# McMafia (2018)

> An English-raised son of Russian mafia exiles tries to keep his legitimate business and love life clear of his family's criminal past until a murder drags him back into the underworld.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/65611

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 55 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: James Watkins, Hossein Amini
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: James Norton, Merab Ninidze, Juliet Rylance, Faye Marsay, Kirill Pirogov, Andrei Nova, Ellie Piercy, Eve Parmiter
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6271042/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: tense, brooding, sober, morally fraught

## What critics say

Audiences rated this single-season British crime thriller positively, praising its gripping plot, strong lead performances and globe-spanning locations.

## Synopsis

McMafia (2018) is a British crime drama series created by James Watkins and Hossein Amini for BBC One. James Norton plays Alex Godman, the English-raised son of Russian mafia exiles who has built a legitimate business and a settled life with his girlfriend Rebecca Harper (Juliet Rylance). His plans collapse when a murder forces his family's buried past back into view, and he is pulled into the criminal underworld he spent years trying to escape. Merab Ninidze plays Vadim Kalyagin, a powerful figure whose ambitions push the family deeper into danger, while Faye Marsay and Kirill Pirogov round out the principal cast. The engine of the series is Alex's struggle to protect the people he loves while keeping his conscience intact, with each episode tightening the pressure between loyalty and survival. Across a single eight-episode run of roughly fifty-five minutes each, it unfolds as a serialized, tightly plotted thriller. The story moves between London and far-flung international locations, giving it a glossy, globe-trotting scale. Its tone is tense, sober and morally fraught, with a brooding atmosphere and an undercurrent of dread. Fans of The Godfather, Peaky Blinders and Ozark will find resonance in its family-bound crime and compromised heroes.

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