiracy, murder and betrayal.’
The target of a murder plot and facing off against powerful forces such as the Crown and East India Company, James must find a way not only to survive but thrive on the dangerous streets of the capital.
If that isn’t enough to convince you, the moody and atmospheric drama also features an all-star supporting cast including Jessie Buckley, Stephen Graham, Mark Gatiss and Jonathan Pryce.
From incestuous subplots to graphic confrontations, Taboo is not afraid to live up to its name, garnering plenty of acclaim at the time.
Securing an impressive 91% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, user Mother J called it ‘one of my favourites [which] still holds up after many repeat viewings.’
Joining the ringing endorsements, Rohit R described it as ‘dark, deranged, and entirely watchable!’
‘Weird and immensely entertaining. If you love Tom Hardy like I do, you’ll love this work,’ Jason P agreed.
‘Wow, one of the best TV shows I’ve ever seen. Need a second season desperately. Love the gritty and dark depiction of 19th-century London,’ one anonymous user shared.
‘Incredible. If there is a better show on TV I haven’t seen it. Along with the Hardy boys, written by TV wonder boy Steven Knight,… cast money can’t buy’ another agreed.
As for critics, The Guardian called it ‘a work of Wicker Man genius’.
‘There has not been such a blissful collective display of character acting for a while,’ The Times wrote.
‘Hardy is sensational, and the greater mysteries proposed by the writing are compelling enough to keep us on the show’s hooks,’ Paste declared.
There have been mutterings along the grapevine for years now that a season two was on the way, leaving fans on edge to see it come to fruition.
Will there be a Taboo season 2?
No doubt, Steven has been a busy man with the Peaky Blinders finale and movie, as well as new shows like House of Guinness and A Thousand Blows.
In 2023, executive producer Dean Baker said: ‘Currently we are working on a second season of Taboo, and hopefully we will get to explore more Dickens with Steve, Ridley and Tom.’
Then, earlier this year, Tom discussed the delay with MovieWeb, saying: ‘I’ve been busy… Taboo is something that’s for me and my family and Steven.
‘It’s something we wanted to take time to do properly. I’ve been working for the last seven years on Venom, so it had to take a little bit of a back seat, but it’s something that I’m very passionate about.
‘So when I have the space properly to commit, I’d revisit it properly. So it’s never been something that we didn’t want to do. It’s a question of when, and doing it properly.’
Steven echoed the sentiment to GQ, adding: ‘Tom and I have been talking about this for I don’t know how many years now. But we’ve always known we’ve got to do it. And we’ve got the idea, we know what we’re doing, we know what the story is.’
So if there’s ever been a time to go all in on the show, it’s now.
Taboo is streaming on BBC iPlayer now.
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