Streaming tips

Mobsters and toughs...

Top Boy

Canceled after two seasons in 2013, this British drama with a cast of rappers was revived in 2019 by Drake, who loved it so much he’s now executive-producing. With its pumping soundtrack, the gritty tale of two friends who seek to rule the drug trade in London’s East End has drawn comparisons to The Wire. Netflix

Gangs of London

Come to this brutal series for the saga of a young crime boss (Peaky Blinders’ Joe Cole) out to avenge his father’s death, stay for the abundant scenes of gaspinducing, brilliantly choreographed violence. AMC+

Godfather of Harlem

The typically excellent Forest Whitaker heads a stellar ensemble cast as the real-life Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson, who emerges from a long stint in prison bent on taking back his neighborhood from the Genovese crime syndicate that moved in. Epix

Suburra: Blood on Rome

In a coastal town near Rome, three criminals take on politicians, mafiosi, and the Vatican in a lushly filmed and often erotic narrative inspired by an Italian political scandal. Netflix

McMafia

This worthy slow burn explores how the Britishraised son of an exiled Russian crime family gets sucked into the criminal underworld. The BBC is reportedly reluctant to renew it, because it doesn’t want to be seen as sympathizing with oligarchs while Russia bombs Ukraine. AMC+

BMF

Loosely based on the true adventures of brothers who went from poverty in southwest Detroit to major players in the drug trade, this series contrasts the wealth and glitz the two men attain through violence with the simpler virtues of the family they leave behind. Starz