Johnny Flynn’s Frankie Gives the Harrigans a Different Kind of Enemy in ‘MobLand’

Frankie in ‘MobLand’ arrives as the kind of adversary the Harrigan family did not see coming. Played by Johnny Flynn, the character is also known as Beast and is presented as a formidable foe to the Harrigans. He appears in the final scene of the second season premiere on Paramount+.

The introduction is short, yet it has already drawn attention from critics. One outlet argues that the character could rank among the best gangster villains in television crime history. The scene raises fair questions about who Frankie is, what Kat McAllister expects from him, and how much trouble he can bring to Harry Da Souza.

Who Frankie Cooper Is in ‘MobLand’

The character is named Frankie Cooper, although promotional briefings for the second season referred to him only as Beast. He is one of several newcomers joining the show. Paramount+ confirmed Flynn as a new series regular but kept details about the role secret.

In the premiere, former detective chief inspector Colin Tattersall, played by Toby Jones, promises cartel boss Kat McAllister a “paladin” who can help take down the Harrigans. That promise pays off in the closing moments. Frankie is the person Tattersall has in mind.

Frankie is hosting a barbecue at his North London home when Tattersall arrives, and he recognizes the former copper and tells him to start talking. He wears a flower patterned Hawaiian shirt with a mod haircut, chops meat with a cleaver, and sets it on fire, all while speaking in a dry, nasal cockney accent. The scene is deliberately different from the violent opening of the episode, and Frankie initially appears relaxed and almost ordinary.

Johnny Flynn and the Making of Beast

Flynn brings an unusually varied résumé to the part. On television he has played Dickie Greenleaf in ‘Ripley’, and in film he is best known for playing Mr. Knightley in ‘Emma’ and David Bowie in ‘Stardust’. He is also the lead singer and songwriter for the folk rock band Johnny Flynn & the Sussex Wit.

In an exclusive conversation with TV Insider, Flynn explained where the character’s flavor comes from. When the interviewer pointed to the cadence of the lead in ‘A Clockwork Orange’, Flynn said he was thinking of material from the late sixties to the mid seventies. He also named a playwright he admires whose characters carry a “sexually ambiguous menace and eeriness.”

Critics have noticed the result. A review from The People’s Movies describes a performance somewhere between Mick Jagger fronting Oasis and Malcolm McDowell in his ‘A Clockwork Orange’ era trapped inside an Adidas commercial. The same review calls him a formidable nemesis for Harry who pushes every button to drag him out of his comfort zone.

Flynn seems to be enjoying the material. Speaking with Shortlist, he joked that he got all the best lines and singled out his character’s meanness toward Kevin. Castmate Lara Pulver added that his third episode is full of them.

Frankie’s Role in Kat McAllister’s Plan

The setup goes back to the first season. Harry turned down Kat in the season one finale, and she is now ready to make her move. Rather than going straight to war, Kat pulls the strings from the shadows so that the Harrigans start falling apart on their own.

Frankie is the next piece on her board. Tattersall describes his candidate as smart, ruthless, cunning and violent, and claims he could run London within five years with Kat’s backing. The pitch follows an arrangement Kat makes with Seraphina Harrigan.

The trailers suggest Frankie will not stay in the background. Footage shows Beast cornering Bella, played by Lara Pulver, blowing up a building, and quietly telling the family that the fairy tale is over. That is a lot of activity for a character introduced only in the last minutes of a premiere.

Some early commentary has looked beyond the cleaver and the barbecue. One recap notes that Frankie looks loud and possibly wealthy, and that children seen roaming his house could point to a vulnerability, or to a ruthlessness that would sacrifice anyone. The show has not confirmed either reading, so viewers will have to wait.

What Frankie Means for the Harrigan Family

The Harrigans are hardly in shape to absorb a new threat. Conrad and Kevin Harrigan are moving closer to open conflict, Maeve is making moves of her own, and Harry’s marriage is falling apart. The official season description says the family struggles to show a unified front while Harry walks a dangerous tightrope as tensions within the family intensify.

That instability is exactly what a figure like Frankie could exploit. Screen Rant notes that while the premiere centers mostly on the Harrigans, Frankie still steals the show with a brief but menacing cameo. A villain who works through charm and unpredictability offers a sharp contrast to the boardroom style scheming of Kat.

The second season has 10 episodes and streams weekly on Paramount+. The ensemble includes Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Joanne Froggatt, Janet McTeer and Toby Jones. Readers who have seen the premiere may want to share whether Frankie’s cheerful barbecue and cleaver make him a more unsettling threat to Harry Da Souza than Kat McAllister herself.