Guy Ritchie's Latest Foray Into TV Is a Familiar but Fun (and Star-Studded) Crime Saga - Sunburst Viral- Latest News on Celebrities, gossip, TV, music and movies

After the success of The Gentlemen last year, it seems like Guy Ritchie is trying to become the UK’s answer to Taylor Sheridan. After spending most of his career directing movies for the big screen, Ritchie now has several television shows coming up. There’s the forthcoming second season of The Gentlemen for Netflix, but Ritchie also has Young Sherlock coming up for Prime Video (which, shockingly enough, is entirely unrelated to his two Sherlock Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr.), as well as MobLand.

Featuring a star-studded cast — including Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, and Paddy Considine — the new series is set to stream on Paramount+ (aka the home of the Sheridanverse). It’s also worth noting that MobLand was originally conceived as a prequel to Ray Donovan before being completely retooled as a modern-day crime show. It makes sense why Ritchie would pivot to television, especially when you consider how much success Sheridan has had with all of his shows. With MobLand, the British filmmaker teams up with Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett for a familiar yet entertaining crime saga set on the streets of London.

What Is ‘MobLand’ About?

The first two episodes of MobLand introduce us to Harry Da Souza (Hardy), a fixer for the Harrigan crime family. For years, Harry has seemingly remained loyal to the family, which is overseen by Conrad (Brosnan) and his wife, Maeve (Mirren), doing their dirty work by taking out their competition. It’s all just a job for Harry, and despite the fact that it’s made his relationship with his wife Jan (Joanne Froggatt) difficult, he’s very good at what he does.

Harry has his work cut out for him when Conrad’s grandson Eddie (Anson Boon) gets into a physical altercation with the son of rival mob boss Richie Stevenson (Geoff Bell). As Harry races across the city trying to settle things before an all-out mob war breaks out, we begin to learn more about the inner workings of the Harrigans’ business — Conrad and his son Kevin (Paddy Considine), for instance, aren’t always the ones making the tough decisions.

If you’ve watched any other London-set crime show, you’ll immediately recognize that MobLand isn’t the most original series out there. The first two episodes find Ritchie in extremely familiar territory, telling a story that feels very familiar to what he just did with The Gentlemen, albeit with a far grittier tone. Despite its lack of originality, MobLand still proves to be an incredibly satisfying watch, especially because of the talent behind the show.

Tom Hardy Is the Perfect Lead for ‘MobLand’

It’s crazy that Hardy and Ritchie haven’t worked together since RocknRolla in 2008. Hardy’s gruff exterior perfectly complements Ritchie’s highly stylized take on the mafia. With MobLand, Ritchie’s style is a bit more restrained than what we are typically used to seeing from him, but he still gives the show a cinematic feeling. A bit wild to think about, when you consider that the series began filming only four months ago. Hardy is perfectly cast as the rugged fixer Harry, who serves as our eyes and ears. Harry’s far from a good person with a strong moral compass, but Hardy’s charisma makes us drawn to him immediately. After spending the last several years mostly starring as Eddie Brock in the Venom movies, it’s refreshing to see Hardy back to his usual British self, playing a character that shows us a different side of the criminal underworld.

Much like Ray Donovan, MobLand is more interested in having the “mob fixer” front and center. It’s not a new concept in the genre, but it does establish that this show isn’t just another “rise to power” story. The Harrigan family already rules over London’s criminal underbelly, and Harry’s primary mission is to make sure things stay that way. The series is also at its most effective in the scenes where Harry meets with members of the Stevenson family, as Ritchie and Bennett build the resulting tension to extreme levels.

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Feature image of characters from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels on a napkin by a fork

Guy Ritchie Wrote His First Movie in The Most Guy Ritchie Way Possible

The way it was written is that of legends.

From the Harrigans’ gorgeous estate to the slimy backrooms of nightclubs, the atmosphere in MobLand is compelling. While the series takes itself far more seriously than The Gentlemen, that doesn’t mean that there’s a dour atmosphere. If you like gangster shows, you’ll inevitably find much to appreciate here. Unfortunately, MobLand does fall prey to the habit of many popular TV shows nowadays, as the lighting is ridiculously dark most of the time, to the point where it becomes irritating. It’s understandable if the team behind the show didn’t want the shoot-outs to take place in well-lit rooms or broad daylight, but it results in many of the action scenes not being nearly as riveting as they could be.

‘MobLand’ Is Further Proof That Guy Ritchie Excels at Making Television

Helen Mirren as Maeve Harrigan sitting down holding a champagne glass as Pierce Brosnan's Conrad Harrigan leans in next to her in MobLand. — Image via Paramount+

Even die-hard fans of Ritchie’s work will admit that some of his films are far better than others. While many of his recent movies have been enjoyable, such as last year’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, most have fallen under the radar. Ritchie does have a handful of big-screen projects in the works (he’s been consistently churning out a movie or two since 2019), but with MobLand, he proves that he can show off his range on the small screen as well. While this series doesn’t have Ritchie’s trademark fast-paced editing style nor the constant snark that we’ve come to expect from him, his fingerprints are still very apparent. The series’ initial two episodes provided for review get off to a slower start before gradually speeding things up as the brewing mob war continues to escalate.

MobLand further comes to life whenever Brosnan and Mirren are on-screen. Both of the performers lean into what we typically expect from them, but it’s not long before we begin to lose trust in their characters. They are evil to begin with, despite what their cunning charisma may tell you, but their relationships with Harry, members of their family, and even their own partners are constantly called into question.

Much like Taylor Sheridan has demonstrated through shows like Yellowstone and Tulsa King, Ritchie has a real knack for making TV shows that’ll keep you invested. MobLand isn’t a grand reinvention of the gangster show, but it does offer plenty of twists and turns, paired with a magnetic cast that will have you eagerly anticipating every new episode.

MobLand premieres March 30 on Paramount+.