An old Tom Hardy drama is finally having its moment on Netflix

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Tom Hardy's Taboo seems to have found its audience, as it swaps BBC One and FX for the streaming platform

Tom Hardy as James Delaney in Taboo
(Image credit: BBC)

Tom Hardy's Taboo is having a moment on Netflix. The series has landed on the streaming platform five years after it first aired on BBC One and FX and (as of writing) sits in Netflix UK's top 10 shows.

Set in 1814, the eight-part gothic drama sees Hardy play James Delaney, a brooding, battle-scarred adventurer who returns home to London upon hearing his father has died. Having set sail for the New World 12 years prior, his old acquaintances presume him dead, and it's safe to say that his comeback rattles the residents of the gloomy, corrupt capital.  

Not least because his father, who was poisoned, left him nothing but a small piece of land in Nootka Sound, on the west coast of North America – slap bang in the center of the conflict between England and the newly-independent United States. Those around him insist he sell the lot for cheap and be done with it. But vengeful Delaney refuses, sparking spats between a bunch of political types.

Currently filling the fifth slot in Netflix UK's Top 10, the previously acclaimed-yet-underseen show has already earned itself a whole legion of new fans. (For US readers, the show is unfortunately not available on Netflix US, but is on Hulu.)

"If you want to watch a series on Netflix, trust me, watch Taboo," one subscriber recently enthused. "Tom Hardy is such a brilliant actor. It’s a mix of Bridgerton, Gangs of New York and Peaky Blinders."

"How am I only just watching Taboo with Tom Hardy in? Can't take it away from him, he can fucking act. 2017 this shit come out. Apparently," another gushed. "His character is a scary horrible weird moody ominous violent tactical unsavory nutcase. I'd say he's my idol BUT maybe not."

"Just started watching Taboo on #Netflix with Tom Hardy. Brilliant, dark, deep," a third added.

While it's been half a decade since Taboo premiered on the small screen, Hardy and Knight are still hopeful that its long-promised second chapter will become a reality at some point. It's set to be "just as bananas as you'd hope," Knight previously said. 

As we wait a little longer, fuelled by the prospect of new episodes, why not check out our list of the best TV shows of all time.

Amy West
Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.