Apple TV's crime drama *Shantaram*, based on Gregory David Roberts' semi-autobiographical 2003 novel, is worth revisiting despite being cancelled after a single season in 2022. Reportedly made on a budget of around $100 million, the series exemplifies Apple TV's willingness to invest heavily in ambitious productions, and its sprawling scope, while sometimes a weakness, is also part of its appeal.

The show follows Dale Conti (Charlie Hunnam), an Australian convict who escapes prison and flees to Bombay under a false identity as "Lin" Ford, seeking to reinvent himself. There he befriends guide Prabhu (Shubham Saraf), becomes entangled with the enigmatic Karla Saaranen (Antonia Desplat) and crime lord Abdel Khader Khan (Alexander Siddig), and is drawn into the city's criminal underworld even as he tries to help impoverished slum residents. Across 12 episodes, Hunnam's nuanced performance as a man wrestling with guilt and the consequences of his good intentions is highlighted as the series' strongest asset.