Netflix's 10/10 Gangster Series With 32 Episodes Deserves To Be As Big As The Sopranos
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One of Netflix's greatest gangster series is so good throughout its 5-season runtime that it deserves to be as big as The Sopranos. Almost three decades have passed since The Sopranos' initial release. Yet, it remains one of the most influential and widely celebrated crime dramas of all time.
Fans of gangster TV shows still cannot help but endlessly draw references to Tony Sopranos' iconic quotes while rewatching his six-season saga in the iconic HBO series. However, while The Sopranos' popularity and acclaim still continue to grow from strength to strength, a Netflix crime thriller, Top Boy, remains relatively obscure.
Just like The Sopranos, Top Boy, too, got to embrace a long runtime. Despite having a five-season run, Top Boy also rarely stumbled and still holds an overall Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%. The show has already wrapped up its run, but, in hindsight, it is hard not to see how it deserved more recognition and mainstream success than it actually got.
Top Boy Is Pretty Much As Good As The Sopranos
Netflix's Top Boy is completely bereft of the glamor that drives the portrayal of institutional mob decline in shows like The Sopranos. However, it can still be compared to some of the best offerings of the genre because of how it completely immerses a viewer into its realistic portrayal of everything from street-level survival to urban decay, from youth culture to interpersonal tragedies in the world of crime.
Unlike The Sopranos, Top Boy does not use surrealism and black humor as narrative devices to dissect mid-century anxieties in the United States. It is far more direct and gritty with its depiction of the systemic violence and drug trade that shape the lives of those trapped in East London's streets. It also remains fixated on specific communities instead of taking a broader look at American capitalism and family legacy.
However, its true strength lies in its authentic street dialogue and portrayal of how, in the world of crime, it is hard to escape and navigate shifting power struggles and codependency. Considering how it etches a very distinct identity for itself in the crime thriller genre, it would be unfair to call Top Boy a replacement for The Sopranos.
It seems fair, though, to say that it deserves the same level of acclaim and attention as most mainstream crime dramas like The Sopranos.
Top Boy & The Sopranos Explore Similar Themes In Completely Different Settings
As distinct as Top Boy and The Sopranos may seem on the surface, both shows have quite a few thematic overlaps. For instance, both carefully dismantle the flawed nature of criminal brotherhood. The Sopranos seems more psychological with its approach, where it shows how loyalty is quickly traded away for self-preservation when trouble comes knocking at the door.
In Top Boy, a similar theme is explored through the complex dynamic between the dual leads, Dushane and Sully, who treat each other like brothers but find themselves at odds with one another in their pursuit of mindless power. Top Boy is not as direct as The Sopranos with its criticism of capitalism. However, the show captures how gentrification and scarcity lead to economic mobility among young people.
HBO's The Sopranos and Netflix's Top Boy also walk through the cyclical nature of violence. The Sopranos captures this by showing how Tony's children, too, adopt his cynicism after he inherits his parents' toxic legacy. Top Boy is more visceral with its portrayal of the machinery of violence that endlessly pulls the next generation.
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Top Boy
- Release Date
- 2019 - 2023-00-00
- Network
- Netflix
- Directors
- Brady Hood, Myriam Raja, William Stefan Smith, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Aneil Karia, Nia DaCosta
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Ashley Walters
Dushane
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Lisa Dwan
Lizzie
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Kane Robinson
Sully
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Shone Romulus
Dris
- Creator(s)
- Ronan Bennett
- Producers
- Yann Demange
- Seasons
- 3
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The Sopranos
10/10
- Release Date
- 1999 - 2007-00-00
- Network
- HBO
-
James Gandolfini
Tony Soprano
-
Carmela Soprano
The Sopranos follows New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano as he navigates the challenges of managing his family and criminal enterprise. He seeks guidance from psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi while dealing with complex dynamics involving his wife Carmela, cousin Christopher Moltisanti, and other Mafia associates.
- Directors
- Tim Van Patten, John Patterson, Alan Taylor, Jack Bender, Steve Buscemi, Daniel Attias, David Chase, Andy Wolk, Danny Leiner, David Nutter, James Hayman, Lee Tamahori, Lorraine Senna, Matthew Penn, Mike Figgis, Nick Gomez, Peter Bogdanovich, Phil Abraham, Rodrigo García
- Creator(s)
- David Chase
- Producers
- Allen Coulter, Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov, Gianna Maria Smart, Henry J. Bronchtein, Martin Bruestle, Terence Winter, Todd A. Kessler
- Seasons
- 6
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