''McMafia'' is a British

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

television series created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins, and directed by Watkins. It is inspired by the book '' McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld'' by journalist

Misha Glenny Michael V. E. "Misha" Glenny (born 25 April 1958) is an English journalist and Television presenter, broadcaster, specialising in southeast Europe, global organised crime, and cybersecurity. He has been Rector of the Institute for Human Science ...

(2008). The series stars James Norton as Alex Godman, the British-raised son of a

Russian mafia The Russian mafia ( or ), also known as Bratva ( ; ) less as Obshchak (Общак) or Brigades (Бригады) , is a collective of various organized crime related elements originating or/and operating in Russia. In December 2009, Timur ...

boss living in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

whose father is trying to escape from the world of organised crime. It is co-produced by

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

AMC Networks AMC Networks Inc. is an American mass media and entertainment corporation headquartered in 11 Penn Plaza, New York City. The company owns and operates the AMC cable channel, BBC America, IFC, Sundance TV, and We TV. It also owns the art ho ...

, and Cuba Pictures. It premiered in the United Kingdom on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

on 1 January 2018, and in the United States on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

on 26 February 2018. The series was canceled after one season.

Cast

Main cast

* James Norton as Alex Godman, a young financier who, under the influence of circumstances, begins to cooperate with the Bratva and the Mexican cartel *

David Strathairn David Russell Strathairn (; born January 26, 1949) is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has often portrayed historical figures such as Edward R. Murrow, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William H. Seward, and John D ...

as Semiyon Kleiman, Russian-Israeli businessman and politician linked to the

Israeli mafia The Israeli mafia (, or ) are the organized crime groups operating in Israel or consisting of Israeli members. There are 16 crime families operating in Israel, five major groups active on the national level and 11 smaller organizations. There are ...

Juliet Rylance Juliet van Kampen Rylance (born 26 July 1979) is an English actress and producer, known for her roles in '' The Knick'', '' McMafia'' and '' Perry Mason''. She is the daughter of composer Claire van Kampen and the step-daughter of actor Mark ...

as Rebecca Harper, Alex's fiancée * Merab Ninidze as Vadim Kalyagin, powerful member of the

* Aleksey Serebryakov as Dimitri Godman, Alex's father, businessman and

ex-member * Maria Shukshina as Oksana Godman, Alex's mother *

Faye Marsay Faye Elaine Marsay (born 30 December 1986) is a British actress. Her notable roles include Anne Neville in ''The White Queen (miniseries), The White Queen'' (2013), the recurring character Candice in ''Fresh Meat (TV series), Fresh Meat'' (2013) ...

as Katya Godman, Alex's sister *

David Dencik Karl David Sebastian Dencik (; born 31 October 1974) is a Swedish-Danish actor. He has acted in both Swedish and Danish films, his break-through in Sweden being his role in the mini-series '' Lasermannen'' and has then had major roles in English- ...

as Boris Godman, Alex's uncle associated with the

and

* Oshri Cohen as Joseph, Israeli bodyguard working for Kleiman * Sofia Lebedeva as Lyudmilla Nikolayeva, beauty therapist *

Caio Blat Caio Blat de Oliveira (born 2 June 1980) is a Brazilian actor. Biography Blat was born in São Paulo, Brazil. He studied law at the University of São Paulo, the largest and one of the most prestigious universities in Brazil, but dropped out be ...

as Antonio Mendez, gangster working for a Mexican cartel * Kirill Pirogov as Ilya Fedorov, Vadim's right-hand man, special services officer *

Nawazuddin Siddiqui Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a National Film Award, an IIFA Award, and two Filmfare Awards, as well as a nomination for an ...

as Dilly Mahmood, Kleiman's indian business partner and Mumbai gangster * Karel Roden as Karel Benes, Czech gangster

Recurring cast

* Yuval Scharf as Tanya * Anna Levanova as Natasha * Clifford Samuel as Femi * Maria Mashkova as Masha * Kemi-Bo Jacobs as Karin * Atul Kale as Benny Chopra, Mumbai gangster, Vadim's indian business partner * Evgeni Golan as Marat, gangster and hitman, an enforcer working for Vadim * Eve Parmiter as Jennifer * Tim Ahern as Sydney Bloom, an English financier who preached the need for ethical business, made his fortune on financial scams in Africa * Ellie Piercy as Sandrine * Danila Kozlovsky as Grigory Mishin, businessman linked to the

* Alexander Dyachenko as Oleg, diplomat at the Russian embassy *

Fernando Cayo Fernando Cayo Jiménez Álvarez (born 22 April 1968) is a Spanish actor. His television work include performances in ''Money Heist''. Biography Fernando Cayo Jiménez Álvarez was born on 22 April 1968 in Valladolid. He moved to Madrid when he ...

as Guillermo Alegre, Mexican cartel boss * Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina as Vadim Kalyagin's mother

Production

''McMafia'' was inspired by journalist

's non-fiction book ''McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld'', published in 2008. The series took a few stories from Glenny's book, which documents various mafia organisations thriving around the world today. The series was created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins, and is a co-production of the BBC, AMC, and Cuba Pictures, in association with

Twickenham Studios Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

. The BBC announced the series in October 2015. In April 2016, it was announced that James Norton had been cast in the lead role of Alex Godman and that co-creator Watkins would direct all eight episodes. Additional casting, including Maria Shukshina and Aleksey Serebryakov as Alex's parents, and

as a shady Israeli businessman, was announced in November 2016. In addition to Amini and Watkins, David Farr,

Peter Harness Peter Harness (born 1976) is an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and producer. He was the writer of ''Wallander'', '' Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'' and ''Constellation'', and has contributed to programmes such as ''Doctor Who'', '' McMa ...

, and Laurence Coriat co-wrote the series. Filming locations included

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

Opatija Opatija (; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic bu ...

Primošten Primošten () is a village and municipality in Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. It is situated between the cities of Šibenik and Trogir, on the Adriatic coast. History In the past, Primošten was situated on the islet close to the mainland. Durin ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

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Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. The budget was several million pounds per episode.

Episodes

Reception

''McMafia'' has an approval rating of 71% on

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 38 reviews, and an average rating of 6.7/10.

Lucy Mangan Lucy Mangan (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian'' and an opinion writer for '' i'' news. Early life and education Mangan was born in 1974 and grew up in Catford, ...

, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said that the show was "beautifully put together" and described the script as "a cut above average".

Planned second series

In 2018, BBC One announced that it had recommissioned the programme for an eight-part second series. In March 2022, it was reported that the planned second series had been cancelled,The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...