Louis Partridge and Anson Boon in Pistol (Photo: Miya Mizuno/FX)

Pistol
| Hulu

Six-Episode Limited Series (Musical Biopic) | TV-MA

What’s Pistol About?

The brief, thrashing heyday of the Sex Pistols gets the biopic treatment in this six-part look at how four London punks became one of the most influential bands in history.

Who’s involved?

• Craig Pearce, who’s written almost every Baz Luhrmann film, is the series creator. Just like in Moulin Rouge! or Strictly Ballroom, he’s guided by the reckless energy of artists who get their thrills from expressing themselves, and he molds almost every scene around the payoff of somebody letting it all hang out.
• He’s got a like-minded collaborator in Danny Boyle, who’s both an executive producer and the director of all six episodes. From Trainspotting to Billions to 28 Days Later, Boyle has frequently mixed film stocks and light levels, cut off scenes mid-conversation, and blasted in music cues to communicate the cracked energy of not just a character, but an entire world. He deploys similar techniques here to suggest all the neglect, rage, horniness, and insecurity that pushed the Sex Pistols and their young friends to birth a movement.
• Speaking of the Pistols: They’re played by actors few Americans will recognize. Toby Wallace is Steve Jones, the band’s founder and the focal point for this series. Louis Partridge is Sid Vicious, the short-lived bassist who was accused of killing his girlfriend. Anson Boon is Johnny Rotten, the lead vocalist and mad genius lyricist.
• Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Queen’s Gambit) is Malcolm MacLaren, whose quest to upend Britain’s…