Of all the shows I watch, gritty crime and period dramas are my absolute favorite. They’re an obsession that started nearly 20 years ago with an epic biker saga and was cemented by 2014’s Peaky Blinders, which saw enormous global success with its depiction of a notorious crime gang in 1919 Birmingham, England.
While we await the arrival of the Peaky Blinders feature-length film, as well as its newly announced sequel series, here are 6 shows full of gritty exploits and twisted crime family troubles to help pass the time.
6
Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy ignited my flame for gritty crime dramas with its gorgeously crafted, binge-worthy story about an outlaw motorcycle club as a visceral analogy for human transformation, especially of the criminal psyche. Its intense combination of gritty neo-Western elements with an addictively riveting Shakespearean tragedy makes it, essentially, Hamlet on Harleys.
The epic biker saga follows multiple blended families in a motorcycle gang and their criminal activities. While the focus centers on the unraveling of a club that was built on hopes, dreams, loyalty, and brotherhood, the narrative follows VP Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) as he struggles to find a balance between fatherhood, personal relationships, and his club—all of which are slowly unraveling from the inside out.
Just like in Peaky Blinders, the greatest tension is found lingering among the ranks of SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original). The series is raw, bold, and captivating, laced with violence, treachery, turf wars, and more interpersonal drama than you can shake a stick at. Expect to be shocked, covered in chills, and shedding tears with this one.
5
Taboo
As Jewish gang leader Alfie Solomons in Peaky Blinders, Tom Hardy eviscerated Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby from across the room. He carries the same intensity and unpredictable violence in Taboo, which Hardy co-created with his father as well as with Blinders showrunner Steven Knight. The show also features Hardy’s most intimidating television performance yet.
Set in 1814, amid the War of 1812 and the rise of the East India Trading Company, in a tumultuously corrupt 19th-century London, the gripping period drama follows shipping empire heir and adventurer James Delaney (Hardy) as he returns from the dead to claim his inheritance. There’s just one problem. Because he was presumed dead for so long, the empire fell into the hands of his conniving half-sister and her husband, and vultures now swarm around a prime spot of Delaney land, resorting to blackmail, legal loopholes, and even murder to get their way.
As James seeks vengeance, battles enemies and corruption, and conspires to build an empire, he also navigates a darkly complex, often incestuous relationship with his half-sister while simultaneously uncovering the twisted secrets of his family tree. Season 2 has never happened despite being renewed in 2017. However, there are still high hopes for season 2.
4
Gangs of London
I can’t speak highly enough about Gangs of London. Its brutal, in-your-face narrative is full of so much grit, violence, and action, I’m pretty sure I watched the entire first two seasons with my eyes wide open and my mouth hanging open in sheer excitement. Just when you think a show can’t go any further into that which makes you cringe, along comes the bloodiest, most violent, and most intense crime series to date, and it just so happens to be led by a Peaky Blinder.
Set in the 21st century, the show sucks us right into the competing power dynamics between gangs and criminal organizations in present-day London. When mega crime lord Finn Wallace is shot in the face and killed, the criminal underworld is sent into disarray, and it’s left to his son, Sean (Joe Cole), to piece the family empire back together. The more vengeance fuels his motivation, the blinder he becomes to the danger lurking right under his nose in a trusted ally, who’s also an undercover cop.
This show isn’t for the faint of heart, but if grit, gore, extreme violence, and teeth-gritting action are as much your jam as they are mine, Gangs of London is the most spectacular, jaw-dropping crime drama out there.
3
Kin
Set in modern-day Ireland, Kin is a gritty Irish crime drama focused on the fallout of a Dublin crime family involved in a gang war. The painfully short-lived show follows the lawless ways of the Kinsella family as they are introduced by the one member who’s desperate to detach from them.
Charlie Cox (Daredevil) stars as Michael Kinsella, a former convict doing everything in his power to walk the line upon his release from prison. However, when a family member kills an associate of an international cartel leader, he’s drawn right back into the dangerous life that landed him behind bars in the first place, and an all-out gang war ensues.
Contrary to its fast-paced, high-stakes predecessors, Kin is a magnificent slow burn of a story riddled with tension and plunging character studies on grief, loyalty, and the emotional consequences of crime on family bonds. It’s no wonder, then, why it boasts a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. In addition to Cox, it features stellar performances from matriarch Clare Dunne (Small Things Like These), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones), and Peaky Blinders’ alum Emmett J. Scanlan.
Kin is an Irish series, so if you’re in the U.S. or Canada, you’ll need to use a VPN to download and watch the two-season series, which ends with a cliffhanger that sucks all the air out of the room.
2
A Thousand Blows
If you’re searching for the perfect show to fill the Peaky Blinders void, look no further than the Stephen Graham-led historical crime drama A Thousand Blows. For all intents and purposes, it is indeed boss-level impressive with its enthralling narrative, exceptional performances, and gritty atmosphere.
Inspired by the true-life stories of a group of characters battling for survival in mid-1800s London’s East End, we follow two intricately woven storylines. The first involves the ruthless, cunning, formidable leader and queen of London’s first all-female crime gang, The Forty Elephants. Her name is Mary Carr (Erin Doherty of Adolescence), and she’s a powerhouse who is a delight to watch. The second centers on the intense rivalry between murderous gangster and bare-knuckle-boxing champion Sugar Goodson (Graham) and freshly emigrated, head-turning Jamaican fighter Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby of Roots).
Much like Peaky Blinders, A Thousand Blows is an extremely well-executed period drama forged out of ambition, desire, and pure, unadulterated violence. Through a beautifully wielded but brutal narrative, the show masterfully depicts the must-see savagery of London’s underbelly and its thriving bare-knuckle-boxing scene.
1
MobLand
As 2025’s newest gangster series, MobLand achieved enough success that it was renewed for a second season, slated for release later this year. The show explores the intense conflict between two rival mob families whose escalating feud endangers both their criminal empires and the lives entangled in their violent world.
The show drops us right into the heart of a global crime syndicate, focusing on the powerful Harrigan family as they navigate power struggles and betrayal in the name of maintaining control and reputation. Its narrative follows the daily efforts of Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy), a well-respected fixer, as he works to smooth the waters between the Harrigans and their rival crime family, the Stevensons.
In addition to a gritty, grunting, intimidating Hardy, the thrilling crime drama also features Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren as Harrigan patriarch and matriarch, Paddy Considine (Peaky Blinders), Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey), Geoff Bell (RocknRolla), Lara Pulver (Da Vinci’s Demons), and Anson Boone (1917).
What I love so much about these gritty crime and period drama shows is how they give way to an expansively prismatic world that is so realistic, we can’t help but feel, smell, and taste the action unfolding in the muck-and-mud-addled alleyways and modern-day streets. Prepare yourself now—the Peaky Blinders movie arrives sooner than you think!
