Netflix's The Gentlemen Series Shares A Title With The Movie, But Does Its Own Thing

Remember Guy Ritchie's "The Gentlemen"? They're back — in Netflix form. Ritchie has taken his 2019 crime comedy and turned it into a Netflix series, which is now streaming. But just how connected is the show to the movie? Is it the same story now turned into a TV show? Are the same characters back, played by new actors? Just what the heck is the deal here? Don't worry, it's not that complicated.

In Ritchie's "The Gentlemen" movie, which we called "stylish but empty" in our review, Matthew McConaughey plays Mickey Pearson, a wealthy American crook with a cannabis empire in the UK. Here's the official synopsis: 

Mickey Pearson is an American expatriate who became rich by building a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he's looking to cash out of the business, it soon triggers an array of plots and schemes — including bribery and blackmail — from shady characters who want to steal his domain.

And now here's the synopsis for the show: 

The Gentlemen sees Eddie Horniman unexpectedly inherit his father's sizable country estate – only to discover it's part of a cannabis empire. Moreover, a host of unsavory characters from Britain's criminal underworld want a piece of the operation. Determined to extricate his family from their clutches, Eddie tries to play the gangsters at their own game. However, as he gets sucked into the world of criminality, he begins to find a taste for it.

As you can see, both movie and show deal with cannabis empires and shady characters. But as the official logline for the series states, "The series is set in the world of The Gentlemen film, with a whole new cast, combining Hollywood talent and British film and TV legends. The series offers depth into this criminal world and a new story to get stuck into." So there you have it: the show and the film share a name, but they're different stories with different characters. Theo James, who stars in the TV series, said in an interview via Netflix that "the world of this TV show is inspired by the movie, but the actual narrative is very different."

As for Guy Ritchie, he states that he "felt within 'The Gentlemen' I could have at least have continued with another film." Ritchie also says making the jump from film to show "actually turned out to be easier than I anticipated." He adds: 

"You feel that this could run and run ... the characters take on their own life, all you have to do is establish a character and create their own voice, and then couple that with an actor and we're off to the races."

The film, which has an incredible cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell, and a scene-stealing Hugh Grant, was a commercial hit, but it seems like it was easier for Ritchie to continue the story (or at least a story set in the same world) on Netflix rather than make a whole new film. "The Gentlemen" series, which stars Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, Joely Richardson, Giancarlo Esposito, and Vinnie Jones, is now streaming on Netflix. Is it worth watching? If you enjoyed the movie, you'll probably get a kick out of the series. But it'll help to watch the movie first, even if the stories are different.