If “Bridgerton” gave British stately homes a new lease of life with a sprinkle of Regency charm, “The Gentlemen” has injected them with a criminal dose of cool.
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The Guy Ritchie show, which stars Theo James as a Duke gone bad opposite Kaya Scodelario’s gangland heiress Susie Glass, returns to Netflix for its second season today with more guns and more glamor. But it’s the series’ unabashed Britishness – delivered via the afore-mentioned country estates interspersed with panoramic shots of the London skyline – coupled with a slick script and stand-out action sequences that have made the show so popular. (It has already been renewed for Season 3).
“Americans are obsessed with the British, whether we want to admit it or not,” says Jonathan Glickman, CEO of Miramax and an executive producer on the “The Gentlemen.”
(Leaning into the theme, the Season 2 premiere took place on Wednesday at the medieval Guildhall in London, with actors clad as Vinnie Jones-inspired groundskeepers patrolling both ends of the red carpet with dogs.)
“The Gentlemen’s” DNA can be traced back to Ritchie’s own appreciation for the country’s culture and history. “He’s his own version of Eddie Horniman,” explains costume designer Loulou Bontempts, who says the director takes a keen interest in the smallest costuming details, even down to fabric. “Tailoring is so important,” she says. “And the history behind British aristocracy and British quintessential country dressing. You know, there really are rules.”
Many such rules – for example, only the lord of the manor is allowed to wear a red velvet jacket at home — are strictly adhered to but unspoken, precisely to trip up outsiders, as newcomer Cico Maldini (played by Michele Morrone) finds out to his cost.
Having introduced audiences to the barmy world of the British aristocracy in Season 1, the show goes international in Season 2, as Eddie and Susie (Scodelario) expand their operations onto the Mafia’s home turf. “Italy felt like a very logical place in terms of the fame of the Mafia, but also the glamor,” says Read, who also executive produces the show. Cue plenty of salivating shots of Italian palazzos basking in the sun.
Season 2 certainly notches up the glamor, both at home and abroad. Bontempts notes that both Eddie and Susie’s wardrobes have gotten an upgrade now they’re making serious money, with the duke’s suits better cut and Susie sporting a Birkin, while props include classic cars, fine wines and even a tiger. Glickman declined to share details of the budget but credits the producers and crew with “maintain[ing] the scale and scope by smartly deploying resources.” So the suits are pinned in-house, the props are on loan and the tiger is entirely CGI – although its cage was real.
“I found this this steel gazebo on eBay for £20,000 [$27,000],” laughs production designer Martyn John. “Put sides on it, put bars on it, and that became the tiger’s cage.” However he reveals the budget didn’t extend to shooting the tiger scene on location in Italy so instead he found a suitable garden in the U.K. and peppered it with Italianate sculptures.
The tiger storyline (too delicious to give away as a spoiler here) is typical of the show’s campy yet cool tone, blending glamor with surrealist violence. “The tone of the show is reality plus 7%,” says Read of the principle he and Ritchie hold on to while writing. Although considering Season 2 also introduces a mythical Slavic figure known as a Bannik, “sometimes I think it’s more like 8%,” Read acknowledges.
Glickman promises even more action for Season 2 (he says Episode 7 in particular is “wall to wall action”) but not at the expense of character development, as Eddie looks set to double cross Susie while their relationship increasingly oscillates between business and pleasure. “Action works when you have an emotional attachment to the people that are in the action scene,” Glickman points out.
For Read, striking a balance between action and emotion, violence and humor is something he and Ritchie discuss constantly during the writing process. “We talk about tone a lot, Guy and I, when we’re making the show, and encouraging each other to push ideas to unexpected places, surprising places,” Read explains. “You can’t push it too far because you need to balance that with credibility and emotional stakes.”
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“But yes,” he adds, “we are always looking for new ways to murder people.”