When Guy Ritchie's 2020 film The Gentlemen surprised audiences with its mix of aristocratic glamour and underground crime, few people expected the story to continue. Then Netflix did something unexpected: instead of a direct sequel, it turned the concept into a full television series. Released in March 2024, The Gentlemen series takes the same world of English estates, marijuana empires, and fast-talking gangsters, and rebuilds it around an entirely new cast of characters.
If you've come across the show and wondered whether it's connected to the movie, what the story is actually about, or whether it deserves a spot on your watchlist, here's a full rundown.
What The Gentlemen Is About
The series follows Eddie Horniman, played by Theo James, a former soldier who returns home when his father falls seriously ill. When his father dies, Eddie expects his older brother Freddy to inherit the family's sprawling country estate and the aristocratic title that comes with it. Instead, the inheritance lands on Eddie, who becomes the Duke of Halstead almost by accident.
There's a catch, and it's a big one. The estate has been operating as the nerve center of a large-scale drug operation for years, run by the Glass family. Bobby Glass, played by Ray Winstone, built the business from prison, and his daughter Susie Glass, played by Kaya Scodelario, runs it day to day. The land is theirs in every way that matters, legally entangled with Eddie's inheritance, and Susie has no intention of letting a newly titled aristocrat disrupt a thriving business.
Eddie's plan to simply sell the estate and walk away collapses quickly. He is pulled into negotiations, threats, and eventually the operations themselves, discovering that he's rather better at navigating the criminal world than he expected. Over the course of the first season, he deals with his brother Freddy's spiraling addictions, a violent and chaotic neighboring family, an ambitious American businessman with his own designs on the operation, and the slow realization that the respectable world he came from may be less honest than the one he's just entered.
The Connection to the 2020 Film
The series shares DNA with Guy Ritchie's film but not its characters. The movie centered on Mickey Pearson, an American expatriate played by Matthew McConaughey, who built a marijuana empire and decided to sell it, triggering a scramble among criminals, journalists, and fixers. It was told with Ritchie's signature layered narration, with Hugh Grant's character recounting the story in flashbacks.
The Netflix series exists in the same universe and follows the same basic idea, British high society monetizing illegal weed, but it doesn't continue Mickey Pearson's story. Think of it less as a sequel and more as a new chapter set in the same underworld. Viewers who never saw the film can start the series without any homework. Those who enjoyed the movie will recognize the tone, the humor, and the general rules of this world immediately.
The Cast and Characters
The pairing of Theo James and Kaya Scodelario is the engine of the show. Their scenes together, all verbal sparring and shifting leverage, carry much of the season. James plays Eddie as a controlled, dryly funny man who claims he wants out while steadily getting in deeper. Scodelario's Susie is pragmatic, sharp, and surprisingly sympathetic for someone whose family business is, well, drugs.
Around them, the supporting cast gives the series much of its color:
- Daniel Ings as Freddy, Eddie's older brother, whose desperation and drug problems make him both a liability and, at times, an unexpected asset.
- Ray Winstone as Bobby Glass, the imprisoned patriarch whose calm authority lingers over every episode.
- Vinnie Jones as Geoff, the estate's long-serving groundsman, a casting choice that longtime fans of British crime cinema will appreciate.
- Joely Richardson as Lady Sabrina, Eddie's mother, who observes the chaos around her with an aristocrat's detachment.
- Giancarlo Esposito as Stanley Johnston, a polished American entrepreneur whose interest in the operation sets much of the plot in motion.
- Peter Serafinowicz as Tommy Dixon, the volatile head of a Liverpool-based crime family whose clashes with the Halstead household escalate badly.
Guy Ritchie's Signature Style
If you know Ritchie's work, from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels to Snatch to the film version of The Gentlemen, you know the formula: rapid-fire dialogue, colorful criminals, elaborate schemes that unravel, chapter-style storytelling, and a soundtrack that treats violence with a wink. The series delivers all of it. Ritchie directed the opening episodes and set the visual and comedic template that the rest of the season follows.
That style is a large part of the show's appeal, and also the reason it won't be for everyone. The humor is dark and often cruel. Characters die suddenly and sometimes absurdly. The dialogue is stylized rather than naturalistic. If you prefer grounded crime dramas, the show's theatrical energy may feel like a lot. If you enjoyed Snatch or the film, you'll likely feel right at home.
Season 1: Format and Pacing
The first season runs eight episodes, each roughly an hour. The season builds a clear arc: Eddie's inheritance, his entanglement with Susie's operation, the escalating conflict with the Dixon family, and the arrival of outside players who want a piece of the business. The finale resolves the season's central conflict while leaving several threads open, which is exactly what you'd expect from a show designed to continue.
Netflix released the full season at once, so it works equally well as a weekend binge or a slower watch.
Season 2: What We Know
Netflix renewed The Gentlemen for a second season, confirming that Eddie and Susie's story would continue. Details about the plot and release timing have been kept relatively quiet, so it's worth checking Netflix's official announcements for the latest information rather than relying on rumors. Given how the first season ended, there's plenty of material left to explore, including Eddie's growing comfort with his double life and the fragile alliance at the heart of the show.
Is The Gentlemen Worth Watching?
That depends on what you're looking for. Here's an honest breakdown.
Reasons to watch:
- The central performances. James and Scodelario have genuine chemistry, and their scenes are consistently the best part of the show.
- The tone. If you like crime stories with humor and swagger rather than grim realism, few shows do it better.
- The production. The English countryside estates, tailored suits, and lavish interiors make this one of the better-looking series in the genre.
- The pace. The plot moves. Subplots rarely drag, and the season knows where it's going.
Reasons you might skip it:
- The content. The series carries a mature rating for violence, strong language, and drug use throughout. It's central to the premise, not incidental.
- The style. If Ritchie's rapid, showy dialogue grates on you, eight hours of it may be exhausting.
- Familiarity. The formula is well-worn. The show executes it well, but it isn't reinventing the genre.
Who Should Watch It
The Gentlemen suits viewers who enjoyed the original film, Ritchie's earlier crime comedies, or shows like Peaky Blinders and Snatch-adjacent British crime fare. It's also a reasonable pick for fans of Theo James or Kaya Scodelario, both of whom get career-highlight material here. If your taste runs toward quiet, realistic dramas, this is not that, and knowing that going in will save you some frustration.
How to Watch
The series is a Netflix original, so a Netflix subscription is the only legitimate way to stream it in most regions. Availability is consistent across countries where Netflix operates, and subtitles or dubbed audio are offered in multiple languages. The film version of The Gentlemen is not always on Netflix, as its streaming rights sit elsewhere and rotate between platforms, so check your local listings if you want to watch both.
A Few Viewing Tips
You don't need to see the 2020 movie first, but watching it afterward is a fun companion experience, since you'll spot the thematic echoes. Go in expecting dark comedy rather than a straight crime thriller; the show's violence is frequent but staged with theatrical flair. And give it two or three episodes before deciding. The first episode sets the board, and the story finds its rhythm once Eddie and Susie's dynamic takes over.
Final Thoughts
The Gentlemen managed something rare: it turned a beloved film into a series that stands on its own. It keeps the wit, the style, and the morally flexible world of the original while telling a story with new characters and its own momentum. It's polished, entertaining television that knows exactly what it is, and for viewers in the mood for gangsters, gunshots, and English aristocracy behaving badly, it delivers that package with confidence.