# The King of Warsaw (2020)

> In 1937 Warsaw, a boxer-turned-enforcer hungers to replace the gangster socialist who runs the city's Jewish mafia.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/74873

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Network: Canal+
- Cast: Michał Żurawski, Arkadiusz Jakubik, Borys Szyc, Magdalena Boczarska, Piotr Pacek, Aleksandra Pisula, Lena Góra, Paweł Wolak
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10132320/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: gritty, tense, bleak, moody

## Synopsis

The King of Warsaw (2020) is a Polish crime drama miniseries created as a Canal+ production, set in 1937 Warsaw where the Jewish mafia controls the city's underworld. Boxer Jakub Szapiro (Michał Żurawski) is the right-hand man of gangster socialist Buddy Kaplica, and he dreams of seizing the top seat and becoming the King of Warsaw. Arkadiusz Jakubik plays Jan Kum Kaplica, while Borys Szyc plays Janusz Radziwiłek, and Magdalena Boczarska plays Ryfka Kij, each drawn into the tangle of loyalty, rivalry and ambition. The engine is a power struggle conducted through rackets, fists and back-room deals, as a loyal enforcer weighs his debts against his hunger for control. Across eight one-hour episodes the story unfolds as a single continuing arc, a limited series rather than a case-of-the-week format. Its gritty, neo-noir atmosphere is cold, violent and morally compromised, with a sense of a city living on the edge of catastrophe. Fans of Peaky Blinders, Babylon Berlin and Boardwalk Empire will find resonance in its interwar underworld, its ambitious criminal protagonist and its moody period texture.

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