Taboo | |
---|---|
Genre | |
Created by | |
Written by |
|
Story by | Tom Hardy Chips Hardy |
Directed by |
|
Starring | |
Composer | Max Richter |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Producer |
|
Cinematography | Mark Patten |
Editors |
|
Running time | 58–61 minutes |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | |
Release | 7 January – 25 February 2017 |
Taboo is a BBC television drama series produced by Scott Free London and Hardy Son & Baker. It premiered on BBC One in the United Kingdom, on 7 January 2017 and on FX in the United States, on 10 January 2017. The eight-episode series was created by Steven Knight, Tom Hardy, and his father, Chips Hardy, based on a story written by Tom and Chips Hardy.
In 1814, adventurer and businessman James Delaney (Tom Hardy) returns to England having spent twelve years in Africa, following the death of his father and the approaching end of Great Britain's 1812 war with the United States. Taboo explores the dark side of 19th-century London, political and business corruption involving the East India Company, criminal gangs, and the misery of the working class.
Kristoffer Nyholm and Anders Engström each directed four episodes of the first series (season). Max Richter composed the score.
The series has received generally favourable reviews, with critics praising Hardy's performance, visual presentation, and pacing.
Taboo was created by Steven Knight, Tom Hardy and his father, Edward "Chips" Hardy, and is based on a story written by Tom and Chips Hardy. [2] Knight and Tom Hardy previously worked together in the 2013 film Locke and the TV series Peaky Blinders , which premiered in 2013. [3] The first series was directed by Kristoffer Nyholm and Anders Engström. [3] The music was composed by Max Richter. [4] Steven Knight plans for two more series. [5] Taboo was renewed for a second series in March 2017. [6] In November 2021, Knight confirmed that six of season two's eight planned episodes had been written, and the start of filming is contingent upon Hardy's schedule. [7] In May 2022, Knight earmarked the end of 2023 as a potential filming start date. [8]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [9] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Episode 1" | Kristoffer Nyholm | Steven Knight | 7 January 2017 | 7.00 | |
James Delaney, believed dead, returns to London to attend the funeral of his father, Horace. Other than owning a small part of the west coast of North America, Horace has left nothing of value. The land, Nootka Sound, [10] is in dispute between Great Britain and the United States, who are at war. The East India Company had an agreement to buy the land from Zilpha Geary, Delaney's half-sister, but Delaney knows the war is coming to an end, greatly increasing the value of the land, and scorns their offer. Delaney discovers his father died from arsenic poisoning. | ||||||
2 | "Episode 2" | Kristoffer Nyholm | Steven Knight | 14 January 2017 | 6.18 | |
Delaney sets about reclaiming his inheritance; he buys a ship at auction, then begins to assemble his crew. The reading of Horace's will concludes with the appearance of Lorna Bow, a London actress, who claims that she and Horace were married. Delaney pays off Horace's numerous creditors, and makes contact with Dr Dumbarton. The East India Company plot Delaney's murder. The man with the silver tooth stabs Delaney, who despite severe injuries manages to kill him. | ||||||
3 | "Episode 3" | Kristoffer Nyholm | Steven Knight | 21 January 2017 | 5.57 | |
After Dumbarton administers to Delaney's wound, his assistance regarding Nootka Sound is made clear. Delaney protects his life against the East India Company and the Crown by making the United States government the beneficiary of his will. When Lorna makes claim for half of Horace's assets, she is warned that her life is at risk and she should flee to Paris. Michael Godfrey is blackmailed by Delaney to provide secrets from the East India Company's meetings. Lorna is abducted after leaving the theatre, only to be rescued by Delaney. | ||||||
4 | "Episode 4" | Kristoffer Nyholm | Steven Knight and Emily Ballou | 28 January 2017 | 5.36 | |
Lorna, encouraged by Delaney, allows herself to be arrested by the Crown. About to be raped by Coop, she is rescued when the East India Company intervene, having been tipped off by Delaney about the duke's threat to Lorna. Cholmondeley advises Delaney on gunpowder. [11] They plan to steal refined saltpetre from a Company warehouse. An attempt to kill Delaney, instigated by the US secret agent Carlsbad, ends with the disembowelment of his attacker. When Delaney is invited to a ball held by the Countess Musgrove, he asks Lorna to accompany him. Although she neither confirms nor denies it, he realises that Musgrove is Carlsbad. Thorne, under the influence from laughing gas provided by Cholmondeley, challenges Delaney to a duel to the death. | ||||||
5 | "Episode 5" | Anders Engström | Steven Knight and Ben Hervey | 4 February 2017 | 5.63 | |
When Thorne's shot at Delaney's chest proves to have been sabotaged, Delaney fires at the second, Mr. Hope, killing him. Because the Crown had purchased the saltpetre, the Company pay the consequence for the theft. The Prince Regent decides to make matters difficult for the Company and sends George Chichester, a lawyer for the Sons of Africa, to investigate the sinking of the Influence, the slave ship that has been haunting Delaney's memories and on which 280 people died. Dumbarton tells Delaney that the Americans know about his hidden farm. Lorna has followed Delaney's instructions and brought him his father's trunk; he finds the treaty that proves Nootka Sound was bought from the natives, rather than taken by force. Delaney believes that his father bought his mother, a Nootka woman, for beads. | ||||||
6 | "Episode 6" | Anders Engström | Edward "Chips" Hardy and Steven Knight | 11 February 2017 | 5.43 | |
Continuing his investigation into the East India Company, George Chichester discovers that the name of the slave ship was changed from 'Cornwallis' to 'Influence' to disguise her real identity; that she was registered as being empty when she sailed on her fatal voyage; that she had only a skeleton crew; and that Sir Stuart Strange's own brother owned a sugar plantation in Antigua. Meanwhile, Brace tells Delaney that his mother was confined to Bedlam lunatic asylum after she attempted to drown him as a baby, and that his father had saved his life. Zilpha murders Thorne, and Delaney has Dumbarton remove the corpse, which is buried in a Catholic funeral. Farmer Ibbotson makes his confession to the local Catholic priest, who reveals the location of Delaney's gunpowder factory to the Company. Delaney kills Ibbotson, cutting out his tongue and leaving his body in the confessional for the priest to discover. Before the Company's soldiers can seize his gunpowder, Delaney removes it by barge and transports it to his ship. Company representative Benjamin Wilton finds Delaney at the dock and passes on a message from Sir Stuart that it is now war between them. Delaney's ship then blows up, leaving it a flaming hulk. In reply, Delaney kills the man who was supposed to be guarding the ship and cuts out his heart. Then he gets drunk and appears to be about to drown himself. But as he heads out into the Thames, Winter brings him another bottle and he thinks better of it. The following morning, he wakes up face down in the mud, and finds Winter's dead body nearby. | ||||||
7 | "Episode 7" | Anders Engström | Steven Knight | 18 February 2017 | 5.53 | |
Following Winter's funeral, Delaney is fearful that he may have killed her whilst drunk. Unlike Helga, Lorna believes in his innocence, especially as he houses another young waif, Robert. Delaney is visited by Chichester, who accuses him of complicity in sinking the slave ship but offers immunity if he will indict the East India Company. Brace makes a confession to Delaney: it was he who had poisoned Horace, starting the chain of events that followed. Meanwhile, a vengeful Helga informs Strange about the gunpowder, leading to Delaney being imprisoned for treason and tortured. Lorna does her own sleuthing to prove James innocent of killing Winter, whilst Delaney's ally in the Company, Godfrey, agrees to testify against it, requiring George to spirit him away for his own safety. With the Prince Regent still at odds with the East India Company, Delaney is surprised to find Strange offering him a compromise. | ||||||
8 | "Episode 8" | Anders Engström | Steven Knight | 25 February 2017 | 5.59 | |
In prison awaiting trial, Delaney lets Strange know he is aware of his part in the sinking of the slave ship, a fact Godfrey will reveal to the Royal Commission, thus forcing Strange to arrange his release. Delaney is distraught to find that Zilpha has killed herself. Lorna and Atticus also rescue Helga, telling her that Delaney was framed by the East India Company for Winter's murder. Delaney settles business with Dumbarton, revealed to be a double agent for the Company, on behalf of the Americans. The Prince Regent, scorned by Delaney's repeated slights against him, orders his death. Delaney, Lorna, Atticus, Michael and their associates prepare for an ambush against the Prince Regent's forces. After a long protracted battle, they escape on the ship Strange has arranged for them, at the cost of Helga's life. George Chichester, guided by a now-free Brace, finds the evidence he needs to ultimately discredit the East India Company. Strange is killed by an explosive device planted by Delaney, completing his revenge. On the ship, the Union Jack is torn down and the Stars and Stripes is raised, signifying their new destinies as Americans. |
Taboo premiered on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 7 January 2017, and on FX in the United States on 10 January 2017. [12] The debut episode had 1.839 million viewers in the US, and a rating of 0.6 for the 18–49 demographic. [13] Its Live+3 figures were 3.43 million viewers –1.63 million adults in the category 18–49 –the time-shifted percentage increase of 101% in the demographic is a record for FX. [14] In the US, the first season averaged per episode 1.33 million viewers and 0.4 rating in the 18–49 demographic on the episodes initial airings, but increased to 5.8 million viewers per episode after viewing figures from all platforms had been added, including on-air replays, delayed viewing and streaming. [15]
The series has received generally favourable reviews, with critics praising Hardy's performance, the aesthetic and the slow burn aspect. [16] [17] The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the series an approval rating of 78% based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 7.03/10. Their critical consensus reads, "After a sluggish start, Taboo takes a hold as a mysterious, dark, and often brutal period drama with plenty of promise as a series –most notably Tom Hardy's exceptionally watchable performance". [18] On review aggregator Metacritic, the series has a score of 67 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [19]
Ben Lawrence of The Telegraph gave Taboo 3 out of 5 stars, stating that Taboo's strength is that, despite borrowing from westerns, gangster flicks and even Charles Dickens, it still manages to feel utterly original. [20] Sam Wollaston of The Guardian noted that while some of the dialogue "does make you wince", Hardy's acting and onscreen presence more than makes up for it. [21]
Writing for The Hollywood Reporter , Tim Goodman noted that Taboo is a solid entry, if slow in the early going, in FX's stable of series, with a compelling turn by Tom Hardy. [17] Kevin Yeoman of Screenrant wrote in his review that it all added up to a dark, slow-moving but nonetheless intriguing drama with secrets to dispense in due time. He also said that it was likely that those drawn to Hardy's onscreen intensity and seemingly unlimited capacity to become the physical embodiment of gloomy menace would be the ones most likely to stick around until the very end, and in doing so would reap the potential rewards. [16]
Some historians have expressed concern that the East India Company may be portrayed inaccurately. [22] Before the broadcast of Taboo, Steven Knight said, "This man, James Delaney, is a deeply flawed and deeply troubled human being. His greatest struggle will be against the East India Company which, throughout the 19th century, was the equivalent of the CIA, the NSA, and the biggest, baddest multinational corporation on earth, all rolled into one self-righteous, religiously-motivated monolith." Tirthankar Roy, an economic historian at the London School of Economics, argued that it gave an excessively negative view of the East India Company. Nick Robins, author of The Corporation That Changed the World, added that the organisation had made a positive contribution, but that by the time it was dissolved it had long "outlived its usefulness". [22]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Music Composition for a Series | Max Richter | Nominated | [23] |
Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role | Henry Badgett, Tracy McCreary, Angela Barson, Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor, Nic Birmingham, Simon Rowe, Alexander Kirichenko, Finlay Duncan, Colin Gorry | Nominated | |||
Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Costume Design - Drama | Joanna Eatwell | Won | [24] | |
Design - Trails & Packaging | BBC Marketing Team | Nominated | |||
Make Up Design - Drama | Erika Okvist, Jan Archibald, Audrey Doyle | Won | |||
Music - Original Title | Max Richter | Nominated | |||
Production Design - Drama | Sonja Klaus | Nominated | |||
Sound - Drama | Sound Team | Won | |||
2018 | Satellite Awards | Best Drama Series | Taboo | Nominated | [25] |
Best Actor in a Drama / Genre Series | Tom Hardy | Nominated | |||
16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode | Henry Badgett, Tracy McCreary, Nic Birmingham, Simon Rowe, Colin Gorry for "Pilot" | Nominated | [26] | |
British Academy Television Craft Awards | Best Costume Design | Joanna Eatwell | Nominated | [27] | |
Best Make Up & Hair Design | Jan Archivald, Erika Ökvist, Audrey Doyle | Won | |||
Best Original Music | Max Richter | Nominated | |||
Best Photography: Fiction | Mark Patten | Nominated | |||
Best Special, Visual & Graphic Effects | Adam Glasman, Rob Pizzey | Nominated | |||
Best Sound: Fiction | Sound Team | Nominated |
Season 1 was released in the United States and Canada by Echo Bridge Acquisition Corp, LLC (Echo Bridge Home Entertainment) on DVD and Blu-Ray on February 6, 2018, and in Europe by StudioCanal on May 29, 2017. The US/Canada DVD set consists of two discs while the European release is a three disc set. French and German dubbed releases were released on April 13, 2017, and May 9, 2017, respectively.[ citation needed ]
Felicity Ann Kendal is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, including as Barbara Good in the television series The Good Life from 1975 to 1977. Kendal was born in Olton, England, but moved to India with her family from the age of seven. Her father was an English actor-manager who led his own repertory company on tours of India, and Kendal appeared in roles for the company both before and after leaving England. She appeared in the film Shakespeare Wallah (1965) which was inspired by her family.
Nip/Tuck is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States for six seasons from 2003 to 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime, black comedy, family drama, satire, and psychological thriller, focuses on "McNamara/Troy", a cutting-edge, controversial plastic surgery center, and follows the personal and professional lives of its founders Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy. Each episode features graphic, partial depictions of the plastic surgeries on one or more patients, as well as developments in the doctors' personal lives. Focus is also given to McNamara/Troy's anesthesiologist Dr. Liz Cruz, Christian's many sexual partners, and Sean's family. With the exception of the pilot, each episode of the series is named after one of the patients scheduled to receive plastic surgery.
Edward Thomas Hardy is an English actor. After studying acting at the Drama Centre London, Hardy made his film debut in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down in 2001. He had supporting roles in the films Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and RocknRolla (2008), and went on to star in Bronson (2008), Warrior (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Lawless (2012), This Means War (2012), and Locke (2013). In 2015, he starred as "Mad" Max Rockatansky in Mad Max: Fury Road and both Kray twins in Legend, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Revenant. Hardy appeared in three Christopher Nolan films: Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), and Dunkirk (2017). He has since starred as the title character in the film Venom (2018) and its two sequels.
Jon Sen is a British television and film director, writer and producer. After working as the executive producer of the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2019 to 2022, Sen began working as the executive producer of the BBC medical drama series Casualty in 2022.
The Riches is an American drama television series which was originally broadcast from March 12, 2007, to April 29, 2008, on FX. The series stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver as members of a family of Irish Travellers who "steal the American dream" by stealing the home and identities of a wealthy dead couple. The series received positive reviews but was cancelled after two seasons.
Steven Knight is a British screenwriter, producer, and director for film and television. He wrote the screenplays for the films Closed Circuit, Dirty Pretty Things, and Eastern Promises, and also wrote and directed the films Locke and Hummingbird. Knight is one of three creators of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, a game show that has been remade and aired in around 160 countries worldwide. He is also the creator of the BBC's Peaky Blinders and has written for Commercial Breakdown, The Detectives, See, and Taboo.
Johnny Harris is an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director.
Oona Castilla Chaplin is a Spanish-Swiss-British actress. Her roles include Talisa Maegyr in the HBO TV series Game of Thrones, Kitty Trevelyan in the BBC drama The Crimson Field, and Zilpha Geary in the series Taboo.
Broadchurch is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV for three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote all 24 episodes; it was produced by Kudos in association with Imaginary Friends Productions Ltd. The series is set in Broadchurch, a fictional English town on the coast of Dorset; it focuses on Detective Inspector Alec Hardy and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller. Other members of the ensemble cast appearing in all three seasons are Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan, Arthur Darvill, Carolyn Pickles, Jonathan Bailey, Matthew Gravelle, Charlotte Beaumont and Adam Wilson.
Peaky Blinders is a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. Set in Birmingham, it follows the exploits of the Peaky Blinders crime gang in the direct aftermath of the First World War. The fictional gang is loosely based on a real urban youth gang who were active in the city from the 1880s to the 1920s.
Feud is an American anthology drama television series created by Ryan Murphy, Jaffe Cohen, and Michael Zam, which premiered on FX on March 5, 2017. Conceived as an anthology series, Feud's first season, Bette and Joan, chronicles the well-documented rivalry between Hollywood actresses Joan Crawford and Bette Davis during and after the production of their psychological horror thriller film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon star as Crawford and Davis, respectively. Judy Davis, Jackie Hoffman, Alfred Molina, Stanley Tucci, and Alison Wright feature in supporting roles. Academy Award–winning actresses Catherine Zeta-Jones and Kathy Bates also appear. Critically acclaimed, with major praise for Lange and Sarandon's performances, the first season garnered several accolades. It received 18 nominations at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards and won two, including Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup (Non-Prosthetic). Bette and Joan also received six Critics' Choice Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Television Critics Association Awards nominations.
The thirty-first series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 27 August 2016, and concluded on 29 July 2017. The series consisted of 44 episodes, including the show's feature-length thirtieth anniversary special episode, "Too Old for This Shift". Erika Hossington continued her role as series producer, while Oliver Kent continued his role as the show's executive producer until the end of the series. Seventeen cast members reprised their roles from the previous series with original character Lisa "Duffy" Duffin returning to the series as part of the show's thirtieth anniversary. Rik Makarem appeared in the series between October 2016 and January 2017 as first year foundation doctor (F1) Sebastian Grayling. This series also featured the death of regular character Caleb Knight, who has appeared since series 28.
Strike is a British crime drama television programme based on the book series Cormoran Strike by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The programme was first broadcast on BBC One on 27 August 2017, after receiving an advance premiere at the British Film Institute on 10 August 2017.
Edward John "Chips" Hardy is an English author. He and his wife Elizabeth Ann are the parents of actor Tom Hardy, with whom Hardy worked on BBC One's 2017 drama series Taboo, as the co-creator, a writer and a consulting producer.
Gunpowder is a British historical drama television miniseries produced by Kudos and Kit Harington's Thriker Films for BBC One. The three-part drama series premiered on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 21 October 2017 and on HBO in the United States on 18 December 2017.
Fosse/Verdon is a 2019 American biographical drama miniseries, developed by Steven Levenson and Thomas Kail. Based on the biography Fosse by Sam Wasson, the series charts the troubled marriage and professional relationship of director/choreographer Bob Fosse and actress/dancer Gwen Verdon, played by Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams respectively. Norbert Leo Butz and Margaret Qualley are also featured as Paddy Chayefsky and Ann Reinking, respectively.
A Christmas Carol is a 2019 British dark fantasy drama television miniseries based on the 1843 novella by Charles Dickens. The three-part series is written by Steven Knight with Tom Hardy and Ridley Scott among the executive producers. It began airing on BBC One in the UK on 22 December 2019 and concluded two days later on 24 December 2019. Prior to this, it aired in the US on FX on 19 December 2019, with all three episodes shown consecutively as a single television film.
SAS Rogue Heroes is a 2022 British historical drama television series created by Steven Knight, which depicts the origins of the British Army Special Air Service (SAS) during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The storyline is a broadly accurate representation of real events, as described by Ben Macintyre in his 2016 book of the same name.
James Keziah Delaney is a fictional character and the dark amoral protagonist in the 2017 FX/BBC One television series Taboo, in which he is portrayed by Tom Hardy. Delaney is portrayed in London in 1814, he has a vendetta against the East India Company and is caught in vicious feud between the British Crown, the United States government and the East India Company regarding ownership of the North American trading post known as Nootka sound, which Delaney has inherited from his father. The land is about to become a very valuable piece of property due to the establishment of border between the United States and Canada.
Great Expectations is a historical drama television miniseries developed by Steven Knight, based on the 1861 novel by Charles Dickens. It premiered on BBC One on 26 March 2023, followed by its US premiere on FX on Hulu later the same day.