Fans of gritty period dramas have waited years for fresh word on Taboo, the BBC-FX series that hooked viewers back in 2017 with its raw mix of revenge, mystery, and Tom Hardy’s magnetic scowl. That brooding tale of James Keziah Delaney navigating the underbelly of 19th-century London left audiences craving more, especially after that explosive finale. Now, in late 2025, whispers from the production camp suggest the long-dormant sequel is stirring back to life. Here’s a rundown of the latest scuttlebutt on when it might drop, who’s stepping back into the fray, and what twisted paths the story could carve next.
Taboo Season 2 Release Date Speculations
Picture this: eight long years since the first season wrapped, and Taboo Season 2 has dodged pandemics, packed schedules, and the relentless churn of Hollywood. BBC One and FX greenlit the follow-up way back in March 2017, but delays piled up like fog over the Thames. Fast-forward to 2025, and the buzz feels electric. Tom Hardy himself dropped a cryptic Instagram hint in February, pairing eerie Season 1 tunes with shadowy visuals—fans swear they spotted “Taboo Season 2” text before it vanished.
No hard premiere date has landed yet, but insiders point to filming possibly ramping up in late 2025 or early 2026. If that holds, expect screens to light up with Delaney’s return sometime in late 2026 or early 2027—maybe a chilly January slot, just like the original’s mid-winter vibe.
Taboo Season 2 Expected Cast
At the core stands Tom Hardy, slipping back into James Delaney’s mud-caked boots and haunted glare. As co-creator alongside his dad Chips Hardy and Peaky Blinders mastermind Steven Knight, he’s got skin in the game beyond just the acting—shaping the soul of this beast. In a Collider sit-down this year, Hardy doubled down on his passion, insisting the team won’t rush a single frame.
The rest of the ensemble? It’s a tantalizing maybe-list so far. Expect returns from Jessie Buckley as the sharp-tongued Lorna Bow, Tom Hollander chewing scenery as the scheming George Cholmondeley, and Edward Hogg’s eerie Michael Godfrey. Oona Chaplin’s Zilpha—Delaney’s tragic half-sister—might linger in flashbacks or echoes, given her heartbreaking arc in Season 1. Veterans like Jonathan Pryce (the venomous Stuart Strange) and Michael Kelly could pop up too, depending on how the plot twists the knife. Fresh blood? No names yet, but Knight’s track record screams for bold additions to stir the pot. Hardy teased in March that development’s humming, so casting calls could drop any day now.
Taboo Season 2 Potential Plot
Season 1 closed on a gut-punch: Delaney torching his foes in a blaze of vengeance, gunning for the East India Company’s grip on his family’s Nootka Sound claim. That supernatural edge—the ghosts whispering from the grave, the opium haze blurring lines between man and myth—left threads dangling like nooses.
Knight spilled that the full arc’s locked in: eight episodes plunging deeper into betrayal, foggy docks, and Delaney’s unyielding hunt for those Pacific secrets. Expect the story to sprawl wider, maybe chasing Delaney across oceans or into Africa’s slave-trading shadows, all while cranking up the occult chills and moral muck. Hardy and Knight aim for something “darker and more expansive,” laced with the kind of taboo reckonings that made the original pulse with unease. No spoilers, but those cryptic Season 1 tattoos? They might finally unravel the “reckoning” fans have puzzled over for years.