Done with Narcos? We have your next gangster fix.
Despite the popularity of foreign language shows like Narcos, Gomorrah and Suburra, there’s no denying that throughout the history of British cinema, we have a strong fixation with gangsters and criminals.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Get Carter, The Long Good Friday, Brighton Rock, Bronson, Sexy Beast, Snatch, Layer Cake, Eastern Promises and The Italian Job are some of the finest examples, but the BBC plan on showing a very modern version of organised crime in their new show, McMafia.
The eight-part series is inspired by Misha Glenny’s best-selling book of the same name and it’s not just going to be focused on the UK, we’re going to see the entire global network that links various elements of the Mafia.
Throughout the series, viewers will see the web of connections that join up money launderers in Dubai to cybercriminals in India, black marketeers in Zagreb to narcos in Colombia, Russian oligarchs in London to Bedouin smugglers in the Negev desert.
As for the plot, the show revolves around an English-raised man that’s the son of Russian exiles with ties to Mafia.
Alex has spent his whole life trying to escape from the shadow of his family’s criminal past but what starts out as a story of survival and revenge soon becomes an epic tale of a man’s struggle against the lures of corruption.
Created by Hossein Amini (Drive) and James Watkins (The Woman In Black) the show stars James Norton in the lead role.
He’s joined by David Strathairn (The Bourne Ultimatum, Good Night, Good Luck), Faye Marsay (Love Nina, Game Of Thrones), Juliet Rylance (The Knick, Frances Ha), Aleksey Serebryakov (The Method, Leviathan) and Maria Shukshina (Yolki 3, Terrorist Ivanona) as Oksana.
McMafia hasn’t got a premiere date yet but it should appeal to anyone that’s looking for their next Mafia fix.
