Taboo – Season 2 (2026) marks the long-awaited return of the dark, enigmatic drama starring Tom Hardy as the mysterious and morally complex James Delaney. After years of delays and speculation, this new chapter picks up in the early 19th century, directly following the events of Season 1, as James and his band of misfits escape British soil and journey westward across the Atlantic.
Now set against the shadowy backdrop of early America, Season 2 shifts the intrigue from London’s political underworld to the ruthless birth of American capitalism and colonial expansion. James, still haunted by his past and his growing spiritual visions, finds himself entangled in the power struggle between the emerging U.S. intelligence apparatus, Native resistance movements, and remnants of the British East India Company, who are still determined to destroy him.
James’s long-term goal begins to take shape: to establish a “true trading company” rooted not in exploitation but in freedom—though his methods remain brutal, secretive, and morally ambiguous. As he attempts to build alliances with both Indigenous leaders and underground radicals, tensions rise within his own ranks. Loyalties are tested as his followers begin to question whether James is a visionary… or a madman.
Season 2 also delves deeper into James’s mythic connection to his mother’s African heritage, spiritual rituals, and the ancestral forces that seem to guide—and torment—him. His growing reputation as both a prophet and a killer attracts new enemies, including American industrialists, French agents, and rival smugglers, all of whom want a piece of the global empire he is trying to control from the shadows.
Returning characters such as Lorna Bow, Atticus, and Brace find themselves drawn back into Delaney’s dangerous orbit, while new characters—powerful women, escaped slaves, and Indigenous warriors—bring fresh energy and complexity to the narrative. The dialogue remains rich and poetic, and the tone, as always, is gritty, violent, and soaked in moral ambiguity.
Visually, Season 2 retains its signature cinematic gloom and grim realism, blending history with folklore, mysticism, and political conspiracy. The themes of power, corruption, identity, and rebellion remain central, but with a more expansive geopolitical lens.
Taboo – Season 2 (2026) is not just a continuation—it’s an escalation. It transforms James Delaney from a vengeful outcast into a revolutionary force navigating the creation of modern empires. With Hardy’s magnetic performance at its core, the show reasserts itself as one of television’s most unique, intense, and uncompromising dramas.