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TV This Week

For Tom Hardy, another chance to show his intensity

In 'Taboo,' he plays a man presumed dead who suddenly reappears

By Toni Fitzgerald

January 10, 2017

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When you think of British actor Tom Hardy, you probably think of the sort of character he’s known for playing: Tough, dark and clever, with the sort of gravelly voice that would make you cringe if you encountered him in a dark alley.

So playing the lead role in FX’s “Taboo,” the new period drama set in the early 1800s that premieres tonight at 10 p.m., isn’t much of a stretch.

The man Hardy plays, James, is dark and brooding and rugged and distrustful, and with good reason. He’s been missing for years, presumed dead in Africa, until he turns up suddenly to claim his family fortune.

As you’d expect, not everyone is happy to see him, and James ends up in quite a pickle trying to prove he’s who he says he is while protecting his family interests and defending himself from accusations that he’s “gone native,” quite the slur back in the 19^th century.

There’s a reason why the character Hardy plays hews so closely to the ones he’s played in the past. Hardy and his father, Chips, developed the show together, along with Steven Knight, who collaborated with Hardy in the British show “Peaky Blinders.”

FX has found a show that perfectly fits with its edgy identity. Will Hardy be able to pull in viewers who once made “Sons of Anarchy” the network’s defining show? That’s certainly the aim, though the network has struggled to match the magic of “Anarchy” over the past two years. “The Bastard Executioner,” an equally dark drama from “Anarchy’s” creator, lasted just a season.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	NBC	“The Wall” (G)	Chris Hardwick’s attempt to become the new Ryan Seacrest continues with back-to-back airings of his new game show. The second episode scheduled for 9 p.m., however, is a repeat because…
9 p.m.	Most networks and various cable channels	“Presidential Address” (N)	… President Obama’s farewell address to the nation will likely disrupt the start time of several shows.
9 p.m.	TNT	“Good Behavior” (D)	Letty has to make a fateful decision in order to save Javier during the season finale of TNT’s rookie original series.
9 p.m.	BET	“Being Mary Jane” (D)	A new man enters Mary Jane’s life in the fourth-season premiere of BET’s hit original show starring Gabrielle Union.
10 p.m.	NBC	“This Is Us” (D)	NBC’s hit show returns an hour later than usual to accommodate President Obama’s farewell address.
10 p.m.	FX	“Taboo” (D)	Eighty-one minute series premiere of FX’s new limited series, starring Tom Hardy as a 19th century British aristocrat who returns to claim his heritage after being missing and presumed dead in Africa for years.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11
Time	Network	Program	Description
8:30 p.m.	ABC	“Speechless” (C)	The DiMeos try to get on the good side of their insurance agent; Ray uses JJ as inspiration to try and win a school essay contest.
9 p.m.	MTV	“Are You the One?” (R)	For the fifth-season premiere of MTV’s reality dating show, 22 singles move together into a house in the Dominican Republic looking for true love.
9 p.m.	CBS	“Criminal Minds” (D)	The team investigates a series of deadly home invasions in upscale San Diego neighborhoods.
10 p.m.	Bravo	“Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce” (R)	Phoebe throws a party to celebrate womanhood and Abby deals with the fallout from last year’s gigolo scandal in the third-season premiere of Bravo’s reality show.
10:30 p.m.	Comedy Central	“Jeff & Some Aliens” (C)	Series premiere of the network’s new animated comedy, which gets the benefit from the lead-in premiere of the final season of departing “Workaholics” at 10 p.m.
10:30 p.m.	TBS	“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” (C)	Same time, new night for TBS’ critically acclaimed late night show. On tonight’s episode, Samantha Bee takes to task President Obama’s immigrant deportation and detainment policies.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	E!	“Revenge Body With Khloé Kardashian” (R)	Seventy-five minute series premiere of new reality show in which Khloé and a team of experts help people who have gained weight due to traumatic experiences lose the excess pounds and feel better about themselves.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Superstore” (C)	The Cloud 9 team prepares for a visit from a vice president from corporate tasked with the storewide rebranding. More importantly, though, who’s the co-worker secretly dating Jeff?
9 p.m.	CBS	“Mom” (C)	Christy feels left out when Bonnie and her girlfriends keep Jill’s pregnancy secret.
9 p.m.	Fox	“My Kitchen Rules” (R)	Series premiere. Celebrity judges (Curtis Stone and Cora) critique the dishes of dueling celebrities (Brandy and Lance Bass) and their relatives during cook-off segments.
10 p.m.	USA	“Colony” (D)	Season premiere. Will and Katie try to keep their family together while adapting to the new rules of the city; Snyder is tempted by a new job offer; Broussard returns home.
10:30 p.m.	Spike	“Caraoke Showdown” (G)	Series premiere of new shot-inside-a-car comedic game show in which host Craig Robinson drives around picking up random passengers to compete in karaoke-inspired games for cash prizes.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13
Time	Network	Program	Description
3 a.m.	Amazon	“Sneaky Pete” (D)	Once a CBS pilot, “Sneaky Pete” (produced by Bryan Cranston and starring Giovanni Ribisi) gets the full-season treatment from Amazon. Episodes two through 10 of the show’s first season drop today.
3 a.m.	Netflix	“A Series of Unfortunate Events” (K)	Neil Patrick Harris stars as Count Olaf in this TV adaptation of Daniel Handler’s Lemony Snicket novels. The first season debuts today.
8 p.m.	ESPN	“NBA Basketball” (S)	The Boston Celtics travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks, followed by the Utah Jazz taking on the visiting Detroit Pistons.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Rosewood” (D)	A music producer’s body is found on a yacht. As he tries to solve the murder, Rosewood has to deal with a startling revelation from Tawnya.
9 p.m.	Lifetime	“Bring It!” (R)	Lifetime parties the night away with the season premiere of its dance reality series “Bring It!” at 9 p.m., followed at 10 by the season premiere of Jermaine Dupri’s “The Rap Game.”
10 p.m.	Discovery	“The Wheel” (R)	Series premiere of Discovery’s newest “man versus nature” survivalist series. Six adventurers must endure six grueling South American landscapes randomly chosen (but not really) by a special wheel.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 14
Time	Network	Program	Description
4:35 p.m.	Fox	“NFL Playoffs: Seattle at Atlanta” (S)	The NFL playoff weekend starts with this NFC Division game.
8 p.m.	CBS	“NFL Playoffs: Houston at New England” (S)	The road to Super Bowl LI goes through the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium in this AFC Division game from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
8 p.m.	Lifetime	“Open Marriage” (M)	Jealousy, heartbreak and betrayal threaten to break apart the rocky marriage of Rebecca (Nikki Leigh) and Ron (Tilky Jones) after they give an open relationship with their friends a try. Duh!
9 p.m.	Hallmark	“A Royal Winter” (M)	While vacationing in Europe, an American tourist (Merritt Patterson) falls in love with a handsome local (Jack Donnelly). Only when the latter’s mother (Samantha Bond) intervenes does the former realize she’s fallen in love with a prince.
9:30 p.m.	Showtime	“Boxing” (S)	A unification title bout between super middleweight champs James DeGale and Badou Jack highlights the first premium cable boxing event of 2017.
11:29 p.m.	NBC	“Saturday Night Live” (C)	Felicity Jones, star of box office hit “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” hosts the first “SNL” of the new year. Sturgill Simpson will be the musical guest.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 15
Time	Network	Program	Description
1:04 p.m.	NBC	“NFL Playoffs: Pittsburgh at Kansas City” (S)	The Kansas City Chiefs are the home team in this AFC Division game. Live from Arrowhead Stadium.
4:40 p.m.	Fox	“NFL Football: Green Bay at Dallas” (S)	The Dallas Cowboys host the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium.
7 p.m.	PBS	“Sherlock” (D)	Almost as soon as it started, the three-episode fourth season of “Sherlock” comes to an end. Will the long-buried secrets unearthed by tonight’s case strain Sherlock and Watson’s partnership?
8 p.m.	Fox	“The Simpsons” (C)	In over 600 installments over 26 seasons, there’s never been a TV episode of “The Simpsons” written, performed and paced to last more than 30 minutes … until tonight’s special 60-minute episode.
9 p.m.	PBS	“Victoria on Masterpiece” (D)	The next “Downton Abbey?” PBS sure hopes so. This historical drama’s two-hour series premiere starts off with 18-year old Victoria (Jenna Coleman) becoming queen after her uncle’s death in 1837.
9 p.m.	HBO	“The Young Pope” (D)	Series premiere. Already renewed for a second season, this limited-series stars Jude Law as a youthful, rebellious and unorthodox new pope trying to navigate the hierarchy of the Vatican’s power infrastructure.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.