Taboo
A vengeful ex‑soldier returns to 1814 London clutching stolen diamonds, determined to avenge his father’s murder while battling corrupt merchants and a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy everything he loves.
Credits
Related titles
No curated related titles yet. Use the edit affordance to add "More from this director", "Same franchise", or "Adaptation source material" entries — every change goes through the wiki review queue.
In 1814, adventurer James Keziah Delaney returns to London from Africa, accompanied by fourteen stolen diamonds, with the intent to seek vengeance for the death of his father.
Seasons & Episodes
Season 18 episodes · premiered Jan 7, 2017
- 1.01Episode 1Jan 7, 2017Rate
In 1814, James Delaney returns to London after spending ten years in Africa, seeking to uncover the details of a mysterious inheritance left to him by his late father.
- 1.02Episode 2Jan 14, 2017Rate
James Delaney starts assembling his crew for a perilous mission, but an unexpected arrival threatens to disrupt his meticulously made plans.
- 1.03Episode 3Jan 21, 2017Rate
James Delaney takes decisive and unconventional steps to protect himself from individuals who seek to kill him.
- 1.04Episode 4Jan 28, 2017Rate
After being blacklisted, James Delaney takes aggressive steps to safeguard his business.
- 1.05Episode 5Feb 4, 2017Rate
James Delaney is forced into a perilous assignment under threat, as tensions between the British Crown and the East India Company intensify.
- 1.06Episode 6Feb 11, 2017Rate
James Delaney confronts conflict from the East India Company while a startling family secret plunges him into intense personal crisis.
- 1.07Episode 7Feb 18, 2017Rate
James Delaney confronts a serious betrayal that threatens his freedom, providing his enemies with the opportunity they have long desired to weaken him.
- 1.08Episode 8Feb 25, 2017Rate
As the Prince Regent, driven by anger, initiates a final scheme to eliminate him, James Delaney plots his escape.
Sign in to rate, log, or skip individual seasons & episodes.
Community tags
Be the first to tag this page — tags appear right away. Try a theme, capability, or subject (e.g. WWII, heist, slow burn, time travel, A24).
Cast & Crew
23 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Supporting cast
9Writers
4Technical specs
No technical specs (aspect ratio, sound mix, cameras…) documented yet. Know it? Add it →
Awards
No awards or nominations listed yet. Know it? Add it →
Connections
No connections (sequels, references, remakes…) mapped yet. Know it? Add it →
Soundtrack
No soundtrack documented yet. Know it? Add it →
Filming locations
No filming locations documented yet. Know it? Add it →
Spoiler-Safe Guide
medium confidencesource-verifiedSeries 1 only (8 episodes). Series 2 renewed March 2017 but not yet aired as of June 2026. All 8 episode titles are simply numbered 'Episode 1' through 'Episode 8' — confirmed via epguides.com and the Wikipedia article. Sources fetched this run include: Wikipedia Taboo (2017 TV series), epguides.com episode guide, Den of Geek ending explained, Den of Geek E8 review, insidetellyblog E6/E7/E8 reviews, Refinery29 E6/E8 recaps, The Wrap on Chichester/Sons of Africa/Cornwallis, search results confirming Solomon Coop debut episode (E2), search results confirming Pettifer/EIC as Winter's killer, search results confirming 280 as the slave ship death toll.
Showing everything up to nothing yet. 13 later beat(s) hidden.
Key: ★ notable · ★★ major · ★★★ series-defining · ✓ confirmed · ~ estimated · ⚠️ limited sources
Major events
Characters
James Keziah Delaney · Tom Hardy · debut [S1E1✓]
A man who spent 12 years in Africa and returns to London in 1814 — believed dead — to claim his father's estate, including the strategically vital Nootka Sound land. Cold, amoral, and possessed of apparent supernatural awareness, he spends the series building a crew, manufacturing gunpowder as leverage, and outmaneuvering the East India Company, the Crown, and American intelligence simultaneously. He escapes at the series end, destination unknown but pointed toward the Azores.
Zilpha Geary · Oona Chaplin · debut [S1E1✓]
James's half-sister (same father), married to the cruel and jealous Thorne Geary. Trapped in an abusive marriage, she shares a psychic-supernatural bond with James that is depicted as partly erotic. She murders Thorne, then is coldly discarded by James, and ends the series by drowning herself in the Thames.
Lorna Bow · Jessie Buckley · debut [S1E2✓]
An Irish-American stage actress who claims to have secretly married Horace Delaney in Dublin. She arrives as a legal threat to James's inheritance, but gradually becomes a genuine ally and member of his inner circle, surviving to depart on the Good Hope (shot but recovering) in the finale.
Sir Stuart Strange · Jonathan Pryce · debut [S1E1✓]
Chairman of the East India Company. The series' primary antagonist, he views James as an existential threat to the Company's commercial empire. He is guilty of illegally transporting enslaved Africans (the ship sank, killing approximately 300 people). Killed by a letter bomb in the finale.
Atticus · Stephen Graham · debut [S1E2✓]
A sharp, psychopathic old acquaintance of James who is recruited as his spy, informant, and enforcer. A recurring source of dark levity, he remains loyal throughout and escapes with James's crew on the Good Hope.
George Cholmondeley · Tom Hollander · debut [S1E4✓]
An eccentric Royal Society chemist with a fondness for nitrous oxide, recruited by James to manufacture gunpowder. Essential to the series' central scheme; badly burned in the finale explosion but survives and escapes with James.
Dr. Dumbarton · Michael Kelly · debut [S1E3✓]
An American physician and intelligence operative, presented as a key American ally for James. Revealed in the finale to be a double agent working also for the East India Company. Killed by James in the finale, his body displayed as a message to Strange.
Brace · David Hayman · debut [S1E1✓]
The loyal Delaney family butler who served Horace for decades. He is revealed to have poisoned Horace as a mercy killing. James forgives him. He is ordered to remain in London when the rest of the crew escapes.
Helga · Franka Potente · debut [S1E1✓]
A brothel madam who runs her business out of offices once belonging to Horace Delaney. Mother of Winter. She initially works with James but turns him over to the EIC after blaming him for Winter's death. Killed during the dockside battle in the finale.
Winter · Ruby-May Martinwood · debut [S1E2✓]
Helga's daughter; an independent street urchin and scavenger on the Thames banks. She admires James and warns him of threats. Found dead in Episode 6 under ambiguous circumstances; later revealed to have been killed by the East India Company.
Thorne Geary · Jefferson Hall · debut [S1E1✓]
Zilpha's cruel and jealous husband. A minor antagonist, he grows increasingly paranoid about the relationship between Zilpha and James. He is humiliated in a rigged pistol duel, beats Zilpha, and is ultimately murdered by her with a hatpin in Episode 6.
George Chichester · Lucian Msamati · debut [S1E5✓]
A Sons of Africa lawyer who has spent years investigating the illegal slave cargo of the Cornwallis (disguised as The Influence), whose sinking killed approximately 300 enslaved Africans. He confronts James and ultimately finds the legal evidence to implicate the EIC.
Solomon Coop · Jason Watkins · debut [S1E2✓]
The private secretary and spymaster for the British Crown. An antagonist who maneuvers against James throughout the series on behalf of the Prince Regent, wielding a network of informants. Ultimately outmaneuvered by James by the finale.
AI-assisted and cross-checked against multiple references. ✓ = confirmed from a cited source · ~ = season correct but episode unconfirmed · ⚠️ = limited sources. Spotted a mistake? Use the report button on this page.
Parents Guide
AI Personalities
Advisory Bot AI
I keep the family-safety picture honest — community advisories, AI-moderated, summarized without spin.
Ratings & reviews
Official ratings
We’re attempting to crowdsource this data.
Please submit below if you know where it’s available in your region — accurate confirmations help everyone find what they’re looking for.
Where to watch
Not currently streaming on any platform we track.
Gallery (1)
Add imageMedia & Uploads
Stills, promotional art, storyboards — community-curated images and reference material for this series.
Did you or a loved one work on Taboo?
Every stage matters — pitch decks and treatments from development, location scouts and table-reads from pre-production, set photos and crew anecdotes from production, edit-bay notes from post, and press kits, festival memories, or marketing ephemera from distribution. Any moment that didn't make the press tour, any document or photograph that's been sitting in a box — please share it so it's not lost to time.
We particularly welcome contributions from writers, producers, cast, crew, festival programmers, distributors, marketing teams, their families, and anyone who was there at any stage.
Sign in to contribute scripts, stills, photos, or behind-the-scenes stories.
Be the first to share something on Taboo.
Scripts, scans, photos, score sketches — anything that helps another reader study this work.
Memorable quotes
Browse all →No quotes logged for Taboo yet — add the first memorable line below.
Got a quote we’re missing?
Submit a line from any film, show, or game.
Trailers
No trailers logged for Taboo yet — add the first one below.
Spot a trailer we’re missing?
Add a trailer from any film, show, or game.
The conversation
Loading the conversation…
Comments (0)
on TabooNo comments yet. Be the first to share what you think.
Edit history
Loading edit history…