1. The Sopranos

Easily one of the most popular and acclaimed names on this list, The Sopranos chronicles the life of Tony Soprano, an Italian-American mafia head who struggles to manage his family and criminal life. Back in the day, this was a weekly extravaganza but now you can just stream it on Hotstar. 

2. Boardwalk Empire

Unlike most gangster dramas, Boardwalk Empire focuses almost entirely on one man: Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, loosely based on the real criminal figure Enoch L. Johnson. Thompson, played by Steve Buscemi is a political figure in Atlantic City, New Jersey during the Prohibition era, which makes him places him at the epicentre of everything happening in his jurisdiction. 

3. Mob City

Based on the novel L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City by John Buntin, the story takes place as Los Angeles begins rebuilding after World War II. People are coming in from different places to try and start over but amidst all that glamour and glitz, the city’s criminal syndicates begin rebuilding as well. 

Check Out – Indian Female Gangsters

4. Sons of Anarchy

Another highly acclaimed drama, Sons of Anarchy is Hamlet, but set in California and features a lot of bikes. The show revolves around Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original, or SAMCRO, a gun-running vigilante motorcycle gang and at its centre is Charlie Hunnam’s Jax Teller. Teller is destined to lead the club into the future but remains torn between his father’s legacy, his duty to the club and his own family. 

5. Gangs of London

Starring Peaky Blinders‘ Joe Cole as Sean Wallace, Gangs of London has already taken fans by storm. Right off the bat, the audience finds itself immersed in the middle of an international gang war all set in the bustling criminal underbelly of the English capital. When we join in, we see this underworld in some serious disarray after the mysterious murder of Finn Wallace, the head of one of the city’s most powerful crime families.

6. Godfather of Harlem

Godfather of Harlem is a crime drama that takes inspiration and borrows from actual historical events. Forest Whitaker plays Bumpy Johnson, a drug trafficker who used to rule the streets of Harlem but after a prison stint finds out that his neighbourhood had now fallen to the Italians. So, he joins hands with Malcolm X to take the fight to the Genovese crime family and regain control. 

7. The Wire

Explaining The Wire in a way that would justify it to people who haven’t seen it is a difficult job. An anti-cop show disguised as a cop show is probably the best way to do it though. There is a reason this show has received cult status and by word of mouth no less. Set in Baltimore, the show follows  Detective James McNulty and his team they investigate crimes. 

8. The Continental

That’s right. It’s the same hotel from the John Wick movies. The secrets behind the workings of this mysterious and dark organisation are to be revealed in this mini-series. In a world of murders and assassins, The Continental provides a neutral ground, where assassins and murderers from all walks of life can have a drink and discuss business without any risk to life or limb inside the premises. 

9. Snowfall

Snowfall is a period crime drama revolving around the first crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles during the early 1980s. So, you have the usual, drugs, crime organisations, cops etc. But this show tells the story of people who distribute crack and they end up crossing paths with each other. 

10. Narcos

No such thing as bad timing when we talk about visiting Pablo Escobar, the character from Netflix’s Narcos, not the real guy. Narcos provides a fictitious and dramatised version of the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar amidst the DEA’s war on drugs in Coloumbia. 

So, there we go. This appears to be a week with a long weekend. Have fun.