Paramount+‘s “MobLand,” from Ronan Bennett — who is “The Day of the Jackal” creator, as well as the “Top Boy” showrunner — is a different kind of U.K.-based crime drama. The dark and gritty series, with a starry cast, offers viewers a deep dive into the lives of two warring crime families, the Harrigans and the Stevensons. However, Bennett and director Guy Ritchie, who helms the first two episodes of the 10-part season, which were all that were furnished to critics for review, choose a unique vantage point for the narrative. While the Harrigans, led by patriarch Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) and matriarch Maeve (Helen Mirren) and the Stevensons, led by patriarch Richie (Geoff Bell), are all engaging to watch, this story centers around longtime Harrigan fixer Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy). The show is bursting with talent and tension, but it remains to be seen whether “MobLand” can go the distance.
“MobLand” was initially supposed to be a spinoff of the hit Showtime drama “Ray Donovan.” However, it was reworked entirely as a standalone series without connection to the Liev Schreiber-starrer. The show opens in a dark bunker somewhere in London. Harry sits at the head of the table between the Dogan and the Lazaro crime syndicates, who are at each other’s throats. After much argument, the groups, though still fuming, come to a tenuous ceasefire. Ascending from the bunker, Harry briefs Conrad on what’s happened. Dissatisfied with the pseudo truce, the mob boss gives Harry alternative orders to squash the beef between the families once and for all. For Harry, it’s just another day’s work, a segment of his life he carefully tucks away when he returns to his posh apartment to his long-suffering wife, Jan (Joanne Froggatt, of “Downton Abbey”), and their teenage daughter, Gina (Teddie Allen).
Harry may have completed his mission, but across town, two young men are only beginning their night. Leaving a bar in Mayfair, Eddie Harrigan (Anson Boon) tries to persuade a reluctant Tommy Stevenson (Felix Edwards) to keep the evening going. Tommy is wary, not only because he and Eddie are on opposite sides of feuding families but also because Eddie’s menacing nature makes him uneasy. Though the pair are spotted together later that night, Tommy never arrives home in the morning.
Amid their son’s disappearance, Richie and his wife Vron (Annie Cooper) begin questioning and antagonizing the Harrigans. This festering, history-fueled conflict pushes Harry to the center of it all as he desperately tries to determine how to quell the flames and manage other Harrigans bombs on the verge of exploding. The main issue with “MobLand” (at least in the first two episodes) is that it’s extremely slow to start. Despite the violence and drama, “MobLand” sputters until about 25 minutes into the series opener, “Stick or Twist.” Brosnan and Mirren are thrilling to watch, as always. Yet, their diabolical dynamic – spearheaded by Maeve- doesn’t take shape until the episode’s final scene.
Since the audience is introduced to the Harrigans and Stevensons just as they are on the verge of war, it takes some time to unfurl these intricate family trees and Harry’s decades-long connection to them. In Episode 2, “Jigsaw Puzzle,” Harry’s introduction to the Harrigans is showcased through flashbacks of him and Eddie’s father, Kevin (Paddy Considine), a man who barely seems able to stomach the violence that comes with his father’s empire.
Additionally, Hardy, a movie star known for embodying imposing figures, is initially overly contained as Harry. Only at the end of the second episode does the stoic fixer allow himself to be unleashed. As he and his associate Kiko (Antonio González Guerrero) go terrorizing their way into a packed dance club, the audience can’t help but sigh in relief, acknowledging at last this is a man who is capable of way more than verbal threats and handling logistics. It’s here that the tale finally seems to take off.
Without seeing the series’ final eight episodes, it’s challenging to imagine how “MobLand” might pan out as a whole. However, it doesn’t appear to possess the scope of Peacock’s “Day of the Jackal” nor the dazzling turmoil of Ritchie’s 2024 Netflix show, “The Gentlemen.” Still, with some compelling revelations, primarily sequestered in the second episode, it will be intriguing to see if the story can take shape– especially as this A-list cast leads the charge.
“MobLand” premieres March 30 on Paramount+ with new episodes dropping weekly on Sundays.
