10 Better Call Saul, 2015-2022

The trials and tribulations of criminal lawyer Jimmy McGill in the years leading up to his fateful run-in with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.

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9 ZeroZeroZero, 2019

A cocaine shipment makes its way to Europe, starting from the moment a powerful cartel of Italian criminals decides to buy it, to its journeys through Mexico, to its shipment across the Atlantic Ocean.

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8 Snowfall, 2017-2023

A look at the early days of the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles during the beginning of the 1980s.

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7 Boardwalk Empire, 2010-2014

Set in the Prohibition era of the 1920s Boardwalk Empire is the story of Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, the treasurer of Atlantic County, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Due to his relationships with mobsters as well as political contacts, the Federal Government start to take an interest in him. His lavish lifestyle seems at odds with his position, and as well as his connections, there is prolific bootlegging in the area.

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6 The Wire, 2002-2008

The streets of Baltimore as a microcosm of the US’s war on drugs, and of US urban decay in general. Seen not only through the eyes of a few policemen and drug gang members but also the people who influence and inhabit their world – politicians, the media, drug addicts and everyday citizens.

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5 Breaking Bad, 2008-2013

A once loyal father and chemistry teacher named Walter White turns to a life of crime due to developing Stage 3 terminal lung cancer. He is told he has two years to live. Teaming up with one of his former students, Jesse Pinkman, he grows in power, battles anyone in his way, and raises a family – all while hiding from his brother-in-law, Hank, who works for the DEA.

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4 Narcos, 2015-2017

A chronicled look at the criminal exploits of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, as well as the many other drug kingpins who plagued the country through the years.

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3 Sons of Anarchy, 2008-2014

Sons of Anarchy, aka SAMCRO, is a motorcycle club that operates both illegal and legal businesses in the small town of Charming. They combine gun-running and a garage, plus involvement in porn film. Clay, the president, likes it old school and violent; while Jax, his stepson and the club’s VP, has thoughts about changing the way things are, based on his dead father’s journal. Their conflict has effects on both the club and their personal relationships.

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2 Peaky Blinders, 2013-2022

Thomas Shelby and his brothers return to Birmingham after serving in the British Army during WWI. Shelby and his gang, the Peaky Blinders, control the city of Birmingham. However, Shelby’s ambitions extend beyond Birmingham, as he plans to build on the business empire he’s created, and dispatch anyone who gets in his way.

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1 The Sopranos, 1999-2007

An innovative look at the life of fictional Mafia Capo Tony Soprano, this serial is presented largely first person, but additional perspective is conveyed by the intimate conversations Tony has with his psychotherapist. We see Tony at work, at home, and in therapy. Moments of black comedy intersperse this aggressive, adult drama, with adult language, and extreme violence.

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