Gangs of London (TV series)

Gangs of London is a British action thriller crime television series created by Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery. Based on the 2006 video game, serving as the fourth installment in The Getaway franchise created by Brendan McNamara and Katie Ellwood, Gangs of London follows the struggles between rival gangs and other criminal organisations in present-day London.

The first series premiered on 23 April 2020 on Sky Atlantic. In June 2020, a second series was announced, with AMC to take over US broadcast rights and co-produce, and Corin Hardy to take over as showrunner. The second series premiered on 20 October 2022 in the UK and Germany and premiered on 17 November 2022 in the US. In November 2022, the series was renewed for a third season. In December 2022, a graphic novel titled A Gangs of London Story: Ghosts, set inbetween the first and second series, was released.

The series has received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its performances, narrative and action sequences, though some criticism was aimed at its excessive violence.

Premise
London, one of the world's most dynamic and multicultural cities, is being torn apart by the power struggles of the international gangs following the assassination of the head of London's most powerful crime family.

Plot
For 20 years, Finn Wallace (Colm Meaney) was the most powerful criminal in London. Billions of pounds flowed through his organisation each year. But now he's dead, and nobody knows who ordered him killed. With rivals everywhere, it's up to the impulsive Sean Wallace (Joe Cole), with the help of the Dumani family headed by Ed Dumani (Lucian Msamati), to take his father's place. If the situation wasn't already dangerous enough, Sean's assumption of power causes ripples in the world of international crime within the streets of London, which consists of the Albanian mafia, Kurdish PKK, the Pakistani Drug Cartel, Welsh travellers and various other criminal elements. In the middle of this is newcomer Elliot Carter / Finch (Sope Dirisu), an undercover policeman who has infiltrated the Wallace Organisation.

Main

 * Joe Cole as Sean Wallace, the younger son of Finn and Marian Wallace, who fights for leadership of his family's criminal empire after his father's death.
 * Thomas Simpson portrays Sean as a teenager during flashbacks.
 * Colm Meaney as Finn Wallace (series 1), the late patriarch of the Wallace family and leader of a criminal empire whose murder throws the London underworld into chaos.
 * Lucian Msamati as Edward "Ed" Dumani, the patriarch of the Dumani family and Finn's longtime right-hand man.
 * Sope Dirisu as Elliot Carter / Finch, an undercover police officer who infiltrates the Wallace Organisation and begins a relationship with Shannon Dumani. In the first season finale, his real surname is revealed to be "Carter", with the character based on The Getaway video game character Frank Carter.
 * Ejiro Ndi-Efam portrays Elliot as a child during flashbacks.
 * Michelle Fairley as Marian Wallace, the ruthless matriarch of the Wallace family.
 * Brian Vernel as Billy Wallace, the older son of Finn and Marian who is suffering from substance abuse.
 * Pete MacHale portrays Billy as a teenager during flashbacks.
 * Valene Kane as Jacqueline Robinson (series 1–2), the daughter of Finn and Marian and a doctor who is estranged from her family for the safety of her unborn child.
 * Paapa Essiedu as Alexander "Alex" Dumani (series 1–2), the son of Ed Dumani and a close associate of Sean, who many in the Wallace Organisation believe should inherit Finn's criminal empire.
 * Pippa Bennett-Warner as Shannon Dumani, the daughter of Ed Dumani, who begins a relationship with Elliot Finch.
 * Asif Raza Mir as Asif Afridi, the influential kingpin of the Pakistani Drug Cartel.
 * Orli Shuka as Luan Dushaj, the leader of the Albanian mafia in London, who is brought into the Wallace family's disputes when Finn Wallace is murdered on his territory.
 * Narges Rashidi as Lale, the leader of the Kurdish PKK in London who oversees a heroin distribution ring whilst seeking revenge against Asif.
 * Mark Lewis Jones as Kinney Edwards (series 1), the leader of a group of Welsh travellers who become involved in the murder of Finn Wallace.
 * Ray Panthaki as Jevan Kapadia (series 1), the point of contact for the mysterious Investors, who wish to tip the scales of the future of London's criminal underworld.
 * Jing Lusi as Victoria "Vicky" Chung (series 1), a detective inspector in the London Metropolitan Police and Elliot's handler.
 * Waleed Zuaiter as Koba (series 2), the ruthless leader of the Georgian mafia and an international arms dealer who is brought to London by the Investors to bring order to the city.
 * Jahz Armando as Saba (series 2–present), Basem's niece who works at a cafe that acts as a front for the Algerian mafia.
 * Fady Elsayed as Faz (series 2–present), Basem's nephew and a young member of the Algerian mafia who becomes traumatized after a run-in with Koba.
 * Salem Kali as Basem Soudani (series 2), the leader of the Algerian mafia who wants to free his gang from the Investors' control.
 * Aymen Hamdouchi as Hakim (series 2), Basem's right-hand man in the Algerian mafia.
 * Andrew Koji (series 3)
 * Richard Dormer as Cornelius Quinn (series 3)
 * T'Nia Miller (series 3)
 * Phil Daniels (series 3)
 * Ruth Sheen (series 3)

Recurring

 * Parth Thakerar as Nasir Afridi (series 1), Asif Afridi's son and a candidate for Mayor of London.
 * Taye Matthew as Danny Dumani, Shannon's young son.
 * Aksel Ustun as Hekar (series 1), Lale's right-hand man in the PKK.
 * Adrian Bower as Mark (series 1), an enforcer for the Wallace family who dislikes Elliot.
 * Jude Akuwudike as Charlie Carter (series 1–2), Elliot's father and a retired boxer.
 * Adam J. Bernard portrays a younger Charlie during flashbacks.
 * Nebli Basani as Tariq Gjelaj (series 1), Luan's right-hand man in the Albanian mafia.
 * Garry Cooper as John Harks (series 1), a detective chief inspector in the London Metropolitan Police and Vicky's colleague.
 * Pamela Nomvete as Serwa (series 1; guest series 2), a private investigator hired by Marian.
 * Richard Pepple as Uche "Mosi" Mossanya (series 1), the leader of the Nigerian mafia, who strikes a deal with Luan to launder their money through the Wallace Organisation.
 * Mads Koudal as Leif Hansen (series 1), a Danish assassin who leads a unit of mercenaries and is hired by Jevan Kapadia to kill various targets.
 * Arta Dobroshi as Floriana (series 1; guest series 2), Finn's Albanian mistress who is carrying his unborn child.
 * David Avery as Anthony (series 1), a police officer who infiltrates the Wallace Organisation after Elliot's relationship with Shannon is uncovered.
 * Sharon Morgan as Ingrid Hansen (series 1), Leif's elderly mother.
 * Eri Shuka as Mirlinda Dushaj, Luan's wife and the mother of their young daughters.
 * Amanda Drew as Ms. Kane (series 2; guest series 1), one of the Investors and Jevan Kapadia's enigmatic superior.
 * Cornell John as Joseph Singer (series 2; guest series 1), a mysterious man who has spent years attempting to take down the Investors.
 * Rom Blanco as Tamaz (series 2), Koba's right-hand man in the Georgian mafia.
 * Andi Jashy as Afrim (series 2), an enforcer for the Albanian mafia.
 * Murat Erkek as Merwan (series 2), the new second-in-command and public face of the PKK in London.

Guest

 * Emmett J. Scanlan as Jack O'Doherty (series 1), Finn's personal driver.
 * Richard Harrington as Mal (series 1), a Welsh traveller and Kinney Edwards's right-hand man.
 * Aled ap Steffan as Darren Edwards (series 1), Kinney Edward's son, who is unknowingly hired to murder Finn Wallace.
 * Darren Evans as Ioan (series 1), Darren's friend and an accomplice in Finn Wallace's murder.
 * David Bradley as Jim (series 1), a retired enforcer for the Wallace Organisation and Elliot's former boss.
 * Gordon Alexander as Cole (series 1), a sadistic hitman hired by Sean.
 * Laura Bach as Tove Fransen (series 1), Leif's partner and second-in-command of his mercenary unit.
 * Azra Rexhepi as Elira Dushaj, Luan and Murlinda's elder daughter.
 * Chloe Sulaj as Bukoroshe Dushaj, Luan and Murlinda's younger daughter.
 * Caroline Lee-Johnson as Evie (series 1), a weapons manufacturer who employs teenage orphans as her staff.
 * Tim McInnerny as Mr. Jacobs (series 1), Kane's partner and one of the Investors.
 * Ronan Raftery as Darragh (series 2), a younger Irish mercenary working for Marian Wallace.
 * Louis Dempsey as Killian (series 2), an older Irish mercenary working for Marian Wallace.
 * Tamar Baruch as Bibi Agostini (series 2), the French drug queenpin of Paris.

Production
In an interview with Sky News in April 2020, Gareth Evans stated that while initially hired with his creative partner Matt Flannery to "make a film franchise" out of The Getaway video game series (in particular the third game, 2006 action-adventure Gangs of London, developed by London Studio), inspired by Evans' The Raid duology of action crime films, he had instead felt like "if we were going to do a film franchise, we would have two-thirds of our running time focused purely on our central characters, and then only a third left to explore the side characters that populate that world", and so on deciding that "we wouldn't do justice to the myriad of different diverse cultures and ethnicities that make up the city [I then] pitched it back saying this should be a TV show because you can afford to go off and detour for 10 to 15 minutes and spend time with other characters, and learn about them in more detail." A short film adaptation of the game series had previously been in development in 2005, when The Getaway co-creator Katie Ellwood had first partnered with Amber Templemore-Finlayson, before the project entered development hell (although the duo would continue to collaborate as "Bert and Bertie").

During filming, production visited St Clere Estate in Kent to stage a Traveller site and Dartford to film a speed boat scene near Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. A driving scene was also featured on Pilgrim's Way. Gareth Evans also directed most of the action sequences for the first season. The show was confirmed for a second series premiering in 2022, with Corin Hardy taking over as showrunner. In July 2021, production on the second series had been halted for 10 days following a crew member testing positive for COVID-19. Filming for the second series began on 31 May 2021 and wrapped in February 2022. The second series premiered on 20 October 2022. In November 2022, the series was renewed for a third season, with production started on October 2023. In November 2023, Andrew Koji, Richard Dormer and T'Nia Miller were announced to have joined the cast for the third series.

Release
The first season of the series was co-produced with the American pay network Cinemax which was expected to air the programme alongside Sky Atlantic. However, following an announcement in January 2020 by parent company WarnerMedia that Cinemax would no longer be developing original programming, its producers began negotiating to move the series to another U.S. outlet, with Cinemax's blessing. AMC took over distribution, with the first series premiering on October 1, 2020 on AMC+.

Audience viewership
The series became Sky Atlantic's second-biggest original drama launch of all time, with a 7-day cumulative audience of 2.23 million viewers for the opening episode.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 91% based on 33 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A modern crime family masterpiece, Gangs of London builds its own empire atop tried and true mafia turf -- complete with engaging drama, exhilarating action, and fine performances all around" GQ said it is "a strong early contender to be the best show of the summer."

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds an approval rating of 81% based on 16 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Gangs of London's second season can sometimes border on a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing, but fans of the series' crunchy action and swaggering attitude ought to remain satisfied."

Book
In December 2022, a Gangs of London graphic novel, set between the first and second series and titled A Gangs of London Story: Ghosts, written by Corin Hardy and Rowan Athale and illustrated by Ferenc Nothof, was released digitally to the news aggregator Den of Geek, ahead of a physical release.