“To be entertained is a great thing, isn’t it?” This is Helen Mirren talking about MobLand, the highly entertaining gangster series currently streaming on Paramount+. Created by Ronan Bennett (Top Boy) and directed, in part, by Guy Ritchie, the London-set show has been steadily gaining buzz since its debut in late March, despite a few disapproving reviews (ignore those critics; it’s a blast). The gonzo seventh episode aired last night, and I’m hooked—which is not just down to Mirren, who plays the ruthless Maeve Harrigan. There’s also Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Paddy Considine, Joanne Froggatt: an incredible ensemble cast. But Mirren is something special; a cherished actress playing delightfully against type. Martini in hand, hair down, some animal print ensemble on, her Maeve is a psychopath, goading her husband Conrad (Brosnan) to greater acts of violence and mayhem. In her long, illustrious career, Mirren has never been so gloriously undignified.

Mirren, of course, first launched into superstardom thanks to another television role: that of DCI Jane Tennison in the incomparable Prime Suspect, the groundbreaking 1990s BBC procedural (all seven seasons of which are there for the taking on BritBox, if you’ve never had the pleasure). But it’s still remarkable to consider that her turn on MobLand follows hard on the heels of Mirren playing another indomitable matriarch, Cara Dutton, in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel series 1923. We’re used to A-listers on television, I suppose, but it’s been a treat to have so much small-screen Mirren in our lives.

I asked her about both roles in a recent conversation conducted over Zoom. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Helen Mirren: They’re such different characters, Cara and Maeve—but I was kind of thrilled to be asked to be in MobLand, because, you know, it’s actually much more my world, much more up my alley, than 1923. ​​Don’t get me wrong, I loved doing 1923, and it’s always great to explore a world that you’re not familiar with, but MobLand is sort of more my kind of vibe, if you like. It’s London; it’s urban. And I’m a London girl at heart.

Vogue: Both are genre shows, which is sort of interesting for you: a Western and a gangster series…