Althoughgangster TV showshave been around since ABC first airedThe Untouchablesin 1959, they’ve only really been taken seriously since the turn of the millennium. The main reason for the relative scarcity of high-quality series in this TV crime subgenre is that thebest gangster movies, directed by the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Brian De Palma, completely dominated the field. It was only when television budgets got bigger, and innovative creators like David Chase, David Simon, and Stephen Knight stepped forward, that this field opened up for high-end, gangster-themed projects on the small screen.
Everynearly perfect gangster moviehad already been made, and even Scorsese began to explore work in television, along with some of his regular collaborators. The arrival of Chase’s seminal gangster showThe Sopranoson HBO in 1999 was a turning point for the genre, which signaled that it was possible to make a series about mobsters that was just as good as its feature-length equivalents. Since then,we’ve seen the proliferation of the gangster subgenre on TV, particularly with the advent of streaming. In fact, some of thebest TV showsout there today are gangster series.
A beautifully shot, superbly acted insight into the rise of crack cocaine in 1980s LA,Snowfallis eminently quotableand rich in suspense as well as thrilling action sequences.Its protagonist, Franklin Saint, a daring young crack dealer barely out of his teens, is everything we’d expect a much older, wiser drug kingpin to be. But Saint and his mob, dubbed simply “The Family,” are more battle-hardened than they look.
The sheer intensity ofSnowfall, brought home by powerful lead performances from Damson Idris and Carter Hudson, is enough to have you gripped. That’s before even getting to its expertly woven, slow-burning plot threads, which tell its story from the various perspectives of different stakeholders in the Los Angeles crack epidemic.This series is perhaps the grittiest narco-crime drama sinceThe Wire, as well as being one of the most stylishly produced.
The only show on this list that’s still ongoing,Godfather of Harlemhas the potential to grow in stature even moreas it continues to cement its legacy with each passing season. Loosely based on the real story of Harlem mob boss Bumpy Johnson, who’s portrayed by Forest Whitaker, the series deliversthe best small-screen rendering of New York’s notorious mid-20th-century ganglands.
Alongside Whitaker’s Johnson is a who’s who of modern American crime actors playing some of the Big Apple’s most infamous gangsters. Paul Sorvino and Chazz Palminteri starred as Frank Costello and Joseph Bonanno, respectively, in the show’s first two seasons, while Arthur J. Nascarella features as Carlo Gambino. We await to see whatGodfather of Harlemseason 5has in store for us, but there’s certainly an audience out there for more of this sprawling tale of mafia rivalry.
A British production with much of its dialogue in Japanese,Giri/Hajiis a Yakuza-themed murder mystery that straddles the criminal underworlds of both London and Tokyo. The series shares certainsimilarities with HBO’sTokyo Vice, including a part for Japanese actor Yōsuke Kubozuka, but it’s ultimately visually slicker and better scripted than its more famous American cousin.
Despite being a limited series of just eight episodes,Giri/Hajimanages to pack a lot of plot into its relatively short total runtime, aided by some pitch-perfect performances in the lead roles from Takehiro Hira and Kelly Macdonald, and an impressive supporting cast featuring Justin Long and Anna Sawai.
While not a mobster show in the traditional sense,Sons of Anarchyis certainly one of the best gangster shows ever made. Presenting a complex web of gang warfare and political corruption through the prism of an arms-dealing motorcycle club,the series feels as authentic as it is far-reachingin its dark take on the criminality that underpins various elements of American society.
DID YOU KNOW:Jax Morrow’s story shares similarities with Michael Corleone’s inThe Godfather, only it’s told on the back of a Harley-Davidson out West.
At the center of the show is Jax Teller, a leading member of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original (SAMCRO) who’s also trying to take care of his family.But the standout character in the show is Clay Morrow, played by Ron Perlman, who’s the youngest of thefirst nine membersof SAMCRO, better known simply as the “First 9”.
Sons of Anarchyaccurately reflects the real role of the Hells Angels biker gang in organized crimeacross the Western United States. At the same time, it brilliantly depicts the personal struggles of someone who finds himself at the center of that world but is morally conflicted about it. Jax Teller’s story shares similarities withMichael Corleone’s inThe Godfather, only it’s told on the back of a Harley-Davidson out West.
IfSons of Anarchyincorporates elements of the real-life Hells Angels into its story, thenNarcosis directly based on the real life of Pablo Escobar,the most notorious drug kingpin in history. What’s more, it does so with the verve and panache of a celebrity biopic, propelled by the dazzlingly charismatic lead performance of Brazilian actor Wagner Moura.
By purposely exaggerating its characterization of Escobar, throwing notes of comic theatricality into the mix for good measure,Narcospaints an impressionistic portrait thatdoes justice to its aim of being the biggest gangster show of the mid-2010s. Its bombastic tone also sets it apart from pretty much any other mob series of its stature, as a crime drama that’s as enjoyable as it is gripping.
British period crime thriller seriesPeaky Blindersis a genuine contender for one of the all-time great TV shows in any genre.The serial drama is a swashbuckling portrayal of a family of Irish gangsters in the early 20th century, which takes inspiration for its premise from thetrue story of Birmingham’s real-life Peaky Blinders gang. It has all the grit and graphic violence of a Scorsese movie, coupled with the simmering dramatic tension of theGodfathertrilogy.
Tommy Shelby is the Michael Corleone ofPeaky Blinders, a brilliantly astute and unflinchingly ruthless tragic anti-hero. Tommy fills a void at the head of his family’s crime business by necessity, before developing a pathological attachment to the role, with grave consequences for those he loves.
The series isthe closest anything on television has come to inheriting the throne left vacant byThe Sopranosseveral years before its arrival, as an epic family drama set in a majestically rendered, wholly immersive criminal underworld. The exquisite period details and characterizations inPeaky Blindersmight not always be historically accurate, but they surpass virtually every other TV universe of their kind. In addition, the show’s carefully curated modern soundtrack lends it a steampunk feel that perfectly suits the show’s gangster aesthetic.
Vince Gilligan’sBreaking Badisn’t typically thought of as a gangster show, because it’s ultimately so much more.But it’s worth remembering that all thebest villains in theBreaking Baduniverseare gangsters in their bare essence, including Walter White. When it landed on AMC as the network’s first flagship series back in 2008,Breaking Badquite simply transformed the entire television landscape by crafting a crime story that was so complete, so daring, and so imaginative that it almost single-handedly turned TV into a prestige medium for visual storytelling.
Breaking Badhad no right to work on paper, but the genius of Gilligan somehow made it one of the greatest and most influential franchises in TV history.
The only reasonthe show doesn’t rank higher is that it doesn’t quite fit the bill in terms of the gangster subgenre’s classic tropes. Yet far from being a shortcoming,Breaking Bad’s not fitting into a specific subgenre is a reflection of just how expansive it is as a work of art.
The series is a narco-crime thriller about a stereotypical middle-class American family in which comedy actors play several of the leading roles.It had no right to work on paper, but the genius of Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, Bob Odenkirk, and others has somehow made it one of the greatest and most influential franchises in TV history.
Martin Scorsese’s first real television venture,HBO’sBoardwalk Empire is an underrated masterpieceof the gangster subgenre. That may seem like a strange way to describe a show that was widely acclaimed on its release and scooped nearly every TV award in sight during the early 2010s, butBoardwalk Empirestill doesn’t get the credit it truly deserves. The series depicts the historic ascent of organized crime syndicates in the United States, perhaps better than any other screen drama.
Fora dramatic rendering of Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, bootlegging in the Prohibition era,and the rise of the gambling industry, forgetThe UntouchablesorOnce Upon a Time in America.Boardwalk Empirevaults the exceptionally high bar set by these big-screen classics, thanks to some of Scorsese’s best work, a stunning central performance by Steve Buscemi, one of the best ensemble casts ever assembled, and exquistie period set designs
Six years beforeBreaking Bad,The Wirechanged the game for gangster movies and TV shows. It virtuallyreinvented the wheel with its unfiltered visuals, quickfire dialogue, and slow-burning, labyrinthine plotsdriven by realistic characters plucked straight from the streets of Baltimore. Apart from making the careers of Idris Elba and Dominic West,The Wiremade the gangster subgenre into something else entirely, while inspiring an array of crime fiction works, fromChristopher Nolan’s movieThe Dark Knightto Netflix’sNarcos.
In retrospect, the series was way ahead of its time, both stylistically and in terms of its narrative structure. Even shows likeHouse of Cardsowe something toThe Wire’s exploration of an entire city’s relationship with its criminal underworld, from corrupt government officials to newspapers and local workforces. Putting its influence aside,few other shows out there are quite as engrossingly bingeableor as expertly produced. Anyone watching will inevitably be perched on the edge of their seat, but always with the sense that they’re in safe hands.
Before a small-screen gangster subgenre worthy of the name even existed, there wasThe Sopranos. Every landmark crime series to have come since is, one way or another, in the debt of arguably thebest TV drama of all time. We can talk about the show’s incomparable command of plot, itsGodfather-esque mastery of subtext, and its wholly immersive yet refreshingly grounded world-building. Butthe real secret weapon ofThe Sopranosis the depth of its characterizations, which set it apart from virtually every crime series that came before it.
OnceThe Sopranosarrived, the days when serial dramas could get by with stock characters, scarcely-concealed narrative conceits, and farcical plot twists were numbered.Gangster TV showswere here to stay, and each one of them worth its salt had to try and live up to the near-impossible expectations set by this unprecedented behemoth of episodic mafia storytelling.
