Tom Hardy's Taboo: Why This Forgotten Crime Series Deserves A Second Chance

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Tom Hardy as James Keziah Delaney in Taboo

Published Mar 2, 2026, 6:30 PM EST

Adrienne Tyler is a movies & TV features writer, with a focus on horror. She has written for Netflix, FanSided, & more. She was a regular guest on the Netfreaks podcast and was a YouTuber at some point. Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once.

Tom Hardy has found great success in the crime genre, both on the big screen and on TV, and in the latter, there’s one show he starred in that deserves a second chance now more than ever. Tom Hardy has shown his impressive acting range across different genres – from superheroes with The Dark Knight Rises and Venom, to drama with Warrior, and action in Mad Max: Fury Road.

If You Like MobLand, You Need To Check Out Taboo

MobLand is a British crime drama TV series created by Ronan Bennett and streaming on Paramount+. MobLand follows the Harrigan crime family, led by Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan) and his wife, Maeve (Helen Mirren). The Harrigans are in a battle with the Stevensons, so they employ fixer Harry Da Souza (Hardy) to protect their interests and prevent the conflict from escalating.

MobLand premiered in March 2025 and was a big hit with critics and general audiences, being renewed for a second season in June 2025. MobLand’s success is a great reminder to check out Taboo, another British crime drama series starring Tom Hardy and co-created by him, Steven Knight, and Chips Hardy.

Chips Hardy is Tom Hardy’s father.

Set in 1814, Taboo follows James Delaney (Hardy), an adventurer and businessman who returns to England after the death of his father and having lived in Africa for 12 years. Delaney returns to take over his father’s empire, rebuild his legacy, and fight the powerful East India Company, which wants to take over his father’s land.

Taboo was released in 2017 on BBC One in the UK and on FX in the US, and it’s only eight-episodes long, so it’s a perfect binge-watch for fans of crime dramas. Taboo was well-received by critics, but it isn’t a miniseries, as it wasn’t planned to be just one season long.

Why Taboo Season 2 Hasn't Happened Yet

The success of Taboo led to its renewal for a second season in 2017, just a couple of months after its release – however, there haven’t been any advancements in its production. In 2021, Knight told Collider that six episodes of Taboo season 2 were already written, but filming depended on Hardy’s schedule.

An update on the future of Taboo was given in 2023, when producer Dean Baker confirmed that they are working on season 2 (via Radio Times), and Knight confirmed in January 2026 that Taboo season 2 is still in development, depending on schedules and where they want to take the story.

What Taboo Season 2 Could Be About

Tom Hardy as James Delaney in Taboo (2017)

The end of Taboo season 1 perfectly set up a second season, with Delaney and the League of the Damned moving to America. Season 2 of Taboo would follow Delaney and company, now expanding their territory in America, but surely, the conflict with the East India Company will continue in this new setting.

The success of Tom Hardy in MobLand is not only the perfect excuse to watch Taboo, but also the perfect moment to finally bring Taboo season 2 to life after such a long wait.

Sources: Collider, Radio Times.