Acclaimed director Guy Ritchie, most known for his British gangster movies and the two Robert Downey Jr.-fronted Sherlock Holmes films, is heading to Netflix with a new series inspired by his 2020 flick, The Gentlemen.
The show of the same name won’t feature any of the movie’s original cast, but it will be similar in tone, as well as also focusing on the illegal drug trade. The series will be led by Theo James, who you might recognize from The White Lotus season 2.
James will play Eddie Horniman, the estranged son of an English aristocrat, who inherits his father's significant estate, only to discover it’s built on the foundations of a vast criminal operation.
Eddie must adapt quickly as he finds himself embroiled in London’s underworld with major players vying for a piece of the family’s empire. These unsavory parties include Bobby Glass (Ray Winstone), and his ruthless daughter, Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario). At first, the fish-out-of-water attempts to sever ties with these illicit actors and clean up the business, but Eddie develops an unexpected taste for the criminal world and is drawn further into a ruthless world of crime and power.
The drama series will also star Daniel Ings, Joely Richardson, Vinnie Jones, Chanel Cresswell and, Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul alumni, Giancarlo Esposito. While he's not the sole creative involved, Ritchie’s fingerprints will be all over the show as he’s operating as creator, co-writer and executive producer. Plus, he’s personally directed the first two episodes of The Gentlemen.
You can watch the first trailer above, but be warned it's merely a short teaser rather than a full preview. However, it still functions as an appropriate mood setter and suggests The Gentlemen TV show will be similar in tone and narrative to its full-feature counterpart.
As of now, the 2020 movie isn’t available on any of the best streaming services, but you can rent or buy it on Amazon, and there’s always the possibility it’ll arrive on Netflix in the lead-up to the spin-off show’s premiere, which is scheduled for March.
