While casual audiences know Tom Hardy primarily as a movie and TV star, Taboo revealed a very different side of the BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee. Premiering on BBC One in January 2017, the British crime drama, which he co-created with his father, Chips Hardy, marked Hardy’s first major foray into writing. The series was an immediate hit upon release, with its dark, uncompromising tone and Hardy’s ferocious lead performance leaving viewers hungry for more after the Season 1 finale aired in February 2017. Season 2 has spent years stuck in development, but Taboo’s popularity has remained strong. Nearly a decade later, the series remains one of Hardy’s most-watched projects on streaming, and it’s now staging yet another major resurgence.
Taboo brought together the Hardys and Steven Knight, whose creative partnership with Tom Hardy had already produced one of modern TV’s most beloved characters in Peaky Blinders’ Alfie Solomons. That collaboration is far from over, with Hardy confirmed to reprise the role in the upcoming feature film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. Knight and Hardy joined forces on Taboo while the Peaky Blinders series was still midway through its celebrated run, and the result was another critical and audience success. Both shows tap into Knight’s fascination with crime, corruption, and the dark edges of London, but Taboo turns the clock back to the 19th century, embracing a more primal, gothic atmosphere that sets it apart and earns it widespread acclaim. The synopsis for the series reads:
“Adventurer James Keziah Delaney, long believed to be dead, returns home to London from Africa in 1814 in order to inherit his late father’s shipping empire. All is not what it seems, however, as Delaney encounters numerous enemies intent on making his life back in the United Kingdom very difficult. Focused on building a shipping empire to rival the imperious East India Company, Delaney’s other wish to seek vengeance for his father’s death means conspiracy, betrayal and bloodshed are also in the cards. As he works to accomplish that, Delaney must also navigate increasingly complex territories in order to avoid his own death sentence.”
What Is the Status of ‘Taboo’ Season 2?
Available to stream across multiple platforms in the U.S., the U.K., and other international territories, Taboo is now one of Tom Hardy’s most accessible projects. That accessibility has paid off in a big way, with the series surging back into the streaming conversation and recently climbing to the No. 2 spot on Apple’s iTunes chart in France. The resurgence extends to North America, with Taboo also currently ranking in the Top 10 in Canada.
As new audiences continue to discover what many regard as one of Hardy’s finest performances, curiosity around the show’s long-delayed return has only intensified. The good news is that Taboo has officially been renewed for a second season. The bad news? Scheduling. Hardy’s status as one of the industry’s most in-demand stars pushed the project to the back burner for several years as he focused on major commitments like Venom.
Recently, though, there’s been a hopeful update. Last year, Hardy reassured fans that he remains deeply committed to delivering the long-promised second chapter. More recently, Knight confirmed that talks with Hardy are underway and that the pair have already mapped out the direction for Season 2. Knight also acknowledged that time constraints remain the biggest obstacle, but it’s good to know that the creative wheels are once again in motion.
Stay tuned at Collider for future updates.
- Release Date
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2017 – 2017-00-00
- Network
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BBC
- Showrunner
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Steven Knight
