# Boardwalk Empire (2010)

> In 1920s Atlantic City, a treasurer who is equal parts politician and gangster fights to keep his empire running through Prohibition.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1525

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 56
- Episode runtime: 54 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Terence Winter
- Network: HBO
- Cast: Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham, Aleksa Palladino, Vincent Piazza
- TMDB rating: 8.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0979432/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: brooding, violent, atmospheric, morally ambiguous, gritty

## What critics say

Acclaimed for its lavish period recreation of Prohibition-era Atlantic City, its layered political intrigue, and its central performance by Steve Buscemi.

## Synopsis

Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014) is an HBO prestige period crime drama created by Terence Winter. Steve Buscemi plays Enoch Nucky Thompson, the treasurer of Atlantic City who runs the town's politics and its bootlegging trade with equal ruthlessness. Kelly Macdonald plays Margaret Schroeder, a widowed mother drawn into his orbit, while Michael Shannon plays Nelson Van Alden, a zealous Prohibition agent, and Michael Kenneth Williams plays Chalky White, Nucky's ally on the other side of town. Nucky's engine is simple and relentless: he wants to hold his territory against rival gangs, federal agents and his own restless family, and every season is built from shifting alliances, speakeasy negotiations, rum runs along the coast and backroom deals in City Hall. The story runs across five seasons as one continuing serialized saga rather than a case of the week. Set in the Prohibition-era Jersey shore resort, with its boardwalk, casinos and bordellos, it is a moody, violent and richly textured drama in which power is always negotiated and always costly. Fans of The Sopranos, Peaky Blinders and Mad Men will find resonance in its brooding atmosphere, ambitious scale and morally compromised characters.

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