As someone who has followed his cinematic career closely, I can say with certainty that few filmmakers have balanced dark humor with unremitting violence as entertainingly as Guy Ritchie. The quickest example that comes to mind is Snatch‘s Brick Top (Alan Ford), the ruthless Austin Powers-like mobster who takes fiendish delight in feeding victims to his pen of slavering pigs as repulsed spectators look away.
In recent years, Ritchie has translated such comedic thrills to the small screen, with his two crime series, MobLand and The Gentlemen, poised to return in late 2026. Yet, for fans of the Paramount+ and Netflix original series who cannot wait for their next chapters, Netflix has acquired a pitch-perfect tonal companion from HBO that appeals to Ritchie’s sensibilities. Starring Jamie Dornan as an amnesiac who must piece together his sordid past, every Guy Ritchie fan needs to pick up The Tourist, a wildly addictive 12-part crime thriller that ran for two seasons between 2022 and 2024.
‘The Tourist’ Echoes Guy Ritchie’s Tonal Blend of Violent Comedy
Created by The Missing‘s Harry and Jack Williams, The Tourist premiered on BBC One in January 2022 and HBO Max in March. With a sharp hook that catches your attention from the get-go, the story concerns The Man (Dornan), a stranger who suddenly wakes up in a hospital in the Australian outback with no idea who he is or how he got there. As a guiding conduit for the audience, we begin to piece together fragments of The Man’s sordid past as he does, culling small clues and hints that begin to paint a much clearer picture of his criminal endeavors.
Without spoiling too much, as it’s truly worth discovering The Man’s mysterious past and future resolve on your own, The Tourist has all the hallmarks that make Guy Ritchie’s brand of storytelling so amusing. Between the intense bouts of relentless carnage and the hilarious fish-out-of-water escapades that The Man navigates to clarify his past, The Tourist is very much simpatico with the tone, tenor, and subject matter that makes The Gentlemen so addictively entertaining. Once The Man‘s ties to organized crime come to light, it’s impossible not to think about Ritchie’s quirky, stylish gangsterism.
With only six episodes per season, The Tourist makes for a quick 12-part thrill-ride that careens around several twisty corners and never lets off the gas. Between Dornan’s magnificent performance, the unpredictable plotting, and moments of levity that cut through the brutality, The Tourist holds a near-perfect 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘The Tourist’s Season 2 Scenery Change Makes for Perfect ‘MobLand’ Companion
Partially due to Dornan’s unwillingness to be away from his family for an extended period, Season 2 of The Tourist drastically altered its setting from the sun-baked Aussie outback to the fog-drenched isles of Ireland. The Man is summoned to Ireland by a friend who wrote him a letter claiming to have intimate knowledge of his cryptic past. Although some didn’t appreciate the change of scenery, Season 2 leans into its bleak absurdism while cranking the hyper-violence to a fever pitch.
Once The Man’s enigmatic history comes to light and further links him to a criminal outfit, the Irish setting and characters are starkly reminiscent of Guy Ritchie’s MobLand. The hit Paramount+ crime thriller follows The Harrigans, an Irish crime family vying for control of the British underworld. Although MobLand may not share the morbid humor of The Gentlemen, The Tourist finds a happy medium between the two in ways sure to satisfy those drawn to Guy Ritchie’s brand of storytelling.
