The Gentleman is the slick new Netflix drama centred around the secret lives of the super-rich, telling the story of a young aristocrat who unexpectedly inherits his family's fortune - and its drug empire.
After its release in early March, The Gentleman shot straight to the top of the Netflix UK chart. You may recognise the name of the series from Guy Richie's 2019 film of the same name, which boasted an all-star cast including Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell, Charlie Hunnam and Hugh Grant. But while the premise of the Netflix show is somewhat similar, giving viewers an insight into the darker underbelly of high society life, the characters are completely different.
In the reboot, we meet Eddie Horniman, the Duke of Halstead and estranged son of an English aristocrat, played by The White Lotus star Theo James, who quickly becomes connected to career criminal Bobby Glass, played by Ray Winstone, and his fierce (both in her wardrobe and her nature) daughter Susie Glass, played by former Skins actor Kaya Scodelario. The relationship between the male and female lead is, let's say, complex, so much so it's left many asking the question 'do Eddie Horniman and Susie Glass get together?'
The popularity of The Gentleman has put Guy Richie's original movie in the spotlight, with viewers questioning how much of Netflix's The Gentlemen is based on the original film, as well as whether Guy Ritchie directed the new series.
Is Netflix's The Gentleman based on the film?
Yes and no – there's no easy answer to this one. Guy Richie's original film depicted the same world where the Netflix series is set, but the plot and characters are entirely new. It's also not clear how the time scale operates, exactly. It's been five years since the original film landed, but that's not to say that this is mirrored in the new series.
Essentially, the main similarity between the film and the series is the meeting of two very different (but often interlinked) worlds, gangsters and the aristocracy. Guy Richie explained to What To Watch, "It’s a sojourn into aristocrats meeting world gangsters. The world is exactly the same. The aristocrats have got brilliant houses, lots of land but they don’t have any cash to live on.
"That’s why in our story the aristocrats are putting skunk farms in their back gardens. The show is about the transition, the evolution from zoo to jungle and how to hunt in the jungle to survive. If you like my sort of worlds, you should like this one."
This is a technique producers have been experimenting with in recent years, with Mr and Mrs Smith being another example of a spin-off show drawing inspiration from a popular film. But like in the case of The Gentleman, viewers don't need to have watched the original movie to understand the series.
Did Guy Ritchie direct The Gentlemen series?
The Gentleman is very much Guy Richie's baby and he was heavily involved in the new Netflix series as creator, co-writer and executive producer. He also directed the first two episodes.
"The world of The Gentlemen is a little bit of me," Ritchie told Netflix. "We’re looking forward to bringing fans back into that world, introducing new characters and their stories, and I am excited to be doing it with this extremely talented cast."
You can watch all eight episodes of The Gentlemen on Netflix now.
