A BBC series which is a period drama set in England starring Tom Hardy. While many of you might be thinking about Peaky Blinders, we are talking about the equally capturing and amazing Taboo. Taboo is a drama series produced by BBC, as we mentioned, and released in January 2017.
The series was very well received by critics and the audience alike. It has an IMDB score of 8.4 and smashed a whopping 76% on rotten tomatoes, which says a lot about the quality of the series. The star of the show Tom Hardy is also the producer of the show and has written the story for the show, too. His father, Chips Hardy, also happens to be the co-producer and co-writer of the show. The story revolves around the central character’s journey of rising power and control in 19th century London.
James Delaney is the protagonist who returns from Africa after twelve years with four stolen diamonds. The reason for his return is the death of his father. From there begins his journey of taking control of the criminal world of 1814. The series showcases the politics, greed, and monopoly of the elite class over the oppressed working class which lives in poor conditions. How the rich keep getting richer and the poor becoming poorer the corruption that rots the system, and one man using all this to his advantage.
The series is very capturing and leaves an impact on the viewer about the history and the subtly projected similarities with the world that we live in. The series contains eight episodes with each episode having a runtime of about 54 minutes. Two directors were used to direct four episodes each. Kristoffer Nyholm and Anders Engström have done their best in the series. Tom Hardy received favorable reviews and accolades from the audience and the critics for his work and the visual appeal and the pacing of the shows were celebrated, too.
Taboo Season 2 Release Date
The show aired back in January 2017 and the second season was announced in March 2017. The fans were overwhelmed by the news that their favorite show was coming back so soon. In an interview, the writer of the show Steven Knight said that he was working hard and doing his best to finish the writing as fast as he could. Back in 2017, he estimated that the show would air well into 2018, although that turned out to be more optimistic than realistic.
Although, in November 2018, Tom Hardy announced that he will be coming back for the second season of the show. He did not give any specific details or time-related information but expressed that he was excited to reprise his role as the leading character. As of now, there is no production going on as the entire world has been going through the pandemic. Tom Hardy is currently shooting for the sequel to the movie Venom, which is to be released in June 2021. Any news regarding the release of season 2 of Taboo is still awaited.
Taboo Season 2 Plot
Since we are yet to see a trailer for the second season, it might seem difficult to predict the storyline of the second season. But the writers have revealed a lot in their past interviews about the storyline and the curve they intend to give to the show.
Steven Knight has expressed that the show will be made into three seasons. In the first season, we see James’ journey in England. In the end, he manages to escape from the East India Company.
James and his crew are now headed for a small group of islands in the Atlantic ocean. The story likely takes place there. The workers have also expressed that the characters are going to end up in America in the future. The American angle may be explored in the third and final season.
It makes sense because James’ father owns land in North America, too. The worker described the individual seasons as the first one being the ‘escape’, the second one being the ‘journey’, and the last one being the ‘arrival’. The crew will likely reach America in the third season and spend the second season on the Portuguese islands.
Taboo Season 2 Cast
The cast of the show is one of the RH highlights as every actor shines in the work that they have done in the series. We know that Tom Hardy will be reprising his role as he announced it himself to the world in 2018. It is safe to say that the rest of the main cast will be returning to play their characters. The list is as follows.
- Tom Hardy as the protagonist, James Keziah Delaney, Horace Delaney’s son
- Leo Bill plays Benjamin Wilton, an officer in the East India Company
- Jessie Buckley as Lorna Delaney, Horace’s widow
- Oona Chaplin as Zilpha Geary, James Delaney’s half-sister
- Stephen Graham as Atticus, an informant to James
- Jefferson Hall plays Thorne Geary, Zilpha’s husband, and an insurance broker
- The David Hayman as Brace, Horace Delaney’s servant
- Edward Hogg as Michael Godfrey, minute taker, East India Company
- Franka Potente plays Helga von Hinten, a brothel madam
- Michael Kelly as Edgar Dumbarton, an American physician at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London and spy
Will we ever get to see Taboo Season 2?
Taboo season 2 was announced only after a couple of months later for my eh release date. The reason was the overwhelmingly positive response from critics and the audience alike. Tom Hardy also officially announced his involvement but the show never made it to our screens. The main reason for this is Tom Hardy’s availability. Tom Hardy has been continuously busy after the first season.
Therefore, he never had the time to shoot the second season. Even now he is working on the Venom sequel set to release in June 2021. Once he is available, the series will go into production if something as unprecedented as the pandemic does not halt the process again. We will surely get to see the show back on our screens.
