Taboo emerges as an enigmatic entry in the Golden Age of television. It boasts a huge movie star as its lead, a compelling story, and beautiful art direction, yet so far has gone largely unnoticed by most audiences. In this dramatic tale of revenge, you’ll find faces you’ve seen in Game of Thrones, Sherlock, and House of Cards. So why aren’t you watching?
It may be that the series, set against the backdrop of commercial enterprising and British legal history in 19th century England, is too esoteric. It may be that it doesn’t come by its namesake lightly (there are in fact many “taboo” instances on display), or the fault may lie in shoddy marketing. But Tom Hardy’s acting is first-rate, as is the rest of the cast, and the mercurial world of Taboo is one you can’t help but want to explore as it takes a period drama and imbues it with mystery and suspense. Here are 10 reasons you should watch BBC’s Taboo, available now to stream on Hulu.
TOM HARDY STARS IN IT AND CO-WROTE IT
If you’re a Tom Hardy fan, you’ll want to check out the series. His hulking, grunting masculinity is in full effect as James Delaney, heir to a trade empire in the 19th century. Hardy both stars in Taboo and co-wrote it with his father, and it’s understandably the perfect vehicle to showcase his aggressive brooding.
It’s said that the series sprang forth from bedtime stories the Hardy family used to entertain themselves with, and it has the sort of taut family dynamic that can only come from real experience. It’s also gritty, full of Cockney slang, and lots of violence, so of course it’s the sort of story that ushered a micro-Tom Hardy into a sound slumber.
IT HAS AN IMPRESSIVE ENSEMBLE CAST
From the very first episode of Taboo, you’ll find yourself saying, “I know that face!”. This is because the series is populated by familiar character actors that have been in many of the most popular series in the last decade. Chief among them is Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean, Game of Thrones) who plays Sir Stuart Strange, the malevolent head of the East India Trading Company.
Other familiar actors include Tom Hollander (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, The Night Manager) as a chemist who has some of the best lines, Oona Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter!) as the sister to Tom Hardy’s character, and Michael Kelly as an American spy.
THE STORY IS UNIQUE
The story centers on James Delaney (Hardy), who inherits a piece of land that is of strategic interest to the American colonies, the British Empire, and the East India Trading Company. He pits the factions against each other for his own gain, proving that his brawn is only matched by his brains.
Delaney has a secretive past that involves magic, cannibalism, and assassination, which makes him bristling for revenge against the entities that have done him wrong. Not only does he aim to establish a trading empire to compete with the East India Trading Company, he aims to build it in blood.
IT’S A SUPERNATURAL MYSTERY
Taboo presents itself as a mystery, with each episode presenting clues as to the cryptic past of James Delaney, whose origins may be the reason he was gifted with supernatural insight. That the audience is never fully certain of his gifts is a positive thing, and keeps us engaged.
As the series unfolds, we see Delaney performing rituals, experiencing hallucinations, and engaging in practices similar to voodoo, which may help him in his quest to become a powerful business tycoon. Having “friends on the other side” may be the ace in his back pocket that other trade barons will never see coming.
YOU’LL LEARN A LOT OF HISTORY
If all you know about the East India Trading Company is what you learned from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, prepare to receive a new history lesson. In just a few episodes, you’ll learn a lot about how it functioned at the height of its power in the early 1800s, and what it meant for the commercial might of the British Crown.
You’ll also learn about the fledgling trade of America, as the colonies set out to become a competent rival and to assert dominance on exporting resources from their fertile lands. As the series reveals, the decades after the Revolutionary War were a chaotic, inspiring, and messy time of great historical change.
IT’S MOODY
One of the most salient aspects of Taboo is the vibe surrounding it. It has a mood, which is as shifting as its characters and isn’t for the faint of heart. Hardy and Steven Knight (who worked on Peaky Blinders) set out to create a gothic revenge story, and they knew they had to capture the perfect ambiance to convey it.
Therefore the art direction is second to none, with images that impact in a way that is both startling, frightening, and intoxicating. It speaks to fans of the work of David Lynch, Tim Burton, and Terry Gilliam, whose distinct creative touch added to the world-building of their films.
IT’S SALACIOUS
Ironically at its core, Taboo is about family, and with family comes both love and dysfunction. The Delaney family is mired in both. James Delaney’s late father tried to make his American-Indian mother forget about her cultural heritage and identity, and James holds his father personally accountable for her death.
To add to the “taboo” nature of the series, James’ relationship with his sister borders on the incestuous. Then there’s James running around in a loincloth doing voodoo rituals, and finally the striking amount of gore that soaks certain episodes with blood and carnage as James eviscerates his family enemies.
THE COSTUMES ARE EXQUISITE
Not all of the Georgian-era series will be historical accuracy, as style is somewhat favored over substance in the case of the costumes. The necklines of ladies’ dresses may not be precisely period, and the many rumpled coats and cravats of the gentlemen on display may be off by ten or twenty years, but you’ll hardly notice when everyone looks so good.
Like Penny Dreadful and Peaky Blinders, Taboo makes nods to the Regency period without completely leaning into it, freeing it up to let its characters be expressive with their clothing. By not being so locked in, each character gets a wardrobe that tells their story with every stitch and fold of the fabric.
THE SET DESIGN IS AMAZING
There’s something very forlorn and gritty about Taboo, which is appropriate given the gruff nature of its Byronic protagonist. The devil is in the details, and every single scene can be paused and admired for the feast it presents for the eyes.
Everything from the streets of Regency London, to the murky galleys of slaving ships, has been painstakingly recreated by set designers who obviously love what they do. As the characters battle their inner demons, so does every environment they seem to inhabit, clinging to the edifice of a decadent past going through extreme change.
IT GETS BETTER THE SECOND TIME
Taboo is one of those rare series that gets better on its second viewing. Why? Because it’s a cracking mystery yarn that has offered clues all along the way that you might have missed if you were too caught up in looking at the beautiful sets or Tom Hardy.
Even the title sequence changes with each episode, providing clues as to the twists and turns in the tale. Hardy has been adamant that every few episodes, the tone of the series completely changes, from horror to fairytale, to mystery, and by episode eight, everything you’ve watched ends up not being what it seems.
