I’ll admit to entering “MobLand” with some hesitation. Paramount+ has wasted no time becoming the hub for what could be called “Dad TV,” mostly by Taylor Sheridan, but not exclusively, and I haven’t been the biggest fan of most of it. It’s really an extension of the fact that network partner CBS has had the oldest average viewer for generations, which has extended a sort of “old-fashioned,” sometimes even arguably MAGA production schedule to weave from the broadcast version to the streaming one. I also wasn’t into Guy Ritchie’s last streaming effort in Netflix’s “The Gentlemen.” Would this be just another over-cooked drama about tough-talking idiots and the people who have to clean up their messes? Well, sorta, but Ritchie brings his A-game to this two-episode premiere, shooting the twisty plot with just enough style to elevate it without pulling attention from what really works here: sharp writing and an even sharper performance from Tom Hardy.
Created by Ronan Bennett, “MobLand” actually started life as a Showtime spin-off/prequel to the cable network’s hit “Ray Donovan,” seeking to tell an origin story for the family around everyone’s favorite fixer. When that collapsed for undisclosed reasons, the show to be called “The Donovans” shifted into “MobLand,” but one can see the DNA of Liev Schreiber’s quick-thinking fixer in a similar role played here by Hardy. The man who played Bane steps into the shoes of Harry, one of those guys who keeps the tentative peace between London crime families by cleaning up messes and negotiating deals. Hardy is excellent here, finding the right tone for a man who is often the smartest one in the room but can’t let on that he knows that. He’s deferential when he needs to be; powerful when it requires a show of force. He’s got that Donovan energy, the kind that can hold a show together.
Harry’s main employer is a crime boss named Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan, appropriately slimy), who rules London with his own Lady MacBeth, Maeve (a perfectly heartless Helen Mirren). Peace in the U.K. is tenuous as a rival gang led by Richie Stevenson (Geoff Bell) is seeking more power, and everything threatens to explode when Richie’s son goes out partying with Conrad’s grandson Eddie (Anson Boon). The coke-fueled night includes a stabbing and the disappearance of the Stevenson heir. Did Eddie do something to him? As Harry tries to fix this situation, another arises at the end of the premiere that could bring the authorities down on everyone. And, of course, all of this happens against a backdrop of marital strife for our taciturn hero as Harry’s wife Jan (Joanne Froggatt) has had just about enough of this life. The great Paddy Considine also stars as Conrad’s son and Eddie’s father, alongside Mandeep Dhillon as Conrad’s daughter.
“MobLand” is familiar but effective, weaving a few strong plotlines together—potential drama within the Harrigan empire, potential drama from their rivals, and potential family drama at Harry’s home—into an entertaining whole. Ritchie knows this world well, but he doesn’t overplay his hand here, keeping the two-part premiere humming instead of overheating. It’s a show that could quickly devolve into a few too many negotiations—the crime show’s version of a slow burn that sometimes fizzles in a streaming era defined by narrative sag—but Ritchie and Hardy have laid an impressive foundation here. I’m eager to see what “MobLand” builds on it.
Two episodes screened for review. Premieres Sunday, March 30th, on Paramount+.
