Three seasons into its run and with a host of prestigious awards already to its name, Peaky Blinders has fast carved out an audience of its own since its bow in 2013, thanks in large part to a cracking cast and that wonderful visual style. Imagine our excitement, then, now that series creator and showrunner Steven Knight is quietly packaging a new TV series for FX by the name of Taboo.
Similar to Blinders, Knight’s latest venture is a period drama by nature, this time rolling back the years to the 19th century to focus on one James Keziah Delaney – played here by a feral Tom Hardy, who has worked with Knight before thanks to Peaky Blinders and Locke. Pitched as an eight-part miniseries, Kristoffer Nyholm (The Killing, The Enfield Haunting) is on board to direct the first half of Taboo, which will mine inspiration from a script penned by Tom Hardy himself and his father, Chips Hardy.
Indeed, if Hardy – Tom, not Chips – descended into an unhinged, reticent maniac for Mad Max: Fury Road, judging by today’s new promo, Taboo will have the actor tread over similarly dark territory, as his James Keziah Delaney circles back home to reclaim a family fortune. Things aren’t that simple, however, when conspiracy, murder, betrayal and a dark family mystery begin to bubble to the fore.
Taboo has been slated for a US premiere in early 2017, when Jonathan Pryce (Game of Thrones), Michael Kelly (House of Cards) and Oona Chaplin (Game of Thrones) will complete the ensemble cast.