Tom Hardy teams up with 'one of the best British directors ever' for new gangster TV series

Paramount+ is set to launch a new gangster series with the formidable Tom Hardy and renowned British director Guy Ritchie at the helm.

Ritchie, the celebrated filmmaker known for hits like Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, as well as The Gentlemen and its Netflix spin-off, will take on directing and executive producing duties.

Deadline reports that the currently untitled series has commenced production in London.

Formerly titled The Associate, the show will also star Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren from The Thursday Murder Club as Conrad and Maeve Harrigan, who lead one of London's most influential organised crime families.

Hardy is cast as Harry Da Souza, the Harrigans' volatile fixer who is frequently summoned to resolve their issues, reports the Mirror.

An official synopsis teases an enthralling crime drama centred around "two warring families based in London whose enterprises stretch all corners of the globe and the fiercely loyal 'fixer' charged with protecting one of them at all costs."

The Peaky Blinders star is also on board as an executive producer for the series, alongside Ritchie, esteemed playwright Jez Butterworth, and film producer Kris Thykier, who is married to Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman.

Chris McCarthy, Co-CEO of Paramount Global, expressed his excitement about the project, stating: "Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren are masters at their craft and we are honoured to have them lead the cast for Guy Ritchie's new global, original series."

Renowned for his cinematic thrillers and hits like Sherlock Holmes and Aladdin, Ritchie has recently made waves in the streaming TV scene.

His production and direction of two episodes for The Gentlemen, a Netflix series based on his 2019 movie, garnered massive success, leading to the show's renewal for a second season.

Ritchie is also working on two upcoming films: In the Grey featuring Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal, and Fountain of Youth starring John Krasinski and Natalie Portman.

Since his emergence in the late '90s, Ritchie has become an icon of British cinema and is hailed as one of the nation's finest modern filmmakers.

MovieWeb honoured him in their roundup of the top 24 British directors, commenting: "[His first two films] were nothing short of iconic, with the former being a hilariously engaging crime comedy that relied on dark humour and impressive lead performances, and the latter repeating these elements with a brand-new setting and the incorporation of more international actors.

"Despite their small differences, both films would dominate the box office, along with dazzling critics from around the world."

While acknowledging some inconsistency in his recent work, many believe Ritchie has returned to form with The Gentlemen and are hopeful his upcoming Tom Hardy-led thriller will be equally successful.