TV: Gangs of London returns with a new-look landscape

Between the blood drenched Wild West-style shoot-outs and hierarchical power plays, the gut-wrenching portrait of urban warfare was devoured by viewers in their droves.

So much so, the opening series emerged from nowhere to earn itself a Bafta nomination for Best Drama Series as well as a Primetime Emmy nod.

Now though, things are set to get even bloodier.

"No one can be safe in Gangs of London. It needs to feel like the most dangerous show on television," smirks director Corin Hardy.

"It is about pulling you in and taking you on a journey; taking you on a ride."

Cutting his teeth on music videos for the likes of Biffy Clyro, The Horrors and Paulo Nutini, it's the director's penchant for the grotesque which saw him excel, going on to direct cult demonic horrors The Nun and The Hallow.

Now, returning to the helm of Gangs of London for series two, viewers can expect plenty more action sequences, rivalry and of course, bloodshed.

Describing himself as a "lover of horror", the director goes on to explain that the show's success "relies a lot on tension", as much as it does on its cast of rising stars.

"Part of the magic sauce of the show, which we set up in the first season, was this mix of genres," explains the 47-year-old director.

"So, whilst it is a sort of emotional family crime saga, it is also pulling in the genres of horror, westerns, crime thrillers, and war. And so in season two, that's the same case - we've sort of got a melting pot of genres."

Led by Joe Cole (Black Mirror, The Ipcress Files) as Sean Wallace, series one featured a host of new and established talent, including I May Destroy You's Paapa Essiedu, alongside Roadkill's Pippa Bennett-Warner, Humans star Sope Dirisu and Game of Thrones actor Michelle Fairley.

Accepting no half measures, series one's adrenaline-fuelled opener saw Wallace douse a man in gasoline as he hung upside-down from a skyscraper - all before theatrically dropping a single match.

The tale eventually came full circle in the series finale, which saw the baby-faced gangster meet an untimely death after being graphically shot in the face at point blank range by undercover detective Elliot Carter (Sopee Dirisu).

A fast-paced affair underpinned by the archaic gangland concept of 'loyalty', Dirisu says the show's allure is the juxtaposition of relatable dilemmas and unrelatable acts of violence.

"It's because we get to vicariously live out an experience," says Dirisu, 31.

"You're safe in your house, but you're watching these characters - you can relate to them, because they have families that get into these terrible dilemmas. You're hopefully invested in them enough to want to follow and see them succeed or, you know, sometimes not."

Set a year on from the murder, the second series finds the Wallaces and the Dumanis - two of London's most powerful crime families - both battling to repair seemingly irreparably fractured relationships.

London's crime landscape now looks unrecognisable. And with a new pyramid of power emerging, Elliot finds himself forced to work for the investors, who alongside heroine baron Asif Afridi, have installed a new brutal gang leader, Koba, who's iron grip on London resembles a dictatorship.

"There are aspects of Elliot in second series and of gangs in London that I couldn't even fathom myself," admits Dirisu of his character.

"We know that Elliott did a deal with the investors to go deeper into the criminal underbelly of London. He wants to go in deeper, he wants to go to the level above what we've seen with the gangs that we met last year.

"But his journey to find out more in order to dismantle the system from higher above is not really going to plan."

Describing his character as the "dogsbody of the investors", Dirisu reflects on how Elliot must undertake a "bunch of atrocious acts" in order to satisfy their demands.

"The story that we're telling is gnarly," smiles Dirisu.

"Is he still the protagonist of our show? Is he the good guy that we're celebrating? Because after you do so many bad things, can you still call yourself a good person?"

It's an evolving tale which sees Dirisu's co-star, Michelle Fairley, 59, embody the matriarchal figure of Marian Wallace. A striking force in series one, Fairley's character stands out amongst a criminal landscape dominated by men. However, as she goes on to explain, there's far more to her character than a female criminal archetype.

"If I'm honest, I just view her as a woman," says Fairley.

Mapping her character's journey, she reflects on Marian's humble beginnings at a Brixton watering hole, eventually becoming the wife of gangster Finn Wallace and the family's collaboration with fellow crime family boss Ed Dumani.

"The three of them became the band of amigos - they started a company together. So this sort of trio group founded the Wallace-Domani empire," reflects Fairley.

"But when Marian got pregnant and started to have kids with Finn, he said, 'You're not working anymore'... so Marian sat on the side-line for years, basically.

"This is the world that she helped create and was very much part of, and now, has very reluctantly allowed the guys to take over."

Returning to a life of crime in series two after her character was sidelined for taking her baby in a pram to meet with a gangster, it's an overdue storyline made all the more entertaining by the tale's cinematic framing.

A sentiment shared by Hardy, he goes on to note the backdrop for such storylines remains one of the biggest challenges on television.

"It's a very ambitious show - to make it feel as cinematic as possible. We wanted to make each episode feel like a film in its own right, in terms of the sort of overall aesthetic, the look of the camera shots, the lighting, incredible performances, and the set pieces," says the director.

"I try to build multiple layers within an action scene that you'd be more familiar with from, you know, a blockbuster.

"So, it's all about, you know, giving the audience a roller coaster."

Sky Original Gangs of London S2 will be available on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW from Thursday.