Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy, (Venom: The Last Dance) is a fixer for the Harrigan crime family, who have been running guns, drugs and many other illicit activities in London for decades. Heading up the family are Irish-born Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan, Die Another Day) and his wife Maeve (Helen Mirren, The Queen). Conrad can be ruthless when it comes to those who cross him, and Maeve is a troublemaker who loves to push buttons and manipulate situations. Both enjoy the power that their position brings. The Harrigan’s have had a long-standing feud with a rival crime gang run by Richie Stevenson (Geoff Bell, Top Boy). Stevenson currently owns the fentanyl market in South London, but Conrad is looking to expand his empire, which could mean encroaching on Richie’s business.

As the first season opens, Conrad’s rebellious and unpredictable grandson Eddie (Anson Boon, Pistol) heads to a club with Richie’s son Tommy (Felix Edwards), where an incident breaks out. Afterwards, Tommy goes missing, and Richie fears the worst, blaming the Harrigans, and threatening to go to war with them unless his son is returned. Tensions between the families quickly escalate, with both sides making deadly moves, leaving bodies in their wake, and pushing things further in an irreversible direction. Constantly having to clean up the mess, and putting his own family—wife Jan (Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey) and teenage daughter Gina (Teddie Allen)—in danger, is fixer Harry, a loyal friend of the family who is trying to prevent an all-out gang war. However, there seems to be a rat in the family, who is sharing Harrigan secrets with Richie, which keeps fanning the flames and making the situation worse.

Meanwhile, the police—DS Ivan Fisk (Luke Mably), DC Yvonne Mukasa (Gemma Knight Jones) and retired DCI Colin Tattersall (Toby Jones)—are actively investigating the Harrigans, looking to find any charge they could make stick. They even have an undercover officer (Emily Barber, Industry) working to get close to a family member and gain their trust, in hopes of getting ahold of some spilled secrets.

Photo Credit: Luke Varley/Paramount+

MobLand is an intense and action-packed show with lots of unexpected twists and turns. It can be quite violent and gruesome, with strong language, but there’s also a bit of humor tossed into the mix. Guy Ritchie directed the pilot, which sets the tone for the series. This is a show with a massive cast, which can be a bit overwhelming at first, to understand who everyone is, how they’re related, and who is loyal to whom…before a lot of that comes into question as the season goes along.

Conrad’s and Maeve’s eldest child is Brendan (Daniel Betts, Fate: The Winx Saga). He’s made several big mistakes recently, and is sort of on the outs, so he is eager to prove himself and regain his father’s respect. But he’s not necessarily the sharpest or bravest in the family. Second son Kevin (Paddy Considine, House Of The Dragon) is married to Bella (Lara Pulver, Da Vinci’s Demons), and their son Eddie is the cause of the family’s recent escalating situation with the Stevensons. While Kevin is irritated by Eddie’s actions, Conrad and Maeve almost seem proud of him. Kevin has been a longtime friend of Harry’s and both shared some trauma while in prison together decades earlier. Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon, CSI: Vegas) is Conrad’s daughter and his favorite among his children. She is a strong businesswoman and asset to the family business. However, Seraphina is the result of an affair, so Maeve resents her stepdaughter.

Often assisting Harry in his fixer duties are enforcer Paul O’Donnell (Emmett J. Scanlan), and friends Zosia (Jasmine Jobson, Top Boy) & Kiko (Antonio González Guerrero). Privy to a lot of the family’s activities and secrets are family lawyer O’Hara Delaney (Lisa Dwan, Blackshore), and Conrad’s longtime friend/advisor Archie Hammond (Alex Jennings).

On the Stevenson side, Richie is joined by wife Vron (Annie Cooper), enforcers Freddie Shaw (Bradley Turner), Charlie Sweet (Dritan Kastrati) & Olie Donker (Arnold Oceng), and many other armed men. During the season, the characters also cross paths with various other criminal figures, whose loyalties vary from day to day, or based on who is paying them. These include Mexican cartel leader Jaime Lopez (Jordi Mollà), criminal mediator mediator (Tommy Flanagan, Sons of Anarchy), international cartel operative Kat McAllister (Janet McTeer) and her henchman Donnie (Alex Fine), and more.

The first season of MobLand is exciting and tense, and constantly has you questioning where certain characters’ loyalties lie. As the as the Harrigan and Stevenson crime families battle it out and try to destroy one another’s lives, the balance of power is constantly changing. Just as one family delivers a major blow to the other, the devastating retaliation is often even worse, and seems to once again shift who is currently on top. Characters can be a bit cocky and arrogant when they believe they have the upper hand, only to face instant karma with more death and destruction. While this battle is playing out, there is also this ongoing storyline with the police as they try to take down the Harrigans. At the same time, the series also explores other character and family drama, like how Harry’s job is affecting his wife and daughter. The Harrigans’ needs always seems to come before those of Harry’s own family. And bea=cause of this, Jan and Gina often find themselves in danger. The dynamic between Conrad and Maeve is another interesting and fun one to watch. This is a very dysfunctional couple who seem to simultaneously deeply love and resent one another. Brosnan and Mirren are legends, and it’s amazing to see them play off one another. Tom Hardy is also phenomenal as the lead of the show. There is so much pressure put on Harry by the Harrigans and it kind of feels the same for Hardy as the lead of the series.

Overall the first season of MobLand tells a complete story arc, while also setting things up for the forthcoming second season. It’s an exciting and bloody rollercoaster ride that takes the viewers on many ups and downs as loyalties change and twists are revealed. Despite all the killing, violence and constant dropping of the c-word, there is also quite a but of humor to also add some levity to the darkness.

Paramount Home Entertainment has released MobLand Season 1 only DVD for physical media, but it is also available in 4K digitally (via Fandango At Home). I was sent the DVD for review. The picture is decent, but as someone who pretty much only watches HD and 4K these days, I thought it looked a bit dull, lacking that extra detail and sharpness you would get with an HD presentation. While I quickly got used to the picture as I binged through the season, it’s a shame that this series didn’t receive at least an HD disc release (overseas it was released on Blu-ray). It has a really beautiful and gritty setting that looks great on streaming. The audio track is more impressive, featuring clear dialogue throughout as well as some noticeable use of the stereo and surround channels during some of the more action-packed sequences.

The first season’s ten episodes are spread across 3 discs, which are placed on trays in a clear plastic DVD case, which is covered with a glossy carboard slipcover. Unfortunately, the release is barebones and does not include any bonus material.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (7:52:20)

• All 10 episodes of the first season on 3 discs:
  Disc 1 (2:38:20): “Stick or Twist”, “Jigsaw Puzzle”, “Plan B”
  Disc 2 (2:46:44): “Rat Trap”, “Funeral for a Friend”, “Antwerp Blues”, “The Crossroads”
  Disc 3 (2:27:16): “Helter Skelter”, “Beggars Banquet”, “The Beast in Me”
• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

There is no bonus material included on this release.

Final Thoughts:

MobLand is an exciting and action-packed crime drama with lots of twists and turns. The violence and language are amped up, but fits with the tone of the series. There’s also a bit of levity thrown in. The series features an amazing and recognizable cast. The first season tells a complete story while also setting things up for season 2. While I still recommend checking out the release based on the quality of the show itself, I found the DVD’s video presentation to be a bit dull—shows that originally aired in 4K should at least get an HD disc release! The release also doesn’t include any bonus material. Fans can also check out the series on Paramount+ or own it on digital in 4K.