From the Shelbys to the Sopranos, there have been a ton of iconic TV crime families that we couldn’t help loving. A crime family is a great focus for a TV drama, because the writers can mix the high-stakes action of the criminal lifestyle with the universal relatability of a family. We’ve seen that combination in everything from Ozark to Yellowstone.
15
The Falcones
The Penguin
If you think your family is bad, just look at Sofia Falcone’s story in The Penguin. When Sofia begins to suspect that her mob boss father, Carmine, is the notorious serial killer “The Hangman” — the same serial killer who she believes killed her mother — he retaliates by framing her for the murders and having her locked in Arkham Asylum.
Upon her release, Sofia is ready and willing to disown her family. None of them did anything to help her when she was enduring years of abuse and psychological torment for her father’s crimes, so she crashes a family dinner and massacres every last one of them. It’s a surprisingly empowering story that allows Sofia to rebuild the family on her own.
14
The Donovans
Ray Donovan
Ray Donovan is as much a father-son drama as it is a pulpy neo-noir. The title character is a professional fixer who arranges bribes and cleans up crime scenes. His life gets a lot more complicated when his dad, Mickey, is unexpectedly released from prison. Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight’s on-screen chemistry anchors the series in a tangible emotional reality.
13
The Thompsons
Boardwalk Empire
What makes the story of the Thompson family so heartbreaking is that they weren’t always a crime family. The Thompsons as we see them in Boardwalk Empire go back three generations of Catholic Irish-Americans living in Atlantic City. The men traditionally worked for the Sheriff’s Office, and some had even held the office of Atlantic County Sheriff themselves.
That all changed when Nucky came along and got involved in the criminal underbelly. Nucky became Atlantic County Treasurer and the boss of a political and criminal organization dubbed the Atlantic City Empire. Rather than policing and protecting the city as his ancestors had done, Nucky controlled the city as a crime boss.
12
The Crowders
Justified
The back-and-forth between Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder made for one of the most compelling hero-villain dynamics in television history: two Southern charmers on opposite sides of the law. As we’re introduced to Boyd’s extended family — his dad Bo, his cousin Johnny, his sister-in-law Ava — they all turn out to be just as fascinating and unscrupulous as him.
11
The Gerhardts
Fargo
Just casting Jean Smart in the role of a matriarchal mob boss was enough to earn Fargo’s Gerhardt family a place on this list. Smart’s Floyd is thrust into a position of power after her husband’s untimely passing, and has to contend with three ambitious sons all vying to take their father’s place.
The second season of Noah Hawley’s anthology series sees Floyd out for blood when her youngest son is killed in a hit-and-run incident. Smart gives a phenomenal performance as a loving mother balancing her drive for revenge with her larger business interests.
10
The Tellers
Sons Of Anarchy
The tragic family dynamics in Sons of Anarchy are taken from Shakespeare. Kurt Sutter set out to retell Hamlet through the eyes of a modern-day biker gang. After John Teller’s passing, his brother-in-arms Clay swoops in to usurp his place. He marries John’s wife Gemma and gets into a power struggle with his son Jax.
Meanwhile, Jax faces conflicts of his own as he and his wife Tara try to raise their own kids to avoid the life of crime he was born into. On the surface, Sons of Anarchy is an action-packed biker drama. But at its core, it’s a Shakespearean family tragedy.
9
The Codys
Animal Kingdom
The Codys from Animal Kingdom are one of the few TV crime families to be based on an actual crime family. The film that the TV series was adapted from was inspired by the real-life exploits of the Melbourne-based Pettingill family. We’re introduced to their world through an estranged outsider, J, which makes the story all the more gripping.
8
The Bluths
Arrested Development
In the pilot episode of Arrested Development, the patriarch of the Bluth family — George, Sr. — is arrested on all kinds of charges: fraud, conspiracy, racketeering, evidence tampering, theft, grand theft, petty theft (and he may have committed some light treason). The Bluths aren’t a crime family in the way that the Sopranos or the Tellers are; their focus is white-collar crime.
After George, Sr. is arrested, it’s up to the good son, Michael, to clean up the books and legitimize the family business. He’s got his work cut out for him, because the corruption is deeply embedded in the company, and he seems to be the only member of the family who actually has a conscience (and even that’s pretty shakable).
7
The Whites
Breaking Bad
The Whites didn’t start out as a crime family. Initially, Walt wanted to keep his criminal dealings a secret until his untimely death, when his family would receive a fortune in blood money to support themselves. But it didn’t end up working out like that. Eventually, Walt had to bring in his wife Skyler as his partner-in-crime.
The most dramatically interesting thing about this partnership is that Walt and Skyler had a much more successful relationship as illegal business partners than they had as spouses. They had a toxic, unhappy marriage, but their business association was the perfect melding of twisted, conniving minds.
6
The Duttons
Yellowstone
Watching Yellowstone is essentially like watching Shane from the perspective of the land barons plotting to drive people out of their homes and expand their own empire. So, it’s a testament to how compelling the cast’s performances are that audiences actually wanted to follow those characters and their story for years.
The Duttons are determined to hold onto their property and not yield any land to the encroachers coming for them. But there are plenty of internal conflicts between them. This constant infighting makes it tough for them to come together and focus on a common goal.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
