If there’s one lesson to be learned in the first trailer for Tom Hardy’s upcoming FX series, it is that sometimes an inheritance comes with a cost. The English actor plays the heir to a shipping empire, and when his father dies, he is left with a dangerous legacy.
Released by FX Networks on Thursday, the preview introduces viewers to Hardy’s character, James Keziah Delaney, who is thought to be dead until he arrives back in London for his father’s funeral. He has spent 10 years abroad and isn’t the same man who left. From what we can see, he’s become dangerous and ruthless — so much so that he isn’t fazed when a man ominously tells him that his father’s legacy is his “death sentence.”
It’s not clear exactly who or what is the main threat to Delaney, but there are clear suspects. “Who exactly is it that wants you dead? Is it the East India Company or the king?” a man asks him.
The dark storyline will involve conspiracy, murder, and betrayal, not to mention a family mystery. The trailer shows flashes of these elements, offering glimpses of diamonds, torture, prisoners, screams, and blood. “I do know the evil that you do, because I was once a part of it,” Hardy says ominously at one point.
In addition to starring in the eight-episode event series, Hardy executive produces with Ridley Scott, Kate Crowe, and Steven Knight. Timothy Bricknell produces and Kristoffer Nyholm directs. Taboo is created by Knight, based on an idea from Hardy and his father, Chips Hardy, who is a consulting producer on the series. Scott and Hardy’s production banners produce for FX and BBC One.
Taboo‘s FX premiere date has not yet been announced.
