Lots of people played pretty quick catch-up with Tom Hardy’s “Taboo” debut.
The FX series premiere episode jumped 101 percent among adults 18-49, per Nielsen’s Live + 3 Day TV ratings, totaling 1.63 million. That’s a new record for a series opener on the cable channel, and the sum total ranks it fourth among new cable dramas over the past year.
FX can make the same growth claim in terms of total viewers, though the number is slightly less dramatic. The 72-hour catch-up viewing on Episode 101 of “Taboo” soared 86 percent among overall audience members. That sum is now 3.43 million viewers, up from 2.2 million, ranking sixth among cable drama premieres of the last 12 months.
Set in 1814, “Taboo” follows James Keziah Delaney, a man who has been to the ends of the earth and comes back irrevocably changed. Believed to be long dead, he returns home to London from Africa to inherit what is left of his father’s shipping empire and rebuild a life for himself, per FX’s official description. But his father’s legacy is a poisoned chalice, and with enemies lurking in every dark corner, James must navigate increasingly complex territories to avoid his own death sentence. Encircled by conspiracy, murder and betrayal, a dark family mystery unfolds in a combustible tale of love and treachery.
“Taboo” is created by Steven Knight with Tom Hardy and Chips Hardy, who is also the show’s consulting producer. Executive producers are Ridley Scott and Kate Crowe for Scott Free Films, Tom Hardy and Dean Baker for Hardy Son & Baker, and Steven Knight, with Timothy Bricknell producing. “Taboo” is directed by Kristoffer Nyholm (Eps. 1-4) and Anders Engström (Eps. 5-8).
Episode 2 airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX. Here’s that hour’s plot line and credits: As James Delaney assembles his league of the damned, an unexpected arrival threatens to disrupt his plans. Written by Steven Knight; directed by Kristoffer Nyholm.