Is ‘The Gentlemen’ on Netflix Connected to the Guy Ritchie Movie?

Would you like to live dangerously — or at least live dangerously vicariously through the deeds of a ridiculously handsome leading man on a Netflix crime series? If that’s the case, then The Gentlemen is for you.

The new Netflix series stars Theo James as a man who inherits his father’s sprawling, historic estate — and also the equally sprawling weed business that’s camped out in the mansion’s basement. If the show’s title sounds familiar, that’s because it’s also the name of a Guy Ritchie film from 2019 starring Matthew McConaughey and Colin Farrell. Hey — the Netflix show is also from Guy Ritchie! Does that mean… they’re connected?

Yes. Clearly they are connected, but how connected are they? Are we talking shared cast members? Is the series a sequel to the 2019 film? Here’s what you need to know.

Is Netflix’s The Gentlemen connected to the movie?

Yes, but not really. Both The Gentlemen film and TV series are nominally set in a shared universe, although it feels strange saying that a street-level dark comedy/crime series is set in a “shared universe.” But that’s what it is! Nothing in the Gentlemen TV series contradicts the events of the film, but you don’t have to know the film inside and out to enjoy the show.

As Guy Ritchie told Netflix’s Tudum, “We’re looking forward to bringing fans back into that world, introducing new characters and their stories, and I am excited to be doing it with this extremely talented cast.”

So instead of considering the Netflix series a sequel, you can kind of think of The Gentlemen series as more of a remake/remix of the Guy Ritchie film. Both projects use the same conceit (drug lords running operations under the radar by building them under stately manors), and they both involve a lot of similar character archetypes and even some plot points.

As for why he chose to expand the world of The Gentlemen into television, Ritchie said a TV series allows him to explore new angles of this premise, and to show the slow evolution of a man from law-abiding citizen to kingpin. “I’ve got an inexhaustible creative reservoir of different ideas I’ve come up with in the past,” Ritchie told Netflix. “The ability to be able to extend storylines has been tremendously liberating.”

Does Matthew McConaughey’s Mickey Pearson show up in Netflix’s The Gentlemen?

SPOILERS ahead but — the character played by McConaughey in Guy Ritchie’s 2019 film does not show up in the Netflix series. The same goes for the characters played by Charlie Hunnam and Colin Farrell. Could they show up in a Season 2? It’s always a possibility — but only if The Gentlemen gets a second season.

The Gentlemen Season 1 is streaming now on Netflix.