Courtesy of FX

This piece was written as a collaboration between FX and Adapt Studios, the branded content division of The Hollywood Reporter.

It’s London, 1814 — and James Keziah Delaney is prepared to do some “very foolish things.”

Following the death of his father, Delaney (Tom Hardy) returns home from Africa to take over his family’s shipping business, only to be met with ruthless and devious opposition. Refusing to yield to the Goliath East India Company, he’s thrust into a political and economic conflict that not only threatens his father’s business, but may also claim his life. Delaney isn’t like other men, though: he’s been cauterized by harrowing experiences and is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to protect his family’s legacy.

Taboo sees Hardy add yet another notch to his belt of deranged characters, in the same company as Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, Alfie Solomons from Peaky Blinders, and John Fitzgerald from The Revenant, but the show isn’t purely defined by Hardy’s on-screen presence. From a star-studded supporting cast to a legendary pair of producers, it’s the sum of Taboo’s parts that makes it so interesting. Here’s a look at eight people who make the show possible: