The Best TV Series About Gangsters

Summary

Gangsters draw in audiences due to fear and allure, becoming charismatic villains in iconic movies.
TV shows about gangsters blend real-life events with other genres, providing an immersive experience.
The Sopranos revitalized the industry, showcasing the rise of Tony Soprano as a criminal in therapy sessions.

The mix of fear and allure that draws audiences to crime drama is also part of why movies and TV shows about gangsters are so popular. It's a tradition that started with classic films like Chinatown and The Godfather, and the concept was adopted by subscription and streaming services generations later.

Virtually all of the TV shows about gangsters are based on real-life events and the people involved, and they're often combined with other genres like period pieces, thrillers, or action movies. That's what makes TV shows about gangsters an entertaining and immersive experience.

6 The Sopranos

The Second Golden Age Of Television

Created By: David Chase
Starring: James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli
Produced By: Chase Films, Brad Grey Television, HBO Entertainment
Original Release: January 10, 1999 – June 10, 2007

This critically acclaimed show about gangsters was so good, and so universally loved, that it's credited with breathing new life into the whole TV industry, spurring the rise of "prestige" television, and its effects still reverberate in the present. A prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark, was released in 2021 and starred Micheal Gandolfini, the son of The Sopranos star James Gandolfini, as a young version of Tony Soprano in 1970s New Jersey. The show's depictions of mob life were so genuine that real-life Mafiosos were convinced that the writers had a "made guy" feeding them information.

Although the show bears the title of the main character's family, Tony Soprano is a criminal in the service of the DiMeo family, and over six seasons, viewers see him rise from a middle-management boss to the main capo. The twist is that most of his story comes out in his weekly therapy sessions as he tries to deal with the stress, guilt, and moral conflicts of being a gangster.

5 The Penguin

Spinoff-Sequel To Matt Reeves' The Batman

Created By: Lauren LeFranc
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Deirdre O’Connell
Produced By: DC Studios, Warner Bros. Television, Zobot Projects, and others
Original Release: September 19 – November 10, 2024

The popularity of Matt Reeves' The Batman movie, starring Robert Pattison as the titular character, prompted the production of The Penguin, which is intended to act as both a sequel to and a spinoff of the film. Colin Farrell returns to the role, which was also critically acclaimed in the film, as a thug for the Maroni crime family, and the series chronicles his rise to power in the criminal underworld of Gotham City.

The recent trend in the Batman franchise is less about superheroes and more about gangsters, and The Penguin has the same tone and aesthetic as the movie on which it is based. The realistic, gritty tone resonates more with audiences these days than the bright and happy superhero movies of a few years ago, and this show is the perfect combination of comic book lore and gangster story.

4 Breaking Bad

Neo-Western Black Comedy Gangsters

Created By: Vince Gilligan
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris
Produced By: High Bridge Entertainment, Gran Via Productions, Sony Pictures Television
Original Release: January 20, 2008 – September 29, 2013

It's is not only one of the best and most popular shows about living a life of crime, it might be the best television series of all time. Every season of Breaking Bad is beloved by viewers and critics alike, and it's become a cultural zeitgeist with quotes like "I am the one who knocks" and smash-hit spinoff shows like Better Call Saul.

Walter White doesn't start as a gangster; the pilot episode emphasizes his humble roots as a high-school chemistry teacher dealing with a tragic but common problem. When he finds out his lung cancer is likely terminal, he cooks up a plan (pun intended) with a former student to start a meth lab and make some real money. Throughout the first few seasons, Walter becomes one of the most dangerous gangsters alive, and his metamorphosis from an everyday guy to a ruthless drug lord is chilling.

3 Peaky Blinders

British Period Crime Drama

Created By: Steven Knight
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Sophie Rundle
Produced By: Caryn Mandabach Productions, Tiger Aspect Productions, Screen Yorkshire
Original Release: September 12, 2013 – April 3, 2022

Peaky Blinders is a choice series for those looking for a gangster movie that explores the mob outside of an American aesthetic. Not only is this a popular crime thriller, it's a period drama that takes place in England in the years following the first World War. Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy, heads up the gang that gives the show its name, and each season tells another story about expanding their crime empire beyond their base in Birmingham.

Peaky Blinders Amya Taylor Joy and Cillian Murphy

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By Brad R. Edwards

The story includes some real historical figures that improve the immersive effect, such as a young Winston Churchill as the law enforcement figure who orders Major Chester Campbell to clear out some local organized crime with connections to the IRA. The popularity of the show has also prompted a full-length movie sequel entitled The Immortal Man which Netflix is producing.

2 Narcos

The King Of Cocaine

Created By: Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro
Starring: Wagner Moura, Boyd Holbrook, Pedro Pascal, Damián Alcázar
Produced By: Gaumont International Television
Original Release: August 28, 2015 – September 1, 2017

The name Pablo Escobar is well-known enough that he could be a celebrity, but the true story of how he became involved in the cocaine trade and came to the attention of US authorities, namely the CIA, is much more complicated. He became the head of a crime syndicate in the city of Medellín, Columbia, and in a few years, he was one of the wealthiest and most notorious gangsters on the planet.

Narcos tells the story of how Escobar began as a simple drug mule and took advantage of the American appetite for cocaine to become not only a powerful gangster but a politician and popular public figure. This dramatized but mostly-true story prompted regular news stories back in the 1980s, and inspired both this series and a second series, Narcos: Mexico, which launched in 2018.

1 Boardwalk Empire

American Historical Drama

Created By: Terence Winter
Starring: Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon
Produced By: HBO Entertainment, Leverage Entertainment, Cold Front Productions, and others
Original Release: September 19, 2010 – October 26, 2014

The 1920s were a time when gangsters used the power of Prohibition money to influence every level of government along with controlling crime on the street. Boardwalk Empire is a period drama about that era and takes place along the American East Coast in places like New Jersey and Atlantic City.

The pilot episode was famously directed by Martin Scorsese and cost almost 20 million dollars, which is expensive even for a network like HBO, so this series was a big investment from the start. The show introduces several real people as characters, and is as much about them and their world, even when it focuses on the corrupt and lavish lifestyle of the main character, "Nucky" Thompson. It's a show about gangsters that's more grounded in reality than others, for those interested in history as opposed to just drama.