10 best shows and movies to watch if you like The Sopranos

The Sopranos is not the cliched gangster slash mob life saga of old times. It's a crime show, but it's also a family drama, a dark comedy approaching psychological horror at times, and a satire of life in 21st-century America.

The HBO series, which ran for six seasons, took various crime, gangster, and antihero tropes and merged them into a wholly original show. It captures drama and danger that promise to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

And, for fans of the series, there are other TV shows and movies to watch post-The Sopranos binge. These titles match the elements of what makes the David Chase show appealing, whether it's their complex antiheroes, the danger of criminal life, or conflict in close-knit families.

Boardwalk Empire, The Shield, and other shows and movies The Sopranos fans can watch

1) Boardwalk Empire

This HBO crime drama series, which won 20 Primetime Emmys, brings The Sopranos's crime world 100 years back in the Prohibition Era in Atlantic City. It introduces Steve Buscemi's Nucky Thompson as a politician who plays both sides of the law and his brother, Eli (played by Shea Whigham), who is equal parts a sheriff and the boss of the local "tough guys."

If its mafia life trope and the moral complexities of the characters are not enough comparisons, the show was also written by The Sopranos writer Terence Winter.

2) Goodfellas

Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, which won an Oscar for Joe Pesci's supporting role, is a gangster film through and through like The Sopranos. It's one of the brutally honest films about mafia life out there, which follows Henry Hill's (played by Ray Liotta) crime life. Joe Pesci's Tommy DeVito and Robert De Niro as James Conway join Hill in the cast as his mob partners.

Moreover, over 20 actors from Goodfellas are also cast members in The Sopranos, like Lorraine Bracco, who is a mob wife in the Scorsese film and the psychiatrist of the mob boss in the series. Tony Sirico, Frank Vincent, Suzanne Shepard, and Michael Imperioli belong to that list as well.

3) Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad (Image via Sony Pictures TV)

It introduces Your Honor's Bryan Cranston, who plays the mild-mannered chemistry teacher Walter White, who became a drug kingpin in hopes of providing for his family. The story starts with Walter as someone weak and victimized before it turns darkly funny and dangerous as his morals and values deteriorate.

Moreover, Breaking Bad, which is a 16-time Primetime Emmy winner, unlocks the ethical ambiguity that mirrors the moral deterioration featured in The Sopranos. The duality of Cranston's character matches that of James Galdolfini's Tony Soprano.

4) Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul (Image via Sony Pictures TV)

A Breaking Bad prequel, Better Call Saul takes viewers into a considerably more patient look at the mob activity and crime life in Albuquerque. It follows how Saul Goodman, who was once a forceful champion of the underdogs with high morals, became a famed attorney for a chemist-turned-m*th dealer.

The slippery decline of Bob Odenkirk's Saul in the series is worth watching for those who like the volatility of the characters and the mob life in The Sopranos.

5) The Irishman

This epic gangster drama, which has a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes, is another project by the Goodfellas crew Scorsese, Pesci, and De Niro. It follows De Niro's Frank Sheeran, who was once a simple truck driver before he got involved with a crime family and tried to climb the ranks to become the mafia's top hitman.

The Irishman is a tale of fear, violence, betrayal, ruthlessness, and the rollercoaster ride of mob glamor. Those are the same themes one can get from watching The Sopranos, making it a must-watch for fans.

6) Queen of the South

Queen of the South (Image via Universal Content Productions)

Explore the strong and captivating action, drama, crime, and espionage mystery in Queen of the South. Alice Braga stars as Teresa Mendoza, the poor but hopeful woman who fell in love with a drug cartel member who was murdered, forcing her to flee the country. It turns out that leaving Mexico will bring her fortune because she became the leader of her own drug empire, but she soon discovers that money can't fix all her problems.

The Netflix show has the same crime-drama trope as The Sopranos, but this time, it's a female boss at the top of the food chain.

7) Miller's Crossing

Miller's Crossing (Image via 20th Century Fox)

This Joel Coen crime-drama film, which has a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, goes beyond the classic gangster flick with its quirky cast of characters. John Turturro is a crooked bookie in the movie who is left at the center of warring mobs, with the Italian mafia wanting to kill him and the Irish mafia not allowing it because the Irish mob boss fancies his sister.

Besides its appealing classic American 1920s setting, it explores the power struggles within crime families and the corrupting influence of power, like in The Sopranos.

8) The Shield

The Shield (Image via Fox Television Studios)

It's not a crime family drama, but The Shield does capture crime and drama as it follows an organized group of corrupt Los Angeles Police Department cops known as The Strike Team. Michael Chiklis's Vic Mackey is a rogue LAPD cop in the experimental division who is willing to bend the rules and stoop to the criminals' level to fight their crimes.

Like The Sopranos, this TV show highlights the background of some of the most dangerous people. This time, however, it's not the crime boss and his lackeys but the ones sitting behind desks with their badges.

9) Ozark

Like The Sopranos, this crime-drama thriller centers around criminality, tension between a family, and the choice between morality and immorality. Ozark introduces Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde, a financial advisor who drags his whole family to a summer resort in Missouri Ozarks and has a run-in with the Mexican cartel after a money-laundering scheme went wrong.

The show, which has won four Primetime Emmys, was created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams. Sofia Hublitz and Laura Linney join Bateman in the cast.

10) The Godfather

The Godfather (Image via Paramount Pictures)

Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, which is one of the OG sophisticated mafia fiction on the big screen, like The Sopranos series, is a tale of tradition, brutality, honor, and greed within a family. The film, which won three Oscars, is considered one of the OG films that brought "toughness" to Hollywood movies.

It follows the Corleone family patriarch, Vito Corleone (played by Marlon Brando), leaving his mafia family legacy to his youngest son, which unintentionally brings grave danger to their front door.

Stay tuned for more news and updates on your favorite TV shows and movies as 2024 progresses.

Edited by Somava