10 Best Crime Shows Similar to The Sopranos

When The Sopranos premiered on HBO in 1999, it redefined what television could be. David Chase’s landmark crime drama blends brutal mob violence with an intimate psychological study. The series explored loyalty and moral decay in ways that felt revolutionary.

James Gandolfini gave a towering performance as Tony Soprano. This, alongside its 21 Primetime Emmys, cemented The Sopranos as HBO’s best show of all time.

The Sopranos' enduring influence can be felt across the drama genre. For viewers who crave that same mix of complexity and criminal enterprise, there are many great shows to watch after finishing The Sopranos. Some have even been cited as crime shows that outshine The Sopranos. Either way, there are several shows with similar elements to HBO’s groundbreaking crime drama.

10 Boardwalk Empire — HBO

Boardwalk Empire premiered in 2010 on HBO. The series was created by former Sopranos writer Terence Winter and stars Steve Buscemi in the lead as Nucky Thompson. Winter brought the moral ambiguity and layered storytelling he honed in The Sopranos into a historical setting.

Set in the Prohibition era, the story follows a political boss (Buscemi) as his life becomes intertwined with Atlantic City’s bootlegging trade. With lavish production design and a cast that included Michael Shannon and Kelly Macdonald, the show won multiple Emmy Awards. Its DNA is unmistakably Sopranos-esque, particularly in its exploration of organized crime’s political reach.

9 Ozark — Netflix

Netflix’s Ozark echoes The Sopranos in its portrayal of a suburban family entangled in crime. Set in the Missouri Ozarks, the series stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as Marty and Wendy Byrd after they are forced to launder money for a Mexican cartel. Premiering in 2017, Ozark ran four seasons and earned multiple Emmy Awards.

The show’s bleak tone and shocking turns immediately drew comparisons to The Sopranos among other crime dramas. Ozark offers a similarly tense portrait of ambition colliding with consequence and moral compromise for fans of The Sopranos. The risks Marty and Wendy try to navigate feel similar to Tony and Carmela Soprano’s strained partnership.

8 Peaky Blinders — BBC

Though more stylized than The Sopranos, Peaky Blinders shares similar themes of family loyalty and internal gang fractures. The series chronicles the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-World War I Birmingham. Tensions within the Shelby clan are reminiscent of The Sopranos' power struggle storylines.

Cillian Murphy’s magnetic performance in the lead role of Tommy Shelby became iconic. The British drama ran for six seasons and became a global hit. The show earned BAFTA Awards and widespread praise for its cinematography and performances. The show has remained such a success that Netflix is releasing a sequel movie titled Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man in March 2026.

7 Orange Is The New Black — Netflix

Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black debuted in 2013 and ran for seven seasons. Created by Jenji Kohan, the series follows the women who are incarcerated in a federal prison. It won multiple Emmy Awards and is often praised for its diversity and social commentary.

While tonally different, Orange Is the New Black mirrors The Sopranos’ blend of humor and brutality. The series takes a deep look at criminal identity and institutional power, much like The Sopranos did. It humanizes those within the justice system, exploring how a person's environment shapes behavior. This is similar to an idea Tony’s therapy sessions often wrestled with.

6 The Wire — HBO

We often see fans debating between The Wire vs. The Sopranos for HBO’s greatest drama crown. Created by David Simon, The Wire aired on HBO between 2002 and 2008. Set in Baltimore, the series examines the interconnected institutions of law enforcement, politics, education, and the drug trade. Despite the series underperforming at the Emmy Awards, it received near-universal critical acclaim.

Both shows share a commitment to realism and morally ambiguous characters, but Simon’s series expands the story into institutional decay. While The Sopranos focused on a single mob family, The Wire argues that corruption, bureaucracy, and economic stagnation are interconnected problems.

5 The Penguin — HBO

Set in Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe, HBO’s The Penguin stars Colin Farrell reprising his role as Oswald “Oz” Cobb. The series shows Oz as a classic television crime boss. Much like The Sopranos, the focus isn’t on spectacle but on the psychology and strategy behind climbing the criminal ladder.

Oz spends as much time navigating fragile alliances, power vacuums, and personal insecurity as he does orchestrating violence. This mirrors Tony Soprano’s constant balancing act between ego, ambition, and survival. The Penguin leans into grounded, character-driven crime storytelling. Colin Farrell’s performance emphasizes Oz’s volatility and insecurity beneath the bluster, echoing what made Tony Soprano such a compelling and unsettling protagonist.

4 Better Call Saul — AMC

Better Call Saul aired from 2015 to 2022 as a prequel to Breaking Bad. Starring Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill, the morally flexible lawyer who also goes by Saul Goodman, the series earned multiple Emmy nominations. Better Call Saul also garnered high critical praise for performances by Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, and Giancarlo Esposito, who returned as Gus Fring.

Better Call Saul provides a meticulous character study of compromise and identity in real-time, where The Sopranos dissects Tony’s psyche in therapy. Better Call Saul is less explosive as a series, but it is equally devastating in its portrayal of slow moral decay. It’s a perfect watch for fans of The Sopranos’ quiet character moments.

3 Narcos — Netflix

Narcos chronicles the rise and fall of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar (played by Wagner Moura) and the law enforcement efforts to stop him. Premiering in 2015, Netflix’s 3-part crime thriller is still binge-worthy. Narcos’ global success led to the spinoff Narcos: Mexico. The show received Golden Globe nominations and earned praise for Moura’s commanding performance.

Like The Sopranos, Narcos balances law enforcement perspectives with those of criminals, refusing to simplify either side. It presents ambition and brutality with documentary-style grit. Narcos delivers a global perspective on power, legacy, and the destructive lure of empire-building.

2 Gomorrah — Sky Atlantic

Based on Roberto Saviano’s book, the Italian series Gomorrah ran for five seasons and follows the Camorra crime syndicate in Naples. Critics have frequently compared the series to The Sopranos for its uncompromising realism and character-driven storytelling, with many praising it as one of the strongest modern crime dramas to follow in HBO’s footsteps.

Like The Sopranos, Gomorrah strips glamour away from organized crime. It’s an uncompromising portrait of crime families fractured by ego and survival. There are no romanticized mob rituals — only paranoia, betrayal, and sudden violence. The show’s unrelenting tone mirrors Tony Soprano’s world, where loyalty is fragile, and ambition can become lethal.

1 Breaking Bad — AMC

Created by Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad won 16 Primetime Emmy Awards and gained universal acclaim. Airing from 2008 to 2013, the series follows high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who becomes a methamphetamine manufacturer and eventually a major crime kingpin. That shift also shows that Walter White’s plan stops being about his family, instead becoming about greed and power.

Cranston and Aaron Paul (as Jesse Pinkman) delivered career-defining performances, much like Gandolfini achieved with his crime drama. Fans who appreciated The Sopranos’ psychological spiral into darkness will be captivated by Walter White’s gradual transformation into Heisenberg. It has been over a decade since Breaking Bad came to an end, but it's still considered a must-watch masterpiece.