Series 1

**Series 1** of period drama *Taboo* premiered on January 7, 2017 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on January 10, 2017 on FX in the United States.

## Synopsis

*Set in 1814, the first season 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.*

## Cast

* Oona Chaplin as Zilpha Geary
* David Hayman as Brace
* Michael Kelly as Dr. Dumbarton
* Jonathan Pryce as Sir Stuart Strange
* Jessie Buckley as Lorna Bow
* Jefferson Hall as Thorne Geary
* Edward Hogg as Michael Godfrey
* Tom Hollander as George Cholmondeley
* Stephen Graham as Atticus
* Mark Gatiss as Prince Regent
* Jason Watkins as Solomon Coop
* Leo Bill as Benjamin Wilton
* Franka Potente as Helga von Hinten
* Richard Dixon as John Pettifer
* Ruby-May Martinwood as Winter
* Marina Hands as Countess Musgrove
* Lucian Msamati as George Chichester
* Louis Serkis as Robert
* Christopher Fairbank as Ibbotson
* Danny Ligairi as Martinez
* Scroobius Pip as French Bill
* Edward Fox as Horace Delaney
* Tallulah Rose Haddon as Pearl
* Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Abraham Appleby

## Production

The first series cost 10 million pounds. Tom Hardy earned over £500K from *Taboo* despite supernatural thriller making a loss of £2million. The Georgian period drama was a highly-anticipated release for 2017, but failed to win over many critics.

Tom Hardy revealed that he wanted to film some scenes fully nude but was forced to put on a loin cloth, explaining, "You're lucky there was a loin cloth because I didn't want one. It's not a period drama until someone gets naked and covers themselves in blood. You can't have naughtiness like Game of Thrones on the BBC." Even so, Hardy did film some scenes with full frontal nudity and some of these filming pictures were leaked in the media but all such scenes were cut from the final edit of the show.

The language spoken by Tom Hardy is Twi, a dialect of the Akan people. It originates from the West African country of Ghana. Twi is still widely spoken and arguably the most spoken native language in Ghana. The program was advised on the language by Naomi Fletcher, Anthnoy Dwomo and Akwasi Amponsah from The Cultural Group.

### Supernatural

The series plays with allegedly supernatural occurrences.

Amongst these, are alleged ghost sightings. At the end of the first episode, a woman resembling Anna Delaney can be seen behind John Pettifer and Benjamin Wilton.  In Episode 2, a ghostly figure spotted on the below deck of the ship. Once again, a ghostly figure is partially visible behind Ibbotson in the sixth episode, when the man, terrified by symbols carved at the gunpowder's factory, fled to confess to a priest.

In the course of the series, James Delaney was often seen in the act of carrying out rituals that foreshadowed a strong occult and supernatural connotation. During an interview, Tom Hardy has denied the supernatural component as real, by stating it was the way that the authors have chosen to tell their story, and cope with James Delaney's post-traumatic stress once returned from Africa.

## Release

*Taboo* was broadcast first in the UK every Saturday on BBC One then in North America on Tuesdays only on FX. The Complete First Series DVD box set was released on May 29th, 2017.

### Reception

BBC One drama *Taboo* was the big winner at the 2017 RTS Craft and Design Awards, **nominated** in six categories, including Costume Design, Drama, Make-Up Design, Drama, Music, Original Title, Production Design, Drama, Sound, Drama and Design, Trails & Packaging.

The Scott Free London and Hardy, Son and Baker-produced series *won* for Costume Design in a Drama (Joanna Eatwell), Make-Up Design in a Drama (Erika Okvist, Jan Archibald, and Audrey Doyle) and Sound in a Drama.

## Trivia

* The first series of *Taboo* marks the acting debut of ex professional rugby player Danny Ligairi.
* Oona Chaplin, Jonathan Pryce, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Mark Gatiss, Lucian Msamati, Tim Plester and Nicholas Blane all had roles on the HBO series, *Game of Thrones*.
* Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Graham and Tom Hollander all appeared in many films of the *Pirates of the Caribbean* franchise.

## Gallery

* Posters
* Characters
* Cards
* Son of Horace 1814
* Behind the Scenes

James Keziah DelaneyZilpha GearyLorna BowBraceSir Stuart StrangeMichael GodfreyHelga von HintenAtticusCholmondeleySolomon CoopThorne GearyDumbartonPrince RegentRobert Thoyt

*Main article: Son of Horace 1814*

"Summoning dark spirits"Stephen Graham, Scroobius Pip and Tom HardyFilming East India Company behind the scenesTom Hardy and Jessie BuckleyTom Hardy and Jason WatkinsThe show creators: Chip and Tom Hardy, Steven KnightTom Hardy with director Kristoffer NyholmBehind the scenes on setTom Hardy with Robert Viglasky and Stephen GrahamStephen Graham, Scroobius Pip and Tom HardyScroobius Pip, Stephen Graham & Tom Hardy (color)Tom Hardy behind the scenesTom Hardy announcing the Second Season!Inside the productionTom and Chip Hardy behind the scenes

## Promotional Videos

* Teasers
* Episode Trailers
* Episode Previews

Taboo Trailer - BBC OneTaboo Season 1 Official Trailer FXTaboo Season 1 Mad Promo FXTaboo Season 1 Foolish Things Promo FXTaboo Season 1 Mask Promo FXTaboo Season 1 Revenge Promo FXTaboo Season 1 Deserving Promo FXTaboo Season 1 Little Men Promo FXTaboo Season 1 Dear James Promo FXTaboo Season 1 Evil Promo FXTaboo Season 1 Dangerous Promo FXTaboo Season 1 World Premiere FX

Taboo Episode 1 available now on iPlayer - BBC OneTaboo Season 1 Ep. 2 Trailer FXTaboo Season 1 Ep. 3 Trailer FXTaboo Episode 3 Trailer - BBC OneTaboo Season 1 Ep. 4 Trailer FXTaboo Season 1 Ep. 5 Trailer FXTaboo Season 1 Ep. 6 Trailer FXTaboo Season 1 Ep. 7 Trailer FXTaboo Season 1 Ep. 8 Trailer FX

Helga and James in the brothel - Taboo Episode 1 Preview - BBC OneJames and Atticus in the Dolphin - Taboo Episode 2 Preview - BBC OneJames forbids Lorna to do her performance - Taboo Episode 3 Preview - BBC OneJames meets Zilpha in the garden - Taboo Episode 4 Preview - BBC OneJames and Thorne duel - Taboo Episode 5 Preview - BBC OneJames returns home - Taboo Episode 6 Preview - BBC One"What's the use in hiding?" - Taboo Episode 7 Preview - BBC OneSir Stuart Strange calls his men together - Taboo Episode 8 Preview - BBC One

## References

1. ↑ SHOW SYNOPSIS on BBC Studios
2. ↑ Mirror, Tom Hardy 'earned over £500K' from Taboo
3. ↑  Huffingtonpost.co.uk Huffington Post, Tom Hardy on Taboo's nude scenes
4. ↑ Radio Times, 13 burning question we have after the first episode of Taboo
5. ↑ A ghostly woman figure is visible behind Pettifer
6. ↑ *TABOO: Tom Hardy explains the supernatural side of the period drama*
7. ↑ RTS announces nominations for Craft & Design Awards 2017
8. ↑ Taboo leads the way at RTS Craft awards — Broadcast Now.com