Season 1 feature more than 100 deaths (Picture: Sky Atlantic)
*Warning: This article contains references to violence*
Gangs of London director Corin Hardy has certainly not dialed down the ultra-violence in the upcoming second season.
The first season of the Sky Atlantic drama smashed records, previously set by Game of Thrones, for being the most violent show on our screens.
To put it in numbers, the Joe Cole thriller had a total of 113 deaths, 96 shootings, 30 stabbings and seven strangulations with 13 unfortunate souls being tortured.
Can season 2 of the high-octane drama about rival gangs competing for control of London’s criminal underbelly topple that?
According to Corin, who spoke to Metro.co.uk, the answer is: most definitely.
While he couldn’t give the exact number of deaths in the upcoming instalment, he revealed: ‘I’d say there should definitely be. I’d say there’s a higher body count.
‘It’s in the action, but it’s also in the tension. I wanted to really make sure it was an emotional, nail-biting experience.’
Gangs of London season 2 is coming back with a bang (Picture: Sky)
Explaining the importance of violence to the show’s narrative, Corin said: ‘It’s part of the show’s DNA. You’re existing in a world of criminals, everyone in gangs is a criminal and there is something interesting to watch where you can relate to the characters because they are family members.
‘There’s this quandary of can you have a life of family and crime in a big way? Can you make that work? It comes with sacrifices, and it comes with dilemmas, and those dilemmas spill into becoming involved in some kind of violence.
Corin is the director of Gangs of London (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I personally like to explore that in a lot of detail in a cinematic way, that can be visual and can be thrilling.
‘It might be a bit gruesome at times, but it’s also propelled by these characters and their relationships and their emotions and survival [instinct].’
There are nail-biting action sequences in Gangs of London (Picture: Sky UK)
The filmmaker also shared his ambition to make Gangs of London the ‘most dangerous show on television.’
He explained: ‘What I mean by that is it’s exciting when you’re watching something and you don’t know what the rules are, and you don’t know how far this is gonna go.
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‘I think you can get too comfortable watching TV and just knowing week by week, who’s going to do what and who’s going to say what.
‘I never want Gangs of London to feel like that, so that’s what I mean. It should feel dangerous, and it should feel dangerous for the characters, and in turn thrilling.’
Gangs of London season 2 returns on Thursday October, 20 on Sky Atlantic and Now.
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There were over 100 deaths in the first season.