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The Sopranos poster

Shows that feel likeThe Sopranos (1999–2007)

The story of New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti.

If you loved The Sopranos, the closest series we have are Boardwalk Empire (2010), Sons of Anarchy (2008) and Pablo Escobar: The Drug Lord (2012). All three share The Sopranos' gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Godfather of Harlem (2019).

★ 9.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗6 seasons · HBOcreated by David Chasegrittycontemplative
12 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video
Stream it:HBO Max ↗
Buy seasons:Amazon see price ↗Apple TV$14.99 buyThe Sopranos, Season 1 · Apple price as of 2026-09-18

If The Sopranos hit the spot, these will too

Boardwalk Empire poster
Boardwalk Empire
2010–2014 · 5 seasons · HBO
★ 8.5crime · dramaMax

Organised crime as family business, told at a patient prestige pace

The difference: Period spectacle and political machinery — less domestic, less interior

Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition is a place where the rules don't apply. And the man who runs things -- legally and otherwise -- is the town's treasurer, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, who is equal parts politician and gangster.

Sons of Anarchy poster
Sons of Anarchy
2008–2014 · 7 seasons · FX
★ 8.5crime · dramaHulu

A leader hemmed in by loyalty, legacy and men he cannot fully control

The difference: Louder and more operatic — brawls and vengeance over quiet dread

The Sons of Anarchy (SOA) are an outlaw motorcycle club with many charters in the United States and overseas. The show focused on the original and founding charter, Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original, often referred to by the acronym SAMCRO, Sam Crow, or simply Redwood Charter. The charter operates both legal and illegal businesses in the small town of Charming, California. They combine gun-running and a garage, and involvement in porn film industry. Clay, the charter president, likes it old school and violent; while Jax, his stepson and the club's VP, has thoughts about changing the way things are done. Their conflict has effects on both the club and their personal relationship, especially when Jax goes on a personal quest to cleanse the SAMCRO name and image.

Pablo Escobar: The Drug Lord poster
Pablo Escobar: The Drug Lord
2012 · 1 season · Caracol TV
★ 8.4crime · dramaNetflix

A criminal's rise seen alongside the home life it slowly poisons

The difference: Telenovela pacing and Colombian history — no therapy couch, no irony

Pablo is a man with a natural ability for business. Early in his life, Pablo is introduced to the business of cocaine and the power it yields. A young life of crime lands Pablo in and out of jail as he builds his criminal empire. Pablo expands his power through politics but it is not long before his conflicts as a Congressman and a drug lord collide. Pablo has his enemies executed, but not before the United States activates its own war on the Medellin cartel.

Mayans M.C. poster
Mayans M.C.
2018–2023 · 5 seasons · FX
★ 7.5crime · dramaHulu

Loyalty to a crew that will eventually demand everything

The difference: Outlaw bikers on the border — no therapy, no irony

Set in the aftermath of Jax Teller’s death, Ezekiel "EZ" Reyes is fresh out of prison and a prospect in the Mayans M.C. charter on the Cali/Mexi border. Now, EZ must carve out his new identity in a town where he was once the golden boy with the American Dream in his grasp.

Godfather of Harlem poster
Godfather of Harlem
2019–2025 · 4 seasons · Epix
★ 8.1drama · crimeHulu

An ageing boss reclaiming turf while the world moves on past him

The difference: History-driven and plot-forward — less interiority, more period stakes

Loosely based on infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy attempts to regain his piece of Harlem.

Narcos poster
Narcos
2015–2017 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.7crime · dramaNetflix

The bureaucratic grind of the drug trade, procedural and unglamorous

The difference: Told through law enforcement and narration — little interior life

A gritty chronicle of the war against Colombia's infamously violent and powerful drug cartels.

Power poster
Power
2014–2020 · 6 seasons · STARZ
★ 8.1crime · dramaHuluStarz

A kingpin straining to hold a double life together for his family's sake

The difference: Slicker and soapier, driven by plot turns rather than slow character drift

A successful New York entrepreneur lives a double life as the head of a drug empire that serves only the rich and influential, all while wanting to escape the underworld and keep his family safe.

The Wire poster
The Wire
2002–2008 · 5 seasons · HBO
★ 9.3crime · dramaMax

Crime as an institution, with everyone inside it compromised

The difference: Systemic and city-wide; no single family at the centre

Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated.

The Penguin poster
The Penguin
2024 · 1 season · HBO
★ 8.6drama · crimeMax

A middle-ranking criminal seizing his moment and paying for it

The difference: Comic-book Gotham, one ascent, tightly plotted

With the city in peril following the seawall's collapse, Oswald "Oz" Cobb seeks to fill the power vacuum left by the death of Carmine Falcone and finally give his mother Francis the life he's always promised. But first, Oz must confront his enemies and his own demoralizing reputation as "the Penguin."

Justified poster
Justified
2010–2015 · 6 seasons · FX
★ 8.6crime · dramaHulu

Both land grit and stillness at once

A character drama based on the 2001 Elmore Leonard short story "Fire in the Hole." Leonard's tale centers around U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens of Kentucky, a quiet but strong-willed official of the law. The tale covers his high-stakes job, as well as his strained relationships with his ex-wife and father.

Deadwood poster
Deadwood
2004–2006 · 3 seasons · HBO
★ 8.6western · crime · dramaMax

Power negotiated by violence among men who talk beautifully

The difference: The frontier, with language as the main event

The story of the early days of Deadwood, South Dakota; woven around actual historic events with most of the main characters based on real people. Deadwood starts as a gold mining camp and gradually turns from a lawless wild-west community into an organized wild-west civilized town. The story focuses on the real-life characters Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen.

Castle poster
Castle
2009–2016 · 8 seasons · ABC
★ 8.1drama · crimePrime VideoHulu

Crime kept at arm's length while character banter carries the hour

The difference: Breezy episodic fun — no moral rot, no consequences that linger

After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard "Rick" Castle receives permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes.

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The best-reviewed series that share The Sopranos’ defining feeling.