One of the beauties of seeing a project develop with Tom Hardy in the fold is that you know you’re never going to see the same thing twice. As an actor who insists on challenging himself in new ways with each role he takes on, there is always something fresh, something intriguing, something different to glean from each of his performances. They may not all be great, but at least you can rest on the fact that he never goes back to the well… and for that, he gives you a reason to see what he may do next.
TABOO is right in that vein, with Hardy venturing to the small screen for the eight-episode FX event series that has him returning from the dead in a number of ways to deal with nefarious members of society at work.
TABOO follows James Keziah Delaney, a man who has been to the ends of the earth and come back irrevocably changed. Believed to be long dead, he returns home to London from Africa in 1814 to inherit what is left of his father’s shipping empire and rebuild a life for himself. But when his father’s legacy is revealed to be a poisoned chalice and enemies lurk in every dark corner, James must navigate increasingly complex territories to avoid his own death sentence. Encircled by conspiracy, murder, and betrayal – a dark family mystery unfolds in an explosively colourful tale of love and treachery.
From FX’s first trailer for the program, Hardy once again looks to be giving us something we haven’t seen from him yet before in a show that I gauge will have a number of layers for us to peel back along the way as we get to the root of what is really taking place in this slice of 19th Century London. And when you’re reminded that Ridley Scott is also involved, that sort of makes this one you’re going to have to make it a point to see, at least right out of the gate.