MOBLAND: SEASON ONE
Starring: Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Paddy Considine, Joanne Froggatt, Lara Pulver, Anson Boon, Jasmine Jobson, Mandeep Dhillon, Daniel Betts, Geoff Bell, Janet McTeer, Toby Jones, and Jordi Mollà
Creator: Ronan Bennett
QUENTIN
If you didn’t know, MobLand was originally conceived as a spinoff to Ray Donovan before being retooled into its own thing. Thankfully, despite seeing the Donovan DNA throughout, not to mention shades of Gangs of London, this is just a damn good show. Granted, a surly Tom Hardy, ruthless Pierce Brosnan, devious Helen Mirren, and director Guy Ritchie go a long way to elevate fairly standard mob fare, but this one also has the benefit of sharp writing, gritty style, brutal violence, tense moments, and dark humor. Also, you’ll be seeing a lot of people next Tuesday, especially Eddie (Anson Boon), if you catch my meaning.
AMARÚ
MobLand is as entertaining as a British crime drama from Guy Ritchie, starring Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Paddy Considine, and Tom Hardy, sounds like it would be. It reaches Power- and Game of Thrones-levels of twisty turny, but there’s a clear difference with this family mob story: it’s fucking hilarious. Watching an unhinged Brosnan and Mirren alongside Hardy's personification of the quintessential never-shaken fix-it man you don’t fuck with – not to mention Considine continuing his more-than-solid run of roles made for genuine belly laughs – through a string of jaw-dropping reveals and crazy violent blowups… yeah, I’d definitely like some more, please.
ROBERT
Dark, absurdist humor through twisted, British gang violence is what Guy Ritchie does, and his schtick fits well for prestige TV, as seen with MobLand. The juxtaposition of the cool, collected machinations of Tom Hardy’s Harry as fixer and the raw, animalistic jawing of both Pierce Brosnan’s Conrad and Helen Mirren’s Maeve as mob royalty is captivating. Everything is slick but grimy, like you can see the muck and mud trying to swallow the fiefdom as built by the Harrigan family in real time. If you are in the mood for blokes getting nicked before their teapots are wiped and getting stuffed in boots, this is a show for you.
