McMafia

Alex Godman has tried to keep his professional life separate from his family's criminal background. McMafia makes that separation increasingly difficult, following a financier drawn towards a business world whose respectability depends on where you look.

James Norton gives Alex a reserve that suits the gradual compromises. The show is less interested in a flamboyant gangster announcing himself than in how money crosses boundaries while the people handling it maintain a presentable appearance.

The international scope is useful because the transactions connect people who need not share a country or a motive. That distance can make the drama feel cool, but it also distinguishes it from a neighbourhood or family-centred mob story. The private decisions become harder to isolate from the larger business.

Inspired by Misha Glenny's nonfiction book, this is a fictional thriller, not a reconstruction of one documented case. For a more intimate criminal family, The Sopranos is the stronger choice. McMafia earns interest through the meeting point of legitimate finance and dangerous obligations.