Tom Hardy’s Darkest Role Yet: The Underrated Crime Thriller That Still Deserves Your Attention

Tom Hardy has played plenty of dangerous men, but few are as unsettling as James Delaney.

In Taboo, Hardy plays a mysterious adventurer who returns to London after more than a decade away, carrying a past he refuses to explain and a reputation that seems to follow him wherever he goes. Set against the mud, smoke and corruption of 1814 London, the eight-episode series throws him into a deadly struggle involving the East India Company, political power, murder and a piece of disputed land.

The result is not a conventional period drama. Taboo is part crime thriller, part revenge story and part Gothic nightmare, with Hardy at its center as a man who appears to know far more than he is willing to reveal. The series premiered in 2017 and was created by Tom Hardy, his father Chips Hardy and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

And years after its original run, it remains one of Hardy’s most unusual television performances.

A Mysterious Return to London

James Keziah Delaney is believed to have been dead.

Then, unexpectedly, he returns to London following the death of his father, Horace Delaney. He has spent more than a decade in Africa, and whatever happened to him there has clearly left its mark.

His return is supposed to be about inheritance. Instead, it immediately places him in the middle of a dangerous power struggle.

Among his father’s possessions is a seemingly insignificant but strategically valuable piece of territory on the North American coast. With the War of 1812 approaching its conclusion, the land has become highly desirable to competing interests.

The East India Company wants it. American interests have a stake in it. The Crown is involved.

James simply refuses to give it up.

That decision transforms what should have been a family inheritance into a much larger battle over money, influence and power.

The Land Is Only The Beginning

The closer James gets to the people fighting over the property, the more complicated the situation becomes.

The East India Company, led by the formidable Sir Stuart Strange, sees Delaney as an obstacle that needs to be removed. James, meanwhile, begins maneuvering between powerful factions rather than allowing himself to be controlled by any of them.

But the political conflict is only one layer of the story.

Murder, attempted assassination, secret agreements, betrayals and complicated relationships gradually expose pieces of James’s past. His years in Africa become increasingly important, yet the series deliberately refuses to explain everything at once.

That uncertainty is central to Taboo.

James does not behave like a traditional hero. He rarely tells anyone what he is thinking, and even the people closest to him cannot always work out what he wants.

The less he says, the more intriguing he becomes.

Tom Hardy Gives One Of His Most Unsettling Performances

Hardy is the obvious focal point of the series, and Taboo gives him a character built almost entirely around mystery and controlled menace.

James Delaney does not need lengthy speeches to dominate a scene. Hardy uses his voice, posture and expression to create the impression of someone constantly calculating his next move.

There are echoes of the physical intensity Hardy has brought to other roles, but Delaney is a very different kind of character. Rather than relying on straightforward aggression, the performance is built around restraint.

His anger rarely explodes immediately. It simmers.

That makes even his quietest moments feel threatening.

Hardy also helped create the series with Chips Hardy and Steven Knight, while serving as an executive producer. The project therefore carries a particularly personal connection to its leading man rather than feeling like a standard historical thriller built around a star.

Forget The Polished Version Of Regency London

One of the reasons Taboo stands apart from traditional historical dramas is its depiction of London.

This is not a glamorous city of elegant ballrooms and immaculate costumes.

It is dirty, crowded, violent and deeply corrupt.

The streets are covered in mud and smoke. Wealth and poverty exist side by side. Powerful men operate behind closed doors while criminal networks flourish around them.

The atmosphere is deliberately oppressive, giving the series the feel of a Gothic nightmare rather than a conventional historical production.

That visual and tonal approach is crucial to the show’s identity. Even when the plot becomes increasingly complicated, the world itself remains unsettling enough to keep the tension alive.

The East India Company Becomes A Major Enemy

Jonathan Pryce’s Sir Stuart Strange is one of the central forces pushing the story forward.

As chairman of the East India Company, Strange represents the enormous institutional power standing against Delaney. He is ruthless, calculating and unwilling to accept James’s refusal to cooperate.

The inheritance dispute therefore becomes something much larger than a fight over property.

James finds himself surrounded by people with competing agendas, and trust becomes almost impossible. Every alliance can have a price, and every conversation may conceal another motive.

The series gradually turns Delaney’s struggle into a battle not only for survival, but for control over his own future.

A Supporting Cast Full Of Familiar Faces

Hardy may be the star, but the series is filled with actors who give the increasingly chaotic world around James plenty of personality.

Jessie Buckley plays Lorna Bow, the third wife of James’s late father, while Stephen Graham appears as Atticus, a dangerous figure from London’s underworld who becomes an important ally to Delaney.

Jonathan Pryce brings a particularly sinister presence to Sir Stuart Strange.

Tom Hollander plays chemist George Cholmondeley, while Mark Gatiss takes on the role of the Prince Regent. Oona Chaplin plays Zilpha Geary, and Franka Potente appears as Helga.

Jason Watkins, David Hayman, Edward Hogg, Michael Kelly and Jefferson Hall are also among the principal cast.

The ensemble helps make the series feel much larger than a simple revenge story. Nearly everyone surrounding James seems to have their own interests, secrets or loyalties.

Why Taboo Has Developed A Cult Following

Part of the appeal of Taboo is that it never feels particularly interested in becoming comfortable viewing.

It is slow-burning, violent and intentionally strange.

The show does not immediately explain James Delaney. It does not neatly resolve every mystery as soon as it appears. Instead, it keeps adding questions while allowing its central character to remain just out of reach.

That can make the story demanding at times, but it is also what gives the series its distinctive identity.

Rather than relying entirely on twists, Taboo creates tension through atmosphere and uncertainty. James always appears to be several steps ahead of the people around him, even when viewers have no idea what those steps might be.

The result is a thriller where simply understanding what James is planning becomes part of the reason to keep watching.

The Frustrating Question: Will There Be A Season 2?

This is where Taboo becomes particularly frustrating for fans.

The first season ended without bringing James Delaney’s story to a definitive conclusion. A second season was commissioned, but years passed without the continuation arriving.

There is, however, still reason for fans to be interested.

In March 2025, Hardy said that a second season was being written. Then, in January 2026, Steven Knight said that he and Hardy had discussed what they would do next and that the main obstacle remained finding the time in their schedules. No release date has been announced.

That means the long wait has not necessarily marked the end of James Delaney’s story.

It simply remains unfinished.

Is Taboo Worth Watching?

If Peaky Blinders, Gothic mysteries, historical crime stories and morally complicated protagonists are your kind of television, Taboo remains an easy recommendation.

It is grimy rather than glamorous, mysterious rather than straightforward and deliberately unconventional throughout.

More importantly, it gives Tom Hardy a role that allows him to build an entire character around silence, suspicion and barely controlled anger.

The series may not be for viewers looking for a conventional historical drama. But if you want something darker and stranger, Taboo offers an experience that still feels distinctive nearly a decade after its debut.

And for anyone discovering it through Netflix, there is one important caveat: availability varies by country. Netflix currently lists the series in some regional catalogs but not others.

Eight episodes are enough to pull you deep into James Delaney’s world — a world of fog, blood, political conspiracies and dangerous secrets.

And once you enter it, the biggest question is no longer who James Delaney is.

It is how much longer he can keep everyone else from finding out.