“Leave the gun, take the canolli,” says the mobster to his partner, moments after carrying out an execution. This bone-chilling scene from The Godfather will forever be etched in our collective consciousness as a true representation of a criminal organisation like the Mafia: unsettling normalcy in the wake of extreme violence, one that would shatter the psyche of any other human being.
Maybe that’s what draws us to crime series. That detachment from reality, the ability to break away from social confines and go where others cannot or will not go. Fiction depicting violent men doing violent things to survive in a violent world.
Mafia series are back at the forefront thanks to Max’s debut of The Penguin, a series spin-off from Robert Pattinson’s The Batman. Where everyone expected a superhero series, Max pulled a fast one and instead dished out a series that revolves around organised crime. As you wait for new episodes to drop each week, here are some great mafia series to help you scratch that itch!
While not Mafia only, these shows feature gangs and organised crime. Shows like Peaky Blinders, Gangs of London, Ozark, Narcos, The Wire, Animal Kingdom, Gomorrah, Sons of Anarchy and Top Boy.
The Sopranos
This is the show that many are crediting with ushering in the Golden Age of TV and is widely considered to be one of the best shows ever made. The Sopranos tells the story of the Soprano crime family located in New Jersey. Head of the family is long-time gangster Tony Soprano (the late James Gandolfini) who starts to doubt his place in the world and his role in the organisation. Gripping, ruthless and genre-defining, The Sopranos is the iconic mafia series and if you missed it when it came out, now is your chance to get aboard!
Boardwalk Empire
Steve Buscemi is one of the greatest actors alive, able to take on roles that range from comedy to drama with ease and delivering every time. In Boardwalk Empire, a period crime drama set in Prohibition-era US, Buscemi plays Nucky Thompson, a real-life figure who headed a boot-legging organisation in Atlantic City. Nucky is morally ambiguous, charismatic and caring, while also being ruthless and willing to use violence, blackmail and bribery to stay in power.
As Nucky is a real person, Boardwalk Empire leans heavily on historical figures who were involved with organised crime at the time, such as Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano and of course Al Capone.
King of Tulsa
Stallone’s sleeper-hit returns for a second season to tell a classic mobster tale with a fresh twist. Dwight Manfredi is a hardened old-school Mafia soldier that gets out of prison after 25 years and finds the world has passed him by.
The once-powerful and respected Dwight now finds himself shuffled off to a place he sees as the middle of nowhere: Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Once there, the ageing but still fierce gangster clashes with local biker gangs, strong-arms local business owners, stands up to corrupt police and brings that lovely, overwhelming aroma of a New York wiseguy to the country.
The role is perfect for Stallone, who seems to find himself in the polished shoes and golden cufflinks of Manfredi. Written by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, Mayor of Kingstown, Hell or High Water), King of Tulsa is a welcome twist in the genre!
Godfather of Harlem
Working off the blueprint set by Boardwalk Empire, Godfather of Harlem mixes history with fiction, taking real-life people and thrusting them into the narrative. Forest Whitaker plays real-life crime boss Bumpy Johnson, a drug dealer in 60s Harlem who gets out of jail after ten years only to find out that his neighbourhood is now overrun with the Italian mob. As Bumpy struggles to regain control, he teams up with civil rights activist Malcolm X and politician Adam Clayton Powell (played by crime series veteran Giancarlo Esposito). The three of them form an uneasy alliance to go up against a crime boss in the Genovese family, Vincent ‘The Chin’ Gigante (played by Vincent D’Onofrio), who now runs drug trafficking in Harlem.
The Penguin
A spin off series of The Batman, this centres around Oswald Cobblepot, the Batman villain known as the Penguin. Played by Colin Farell, many thought that this would be your run-of-the-mill cash-grab, a quick, pointless series to cash in the movie’s success. The producers surprised everyone by delivering what seems to be a gritty, noir tale of Oswald’s rise from mid-level mobster to criminal boss. The series blends intrigue with organised crime and features stellar performances by Farell and Cristin Millioti. While only two episodes have currently aired, The Penguin promises to be an amazing mob series!
