Towards the end of Guy Ritchie‘s The Gentlemen, there was a tongue-in-cheek moment where slimy private detective Fletcher (Hugh Grant) optioned the film’s entire story to Miramax. As it turns out, that scene was far more meta than we gave it credit for given The Gentlemen TV series currently headed to Netflix.
The original 2019 flick followed Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey), an American expatriate who found his fortune by building a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he’s looking to cash out and retire, it triggers an array of plots and schemes from shady characters all over the gaff.
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The eight-part drama, however, follows Eddie Halstead (Theo James), who has inherited his English aristocrat father’s sizeable estate to become the new Duke of Halstead — only to discover it’s sitting on top of the biggest weed farm in Europe, owned by the legendary Mickey Pearson. According to Deadline, “It’s all about old money, new money, and show me the money.”
“Has this straight-up soldier got what it takes to master the dark arts of the British criminal underworld and take control of the entire operation?” reads the official description.
Commissioned by Miramax Television, the pilot script has been co-written by Guy Ritchie himself, and Peaky Blinders producer Matthew Read. Ritchie has also signed on to direct the first two episodes and will serve as executive producer alongside original producers/longtime collaborators Ivan Atkinson, Marn Davies, and Bill Block. In other words, plan, we can breathe a little easier knowing everything behind the cameras is in safe hands.
Incidentally, this represents something of a full-circle moment for Ritchie and The Gentlemen as a whole. Prior to the pandemic, the all-star action-comedy led by Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Jeremy Strong, and Colin Farrell was actually pitched as a series. But of course, it eventually took the form of a feature-length affair that grossed $115.2 million against an incredibly modest $22 million budget.
Cut to 2023/2024, and it’s working in the other direction, thereby securing the best of both worlds.
“The world of The Gentlemen is a little bit of me,” Guy Ritchie told Netflix.
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“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.”
As for talent in front of the cameras, White Lotus alum Theo James is set to be joined by Vinnie Jones as Geoff Seacombe, Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield, Daniel Ings as Freddy Halstead, Joely Richardson as Lady Sabrina, Alexis Rodney as Stevens, Chanel Cresswell as Tammy, and Max Beesley as Henry Collins.
Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul fixture Giancarlo Esposito and Peter Serafinowicz (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, John Wick: Chapter 2) have also been cast in yet-to-be-disclosed roles; along with Michael Vu, Jasmine Blackborow, Harry Goodwins, Dar Salim, Ruby Sear, and Pearce Quigley.
While audiences would understandably love to see Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell, and Hugh Grant return to Netflix’s The Gentlemen TV series, given how active their respective careers are, it seems just a tad unlikely.
McConaughey alone is reportedly on track to helm his own fully-fledged franchise spin-off in the forthcoming Yellowstone continuation post-Kevin Costner. But I have been wrong before. And really… how long does a cameo appearance take to shoot?
A release date for The Gentlemen TV series has yet to be announced, but Netflix has confirmed it’ll hit streaming queues sometime in 2024. Check out the first-look images above/below.
