The Ultimate Guide To Gangster Movies And Shows On Paramount+

Gangster stories remain one of Hollywood’s most enduring genres. Their charismatic antiheroes and themes of power, betrayal, family loyalty, and moral ambiguity make them timeless. Paramount+ features some of the greatest crime films ever made, including The Godfather and Pulp Fiction. Alongside them stand acclaimed modern series like MobLand, one of the genre’s newest additions, and a perfect show for fans looking for their next crime obsession.

This guide to gangster movies and shows on Paramount+ includes legendary classics, award winners, and modern hits. Read on for 10 thrilling titles you can stream right now.

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Note: The Chi requires a subscription to the Paramount+ Premium plan to stream

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Great gangster movies and shows

The following gangster movies and shows were chosen for their cultural impact, critical acclaim, audience popularity, and influence on the genre. All titles are streaming now on Paramount+.

MobLand

MobLand is the story of the Harrigans, a London crime family who, in Season 1, clashes with their rivals, the Stevensons, in a kill-or-be-killed battle that threatens to topple empires and ruin lives. Caught in the crossfire is Harry Da Souza, the Harrigans’ street-smart fixer.

Filmmaker Guy Ritchie executive produces this heady crime drama that focuses on a mafia family’s power struggle, as well as their employee’s navigation through the fray. Tom Hardy plays Harry, while Pierce Brosnan and Oscar® winner Helen Mirren play the married co-heads of the Harrigan family. With its emphasis on contemporary family life and London’s mob, MobLand represents a modern evolution of the classic gangster stories. The show’s second season arrives on Friday, Sept. 18.

WATCH NOW: MobLand

The Godfather

The Godfather is one of the most acclaimed movies of all time, and widely considered to be the definitive gangster film due its Shakespearean saga of loyalty, honor, and tragedy within the Corleone crime family. Awarded the Oscar® for best picture, the film made writer-director Francis Ford Coppola a household name, along with those of stars Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, and Diane Keaton. The already legendary actor Marlon Brando won an Oscar® for his era-defining role as the alternately ruthless and gentle Vito Corleone, the family patriarch, who seeks a successor to his role as mafia don.

Many film lovers call The Godfather the perfect movie for its acting, cinematography, and narrative. It’s certainly perfect for anyone who wants to watch the gangster movie that inspired nearly every gangster film and series that has followed.

WATCH NOW: The Godfather

The Godfather Part II

Writer-director Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II serves as both sequel and prequel to the original Godfather film. It tells the parallel rise-to-power stories of Michael Corleone and, in flashbacks, his father Vito. Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, and John Cazale reprise their roles from the first movie, while Robert De Niro appears here as the young Vito Corleone, a performance that earned him his first Oscar®. In addition to De Niro’s win, the film won Oscars® for best picture, best director, best screenplay, best art direction, and best original dramatic score.

Frequently ranked among the greatest sequels ever made, The Godfather Part II is the tragic tale of a once decent man desperate to regain his soul but damned forever by his father’s legacy. Like its predecessor, it’ll stay with you long after the credits roll.

WATCH NOW: The Godfather Part II

The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone

Writer-director Francis Ford Coppola’s original cut of the third Godfather film received mixed reviews upon its release in 1989. But with The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, the 2020 revised cut, Coppola pares the story down to focus on Michael, a man approaching his 60s and still looking for a way out of his responsibilities as head of the Corleone crime family. Coppola has stated that this version is closer to his original vision for the film.

Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, and Talia Shire return to their roles from the previous movies. They are joined by Andy Garcia, as Michael’s nephew and aspiring successor, and a young Sofia Coppola as Michael’s innocent daughter. Longtime fans owe it to themselves to revisit this Oscar®-nominated capstone to the Godfather saga, especially in its reworked form.

WATCH NOW: The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone

Pulp Fiction

Writer-director Quentin Tarantino’s nonlinear crime classic Pulp Fiction is one of the most beloved films of the 1990s, thanks to its intersecting criminal stories, iconic dialogue, and unforgettable performances from Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Ving Rhames, Harvey Keitel, and Tim Roth.

Though Tarantino’s Oscar®-winning screenplay leans more toward the crime genre than it does toward traditional mafia storytelling, we think the film absolutely earns a place on our list. After all, Pulp Fiction’s pop-culture savvy gangsters – criminals as quick with a quip as they are with a handgun – have influenced the personalities of countless modern movie mobsters and the narratives that surround them.

WATCH NOW: Pulp Fiction

Gangs of New York

Martin Scorsese is widely known as one of the world’s finest living directors, and it’s easy to see why when you watch this historical gangster epic. Set in the 19th century within Manhattan’s Five Points slum, Gangs of New York stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Irish gangster Amsterdam Vallon. Vallon will stop at nothing to avenge his father’s death at the hands of Bill the Butcher, a rival gang leader played by Daniel Day-Lewis.

Co-starring Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, and Brendan Gleeson – and nominated for a whopping 10 Oscars® – Gangs of New York compellingly tells the origin story of the Big Apple’s violent criminal underworld.

WATCH NOW: Gangs of New York

The Untouchables

The Untouchables is based on the real-life story of Prohibition-era mafia kingpin Al Capone and the federal officer tasked with taking him down, Eliot Ness. Directed by master of suspense Brian De Palma (1996’s Mission: Impossible), the film stars Kevin Costner as Ness, Robert De Niro as Capone, and Sean Connery in his Oscar®-winning role as Ness’ mentor, the no-nonsense cop Jimmy Malone. They’re backed by co-stars Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith, and Patricia Clarkson.

It’s a classic cops-versus-mobster story with lavish period sets, a much-quoted screenplay by famed playwright David Mamet, and a score by legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone. Trust us: If you’re a gangster movie completist, this has got to be on your personal checklist.

WATCH NOW: The Untouchables

Tulsa King

Starring Sylvester Stallone as the title sovereign, Tulsa King is the fish-out-of-water mob story of New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi. Imprisoned for 25 years, Manfredi is released and immediately exiled by his boss to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Realizing his East Coast mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Manfredi establishes a new criminal empire in his adopted city.

Executive produced by Taylor Sheridan and Terence Winter (The Sopranos, The Wolf of Wall Street), Tulsa King’s all-star cast also includes Andrea Savage, Martin Starr, Jay Will, Max Casella, Domenick Lombardozzi, Vincent Piazza, and A.C. Peterson with Garrett Hedlund and Dana Delany.

One of the most popular shows on Paramount+, Tulsa King‘s mix of humor and organized crime stories has made it a shining star. You can binge-watch Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3 of Tulsa King right now on (where else?) Paramount+.

WATCH NOW: Tulsa King

Carl Weber’s The Family Business

Carl Weber’s The Family Business presents the saga of the Duncans, a seemingly upstanding family running an exotic car dealership in New York by day, but navigating the criminal underworld by night. Ernie Hudson plays Lavernius “L.C.” Duncan, the family patriarch, who’s looking to retire from his position as CEO of Duncan Motors. He may be able to leave that gig, but can he and his relations disengage from their double lives?

Based on Carl Weber’s bestselling books, the show co-stars Valarie Pettiford, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Sean Ringgold, and Arrington Foster. A crime story layered with soap-style family drama, Carl Weber’s The Family Business is a long-running fan favorite. Catch all six seasons on Paramount+.

WATCH NOW: Carl Weber’s The Family Business

The Chi

Created by Emmy® winner Lena Waithe (Master of None), The Chi is a SHOWTIME® original series that follows the interconnected lives of a group of residents in Chicago’s South Side, and studies how these lives can sometimes take a turn toward the desperate and violent. It’s a modern drama starring Jacob Latimore, Birgundi Baker, Luke James, Shamon Brown Jr., Michael V. Epps, Hannaha Hall, and Jason Weaver.

The Chi is an intense, emotional series about community, family, gangs, and survival that manages to find room for tenderness and humor. It’s not strictly a gangster-focused series, but does present major storylines about organized crime. Because it’s about so much more than the day-to-day operations of the criminal underworld, the show offers a more nuanced perspective on mob dealings and those affected by these activities than is found in your average mafia story.

The Chi recently concluded its eighth and final season. Binge-watch all eight seasons now on Paramount+ with a subscription to the Paramount+ Premium plan.

WATCH NOW: The Chi (Paramount+ Premium plan)

Which gangster story should you watch first?

The first gangster story you watch should be based on your personal preference:

If you crave	Watch
All-time movie classics	The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone
Modern-day TV shows	MobLand, Tulsa King, Carl Weber’s The Family Business
Antiheroes	Tulsa King
Historical crime	Gangs of New York, The Untouchables
Stylish crime	Pulp Fiction
Ensemble sagas	Carl Weber’s The Family Business, The Chi, MobLand, Tulsa King

Why gangster stories never go out of style

Al Pacino in The Godfather — Paramount Pictures

Gangster stories never go out of style because their ideas resonate with viewers across generations. Who doesn’t relate to the themes of power, betrayal, and loyalty to family and friends? The tales are fueled by the moral ambiguity of their characters, the riveting narratives, and the charismatic antiheroes we both hate to love and love to hate.

Watch the best gangster stories on Paramount+

Paramount+ offers a library of the finest gangster stories in film and television history, with a movie or show for every taste.

Whether you’re looking for Oscar®-winning film classics like The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Pulp Fiction, and The Untouchables, prestige television dramas like The Chi, or new originals like MobLand and Tulsa King, Paramount+ has something for every crime fan.

Start streaming the listed gangster movies and shows on Paramount+ today!

MobLand

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FAQ

What is the best gangster movie on Paramount+?

Rate one gangster movie over another? You’re breakin’ our hearts! For our money, all the films on the list deserve a place in the Mobster Feature Hall of Fame. For the capital-Q quintessential gangster movie, The Godfather is pretty impossible to argue with; it most definitely influenced the rest of the flicks (and series) on this list. But every movie listed brings something memorable to the table, making each worth a watch.

What are the best gangster TV shows on Paramount+?

Choosing a “best” gangster show is like a crime boss choosing a favorite fedora: Impossible. But some truly great gangster TV shows on Paramount+ are the following:

MobLand, a crackling drama of two warring crime families in present-day England
Tulsa King, a mob drama which sprinkles its central story of a New York mafia capo building a criminal empire in Oklahoma with plenty of comedy
Carl Weber’s The Family Business, a stylish saga of succession within a New York-based African-American crime family
The Chi, a gritty tale set in Chicago’s South Side