There must be something romantic about organized crime. After all, how else can you explain how popular the genre is with television viewers? From the glitz and glamour of the 20s to the grittier here-and-now, these narratives never fail to capture peoples' imagination. It's not just the setting that makes these stories so interesting though as they would be nothing without the strong, complex characters that inhabit them. These are violent criminals we are being asked to relate to and that is no small task to accomplish. It always comes back the writing getting the right person for the role so that we can empathise with the characters despite their numerous flaws. Most of us will probably never encounter people like this in reality so this escapism into the world of organized crime certainly has its appeal. I've tried to go for as diverse a selection as possible to show how varied the genre can get. With that said, let's get started with counting down ten of the best gangsters ever to have graced our television.
As I'm discussing the shows as well as the characters in some depth there's a big SPOILER warning in effect.