FX Eyes More Steven Knight-Penned Charles Dickens Adaptations & Still Hopeful Of Second Season Of ‘Taboo’

Peter White

FX is keen to stay in business with Steven Knight with the network hopeful for more Charles Dickens’ adaptations and a second season of Taboo.

The cable network talked up its relationship with the Peaky Blinders creator and British public broadcaster the BBC, which co-produces both shows.

More from Deadline

This comes after A Christmas Carol, which starred Guy Pearce, Stephen Graham and Charlotte Riley, performed well on both linear and digital for FX. It was produced by Ridley Scott’s Scott Free London and Tom Hardy’s Hardy Son & Baker.

FX Entertainment President Eric Schrier told Deadline that it was in talks with Knight and the BBC for more Dickens.

Knight dropped hints about which story he was likely to tackle next at the show’s premiere, namechecking David Copperfield, Great Expectations and A Tale Of Two Cities. He added that it might even be longer than A Christmas Carol’s three-parts. “With the advent of what’s happening in television, where you get eight hours of a returning series, it means now you’ve got the keys now to the door of the library,” Knight said.

FX Networks and FX Productions Chairman John Landgraf admitted that there was some controversy surrounding FX adapting Dickens. “I know why we made it, it’s because Dickens is unremittingly dark and honest and in a serialized magazine format couldn’t do some of the things that Steve did. Steven is a very special writer, whether he’s writing Peaky Blinders or Taboo but there’s a really particularly special connection between him and Dickens so it would be our hope that there would be a number of adaptations coming out of that,” he added.

The Disney-owned broadcaster is also still keen on more Taboo, despite the long-gap since season one of the period drama, which starred Hardy as James Keziah Delaney, a man who has been to the ends of the earth and comes back irrevocably changed. A second season was officially commissioned in 2017 and while some episodes have been written, the broadcasters are waiting on Hardy’s schedule.

Schrier said, “They’ve been talking about it but it’s dependent on Tom Hardy’s schedule. Right now, he’s shooting Venom 2.” Landgraf added, “Steven is definitely game and we have what I think is a great idea for a second season, some of which has already been written but we just need the actor. We’re in active conversations.”

Landgraf also talked up its relationship with the BBC and admitted that it has other projects in the works with it. “I couldn’t imagine a better relationship than the one we have with the BBC. It’s just nutty. Of all the places we’ve ever worked with, it’s the most comfortable. It’s something about the people they hire into those positions, the thoroughness of their process, there’s a rigor to how they approach the process, which is very much like how we do. It’s like hand in glove working with them. We did Taboo with them and A Christmas Carol and we have a lot of other things with them in the offing,” he added.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.