Saagar Kote
Created by Steven Knight, BBC’s ‘Peaky Blinders’ is a British historical crime drama series set in Birmingham after the First World War. It centers on the Shelby family, a powerful criminal clan involved in various illegal activities in and around the city, which is undergoing rapid sociopolitical transformation. At the heart of the family is Thomas Shelby, AKA Tommy (Cillian Murphy), a former soldier whose ambition extends far beyond controlling Birmingham’s streets. When a missing shipment of guns presents an unexpected opportunity, Tommy sees a chance to expand his influence and build a much larger empire. However, his plans attract the attention of Inspector Chester Campbell (Sam Neill), who arrives from Belfast with orders to crack down on crime in the city.
With family and his loyal Peaky Blinders gang behind him, Tommy begins pushing beyond the gang’s traditional territory, taking on rivals and anyone who threatens his plans. In the coming years, Tommy and his family face unprecedented crises that force them to evolve and battle against powerful individuals intent on erasing their legacy. If the themes of the narrative appealed to you, these shows on Netflix, similar to ‘Peaky Blinders,’ feature tales of family, crime, internal conflicts, legacies, deception, and survival that you’d find equally engaging.
14. Bloodline (2015-2017)
‘Bloodline’ follows the Rayburn family, whose polished image begins to crack when Danny Rayburn (Ben Mendelsohn), the eldest son with issues of his own, returns to the Florida Keys. Years of resentment have left Danny estranged from his parents, Robert Rayburn (Sam Shepard) and Sally Rayburn (Sissy Spacek), and his return forces old issues to resurface. What initially appears to be Danny’s attempt to reconnect gradually destabilizes the entire family as buried secrets and conflicting desires shift the situation.
While tensions escalate, the Rayburns are pushed toward choices with increasingly dangerous consequences, exposing how far ambition and family loyalty can go when their carefully maintained legacy is threatened. Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman serve as the creators of this thriller-drama series, which explores familial relationships in all their complexities, much like ‘Peaky Blinders.’ The Rayburns, akin to the Shelbys, are bound together by loyalty, resentment, and competing ambitions that leave their fates hanging in the balance. Watch the show here.
13. Black Rabbit (2025)
‘Black Rabbit’ is a crime thriller series that revolves around brothers Jake Friedken (Jude Law) and Vince Friedken (Jason Bateman) after Vince’s unexpected return upends the successful world Jake has built around his New York restaurant and VIP lounge. Jake is on the verge of turning Black Rabbit into one of the city’s hottest destinations, but his brother’s arrival brings unresolved tensions back into their lives just as new dangers begin closing in. While the brothers become increasingly entangled in situations that threaten both the business and their relationship, protecting what they have built becomes a shared priority.
But the more complicated their circumstances become, the more they are forced to confront their troubled history and decide what they are willing to risk for each other. ‘Black Rabbit’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’ both place complicated family relationships at the heart of ambitious criminal worlds. Jake and Vince’s history affects the future of their business, much as the Shelby family’s internal dynamics shape its ambitions in Birmingham. The Zach Baylin and Kate Susman creation is available here.
12. Gangs of Oslo (2023)
‘Gangs of Oslo’ or ‘Blodsbrødre’ is the tale of police officer Moaz Ibrahim (Emir Zamwa), whose concealed criminal past becomes the key to an extremely dangerous assignment. Ordered to infiltrate the local gang Enemiez, Moaz must return to the world he left behind while keeping his identity as a cop hidden. The undercover operation forces him to maintain two conflicting lives, constantly balancing his responsibilities as an officer against his criminal identity.
His situation becomes even more complicated when the operation brings him face-to-face with his childhood best friend, creating another emotional complication within an already precarious mission. As Moaz struggles to keep control of both sides of his life, his own ego and loyalties become increasingly difficult to manage. With Ole Endresen stepping in as creator, the Norwegian crime drama series explores identity, divided loyalties, and how personal history can interfere with strategic decisions within the criminal world, akin to ‘Peaky Blinders.’ Enjoy the story on Netflix.
11. Gangs of Galicia (2024-2027)
Creator Jorge Guerricaechevarría’s ‘Gangs of Galicia’ or ‘Clanes’ tells the story of lawyer Ana González (Clara Lago), who arrives in the Galician town of Cambados after her father is murdered. She eventually discovers that her father was involved in drug trafficking. Determined to understand his hidden life and the circumstances surrounding his death, Ana begins digging into Cambados and crosses paths with Daniel Padín (Tamar Novas), the son of imprisoned drug kingpin José Padín and a leading figure in the powerful Padín clan.
Daniel is drawn to Ana and asks her to represent him, giving her an unexpected route into the criminal world surrounding her father. As their relationship develops, Ana finds herself increasingly entangled in the very network she came to investigate. ‘Gangs of Galicia’ is closely connected to ‘Peaky Blinders’ through its focus on powerful crime families and the ways in which they influence the fates of individuals in environments of danger and uncertainty, even as secrets lurk in the shadows. Stream the Spanish thriller series here.
10. El Chapo (2017-2018)
‘El Chapo’ traces the life of Joaquín Guzmán (Marco de la O) as he builds a drug empire that eventually makes him El Chapo, one of the world’s most powerful traffickers. His ascent begins at the lower levels of the Guadalajara Cartel, but Guzmán’s ambition pushes him toward greater control and influence. As rival cartels, shifting alliances, and police actions affect him, he works to establish an organization of his own, ultimately creating the Sinaloa Cartel and expanding its reach across Mexico and beyond.
His growing power comes with increasingly difficult choices and mounting challenges, shaping both his rise and eventual fall. Guzmán’s transformation, the forces surrounding his criminal career, and the consequences of the choices that drive his pursuit of power are similar to Tommy’s journey in ‘Peaky Blinders.’ The two men face increasingly difficult challenges as they strive to keep their legacies alive. Created by Silvana Aguirre and Carlos Contreras, the biographical crime drama series can be watched on Netflix.
9. Ludik (2022)
‘Ludik’ delves into the world of Daan Ludik (Arnold Vosloo), a respected South African furniture tycoon whose public success serves as camouflage for his secret diamond-smuggling business. His carefully controlled world collapses when crime boss Arend Brown (Sean Cameron Michael) discovers the operation and kidnaps a member of Daan’s family. To get them back, Daan is forced to turn his legitimate furniture business into a cover for transporting guns across the border into Central Africa. What begins as a desperate attempt to protect his family quickly becomes an opportunity for Daan to expand the criminal empire he has built from nothing. But with his family relationships deteriorating and the threat of death growing, Daan must rely on allies while trying to keep both sides of his life from collapsing.
The South African crime drama series, along the lines of ‘Peaky Blinders,’ explores the difficulty of maintaining power when a criminal enterprise expands beyond one’s control and ambitions run deep. Daan’s furniture empire conceals diamond smuggling, while the Shelby family’s legitimate ventures exist alongside their criminal activities. Paul Buys and Annemarie van Basten are the creative voices behind the show, which can be enjoyed here.
8. Snabba Cash (2021-2022)
From the creative minds of Oskar Söderlund and Jesper Ganslandt comes ‘Snabba Cash,’ which explores the experiences of Leya (Evin Ahmad). She is an ambitious single mother who sees her AI startup as a way to secure the future she wants for her children. But the task of finding the money to keep her company alive leads her into Stockholm’s criminal underworld, where she crosses paths with Ravy (Dada Fungula Bozela). What initially appears to be a route to funding gradually entangles Leya’s ambitions with the world of organized crime. When she and Ravy pursue wealth and financial independence, the boundaries between legitimate business and criminal enterprise begin to disappear. Leya soon discovers that the corporate world she wants to conquer can be just as ruthless as the underworld she has entered, forcing her to navigate both.
‘Snabba Cash’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’ explore characters who see money as a means of transforming their lives and social position. Leya wants to escape her financial limitations through her company, while the Shelby family uses wealth and business expansion to move beyond its origins. In each case, the ambitions lead to more trouble and chaos. Based on Jens Lapidus’s ‘The Stockholm Noir’ trilogy, the Swedish crime drama series is available to view on Netflix.
7. Narcos (2015-2017)
Partly inspired by real events, ‘Narcos’ narrates the story of DEA agent Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) after he is sent to Colombia to help confront the country’s rapidly expanding cocaine trade and its effects on the US. Working alongside Javier Peña (Pedro Pascal), Murphy becomes immersed in the pursuit of Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura), a Medellín-based smuggler whose growing influence has transformed him into the head of a powerful drug empire. As Murphy and Peña work to dismantle Escobar’s cartel network, they encounter a criminal world shaped by violence, shifting alliances, and escalating power struggles.
At the same time, Escobar’s rise continues to reshape Colombia’s reality, making the agents’ mission increasingly difficult. With Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro providing creative inputs, the crime drama series depicts a criminal organization growing from modest beginnings into a powerful empire, much like ‘Peaky Blinders.’ While Escobar’s cartel reshapes Colombia’s criminal landscape, the Shelby family’s expansion affects Birmingham considerably. You may access the show here.
6. Narcos: Mexico (2018-2021)
‘Narcos: Mexico’ follows DEA agent Kiki Camarena (Michael Peña) after he relocates to Guadalajara with his family and finds himself confronting a drug trade undergoing a major transformation. His investigation leads him toward Félix Gallardo (Diego Luna), an ambitious trafficker who is bringing Mexico’s scattered drug operations together under the Guadalajara Cartel. As Félix consolidates his power and builds an increasingly influential criminal organization, Kiki becomes determined to expose what is happening. Their opposing ambitions gradually place them on a collision course, with Kiki trying to dismantle the emerging cartel while Félix fights to protect and expand what he has built.
Set in the 1980s, the crime drama series from the creative team of Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro explores the formation of Mexico’s modern drug trade and its dangerous consequences. ‘Narcos: Mexico’ shares a strong connection with ‘Peaky Blinders’ through the transformation of fragmented criminal operations in an unpredictable region into a larger, more organized empire. Félix brings independent traffickers together under one cartel, just like Tommy Shelby consolidates power around the Shelby organization. It can be found on Netflix.
5. House of Guinness (2025-)
‘House of Guinness’ is a Steven Knight creation that begins with the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness in the late 19th century. The patriarch’s passing leaves his four adult children, Arthur (James Norton), Edward (Jack Gleeson), Anne (Emily Fairn), and Ben (Dónal Finn), to determine what happens to the family’s vast brewery empire. Benjamin’s will places the family’s future under new pressures, forcing the siblings to navigate competing ambitions, rivalries, and secrets while protecting their position in a business that extends far beyond Ireland.
While the Guinness family struggles to manage both their inheritance and one another, personal conflicts become increasingly entangled with the interests surrounding the brewery. The British-Irish drama series explores the intersection of business interests, family power, charismatic authority, the expansion of legacy, and morally complex behavior, linking it on a thematic level to ‘Peaky Blinders.’ Stream it here.
4. Ozark (2017-2022)
Created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, ‘Ozark’ deals with Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), a financial adviser whose connection to a Mexican drug cartel leaves him facing deadly consequences and a massive debt. To save himself and his family, Marty relocates Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) and their children from Chicago to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, where he must establish a new money-laundering operation for the cartel. The desperate attempt to survive soon pulls the entire Byrde family deeper into the criminal world. As Marty and Wendy become involved with local criminals, protecting their family becomes inseparable from maintaining their criminal operation.
Their efforts to survive force them to make increasingly difficult choices while their influence in the Ozarks grows. ‘Ozark’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’ make family loyalty central to survival in the criminal world, where threats emerge unexpectedly. Marty’s criminal activities increasingly involve Wendy and their children, just as the Shelby family operates as a tightly connected unit that shares disturbing secrets. The crime drama series can be watched on Netflix.
3. Animal Kingdom (2016-2022)
In ‘Animal Kingdom,’ Joshua Cody (Finn Cole) is drawn into a criminal world he barely understands after his mother’s death sends him to live with his relatives in Southern California. At the center of the family is Janine Cody (Ellen Barkin), the matriarch who controls a sprawling network of illegal activities while keeping the family tightly bound together. As Joshua settles into his new home, he gradually realizes that the people around him are far more dangerous and manipulative than they first appear. The deeper he gets into their lives, the more he discovers the secrets, rivalries, and conflicting interests that hold the Codys together, and how they cope with the weight of their legacy.
With Jonathan Lisco serving as creator, the crime drama series is based on director David Michôd’s eponymous Australian film. Similar to ‘Peaky Blinders,’ the narrative delves into the workings of a criminal organization built directly around a family. The Codys are bound together, but each member has their own interests and motivations, much like the Shelby family members whose loyalty is constantly tested. Enjoy the story here.
2. Top Boy (2011-2013 and 2019-2023)
‘Top Boy,’ from the creative mind of Ronan Bennett, chronicles the struggles of Dushane (Ashley Walters) and Sully (Kane Robinson) as they fight to establish themselves at the top of East London’s drug trade. Their ambitions put them in constant competition with rival gangs, while shifting loyalties make it difficult to know who to trust. While their influence grows, the consequences extend beyond the criminal world, affecting people living in the same housing estates who are trying to build lives away from crime.
The British crime drama series moves between the dealers pursuing power and the residents dealing with the realities created by the environment around them, showing how violence and poverty shape the choices available to the community. ‘Top Boy’ connects strongly with ‘Peaky Blinders’ through its focus on ambitious criminals attempting to climb the various levels of a complex hierarchy. Dushane and Sully want greater control over their territory, much like Tommy Shelby seeks to expand his family’s power. It is available to stream on Netflix.
1. The Gentlemen (2024-)
‘The Gentlemen’ revolves around the trials of Edward Horniman, AKA Eddie (Theo James), in an unfamiliar criminal world when his father’s estate passes to him and he discovers that the property is secretly being used for a huge cannabis operation. Suddenly responsible for an empire he never expected to inherit, Eddie, a former army captain, finds himself crossing paths with dangerous rivals and the menacing influence of Bobby Glass (Ray Winstone), the criminal power running the business. Eddie’s involvement brings him into close contact with Bobby’s daughter, Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario), and the two begin working together as they attempt to expand the operation while protecting their interests. But as competing forces challenge their plans, Eddie must decide which lines are worth crossing to hold on to the power he finds difficult to give away.
Created by Guy Ritchie, the crime comedy-drama series is inspired by and a spin-off of his film of the same name. Family, power vacuums, charismatic leaders, growing threats, internal differences, the weight of ambition, a strong British aesthetic, well-dressed figures devising strategies to preserve their legacy, and a sense of unpredictability are aspects that both ‘The Gentlemen’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’ explore. You can find the show here.
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