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Renewed: Taboo

Dark UK drama starring its co-creator Tom Hardy gets a second season from BBC.

New UK period drama Taboo, which will screen in Australia on BBC First, has been renewed for a second season.

The series stars its co-creator Tom Hardy as a man returning to England with fourteen stolen diamonds after twelve years in Africa, and is co-produced by Ridley Scott, Peaky Blinders‘ Steven Knight and Edward “Chips” Hardy (father of Tom).

BBC cites the series as being a huge hit on BBC iPlayer with younger audiences.

Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, says: “Taboo has been a phenomenal success and proves overnight ratings are not the only measure of success, as the series even now continues to grow beyond live viewing. Launching in a new Saturday night slot on BBC One provided us with an opportunity to take risks and showcase distinctive drama, and the growing talkability of Taboo has engaged younger audiences, seeing record numbers coming to BBC iPlayer, with the availability of the box set maximising audiences even further.

“A second series can’t come soon enough. My thanks to the incredible creative team behind Taboo, from creators Steven Knight, Tom and Chips Hardy, and Ridley Scott and Tom Hardy’s unforgettable performance. As well as our partners FX.”

Piers Wenger, Controller BBC Drama, says: “Taboo is the perfect storm of on-screen and behind-the-camera talent, and there was never any doubting the capacity of Tom and Steve to create an unmissable cinematic drama event for Saturday nights. It’s been a thrill to see the audience for Taboo build over time and in such large numbers. In series two, Tom and Steve and the show’s brilliant producers are promising something daring, different but equally unmissable, and I’m delighted that the BBC is partnering with FX once again to roll Taboo out to audiences across the world.”

Tom Hardy says: “We are grateful and excited to continue our relationship with the BBC and FX in contributing towards British drama. Fantastic news.”

Steven Knight, says: “I’m thrilled that a work which pushes boundaries has been so well received and found such a large and enthusiastic audience in the US and Britain. We have tried to take an impressionistic, rather than figurative, approach to a narrative which we hope more accurately portrays the spirit of an extraordinary time in history. James Delaney will continue to explore many realities as he takes his band of misfits to a new world, thanks to FX and the BBC, partners who could not be more suited to collaborating in ground breaking work.”

Ridley Scott, says “We’re thrilled that people want to know what happens next, and that the BBC and FX are up for more adventures with the devil Delaney and the league of the damned. Along with our international distributors Sonar Entertainment, the BBC and FX have been great partners, supporting Taboo at every stage so it could be the dark, dirty brute of a drama that it is.”

Sue Gray, BBC’s Head of Audiences, says: “The live broadcast audience remains important and we know audiences highly value collective viewing experiences. However an emerging younger audience group are increasingly influenced by social recommendation and will come when the ‘noise’ around a series becomes compelling. The broadcast moment can fan this flame with BBC One and iPlayer providing a virtuous circle which maximises audience opportunity to engage. Broadcasters and commentators increasingly need to play the long game in their quest to understand audience behaviour.”

Set in 1814, series one follows James Keziah Delaney (Hardy), a man who has been to the ends of the earth and comes back irrevocably changed. Believed to be long dead, he returns home to London from Africa to inherit what is left of his father’s shipping empire and rebuild a life for himself. But his father’s legacy is a poisoned chalice, and with enemies lurking 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 a combustible tale of love and treachery.

BBC First is yet to announce an Australian airdate.

4 Responses

  1. BBC First is a bit selective on it’s release dates and how it fills it’s time slots. The potential for BBC First to be a first rate source for British drama fans is being compromised by a lot of repeated content when new prestige shows, already shown on BBC America, are still weeks away . This is not unusual for a fair percentage of Foxtel’s new content anyway

  2. This is very frustrating. I think it has just, or is nearly finished it’s run but is still a no show here. I thought BBC First was showing its content as the same time as anywhere else? I have been holding off getting this by other means hoping it would be fast tracked, but nope it’s not!!

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