TV Show review
Review basis: 2 seasons · through March 7, 2024
March 7, 2024 · TV-MA · Returning Series
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Gentlemen is a Netflix crime comedy series created by Guy Ritchie that follows Eddie Horniman, a straight-laced army captain who unexpectedly inherits his family's vast estate and dukedom only to discover it conceals a massive illegal cannabis empire run by the Glass crime family. He gets pulled into violent alliances, betrayals, and the criminal underworld while trying to protect his dysfunctional aristocratic relatives. The series delivers slick direction, razor-sharp British dialogue, and light class satire in a classic gangster-caper style with minimal emphasis on modern social or identity themes.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Gentlemen.
Woke representation / casting
Some visible diversity in supporting roles (including Black and Southeast Asian actors in prominent parts) alongside British leads, fitting the story's criminal and international scope; strong female lead in Susie earned through criminal competence rather than identity emphasis; no mismatches or signaling.
Woke political dialogue
Occasional satirical jabs at aristocracy and wealth plus one minor environmental line, but no sustained ideological messaging or activist dialogue.
Identity-driven story themes
Primary themes center on class, family legacy, and criminal ambition in traditional British style; no focus on race, gender, sexuality, or modern identity issues.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Satirizes upper-class entitlement and underworld corruption through humor and violence, but avoids contemporary activist lenses like critiques of patriarchy, whiteness, or traditional institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Very limited; a handful of niche reviews flagged isolated light elements as slightly progressive, but no significant public outcry or media claims that the series pushes woke, DEI, or identity politics messaging.
Creator track record context
Guy Ritchie maintains a low political profile centered on entertainment; most directors, writers, and producers show no patterns of activist or identity-driven work.
Production
