‘Taboo’ Creator Promises Only 2 More Parts Before Its Conclusion

“I can feel the three acts,” creator and writer Steven Knight says of FX series

Tom Hardy james delaney Taboo dirty
FX

You can expect more of the Tom Hardy period FX drama “Taboo,” but don’t expect too much more.

Series creator and writer Steven Knight said that he sees the story playing out in three parts before its conclusion.

“I can feel the three acts. The first was ‘the escape’. The second will be ‘the journey,’ the third will be ‘the arrival,’ and that’ll be it,” he told HuffPost UK. “I don’t think the story will be what viewers are expecting, but hopefully they’ll enjoy it.”

“Taboo,” which premiered on BBC One in the U.K., follows a man named James Delaney (Hardy) who returns to England in the early 19th century after spending over a decade in Africa, only to find that he’s come into land through his father’s will.

The series takes place in 1814, with Delaney going up against the East India Company, a gigantic powerhouse of trade during that time and into a dispute between Great Britain and the US.

The “escape” part makes sense, since there are multiple of them throughout the first season (without spoiling anything, the season finale follows a violent escape). In a Joseph Campbell, Hero’s Journey sort of way, the fact that the last two parts are called “the journey” and “the arrival” seem appropriate if you count Delaney as a hero.

Knight, who also created the similar “Peaky Blinders,” promises that the upcoming seasons will feature more violence that will play on historic moods and tensions.

“It’s not simple violence,” Knight continued. “It’s dealing with a time when violence was much more acceptance, plus this kind of drama is about extreme situations, when people’s behavior is pushed beyond the borders of normal.”

“Taboo” has already been renewed for a second season.

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