The Best Gangster TV Shows on Free Services

What it's about: A thrilling and raw crime drama following a gang of drug dealers in Hackney, London - an honest and gripping rendition of inner-city drug and gang culture.

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (33%) are available to watch free online (Vudu). 18 episodes (75%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & AcornTV).

What it's about: A desperate banker needs to conceal stolen money. A Haitian-American gang lord wants to go legit. A Cuban-American hacker has an idea that will revolutionize the very future of money itself. Forced to work together, they unwittingly create their version of the American dream - organized crime 2.0.

Where to Watch: 30 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Sony Crackle). 30 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Meet the Donnelly brothers: Tommy, Jimmy, Kevin and Sean. There is nothing these four Irish brothers wouldn't do to protect each other, and for them that means lying, cheating, stealing and, occasionally, calling the cops. Narrated by wannabe gangster Joey "Ice Cream," this gritty series bears witness to the Donnelly brothers' sudden involvement in organized crime, focusing on how they go from boys to mobsters, and showing how their new life affects their relationships with friends, family and lovers.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (86%) are available to watch free online (NBC). 1 episodes (7%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 14 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: Ralph Lamb wants to be left in peace to run his ranch, but Las Vegas is now swelling with outsiders and corruption which are intruding on his simple life. Recalling Lamb's command as a military police officer during World War II, the Mayor appeals to his sense of duty to look into a murder of a casino worker – and so begins Lamb’s clash with Vincent Savino, a ruthless Chicago gangster who plans to make Vegas his own.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (48%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 21 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 21 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: This drama series is a fictionalized retelling of the story of meth dealer-turned-ATF informant Charles Falco, who spent three years inside one of America's most dangerous motorcycle gangs, the Vagos. Although Falco originally took on the assignment to avoid spending 20 years in prison on drug charges, it eventually evolved into a quest for justice for him. “Gangland Undercover” documents the lives of outlaw bikers, who live in a world in which respect is earned through fear. The series is based on Falco's memoir, “Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws,” and documented historical research of gang rivalries.

Where to Watch: 1 episodes (7%) are available to watch free online (YouTube). 6 episodes (43%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 14 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (History). 14 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Drugs: A multi-billion-dollar industry that fuels crime and violence like no other substance on the planet. Turning cartel leaders into billionaires, the illegal drug industry also provides vital income to hundreds of thousands of poor workers across the globe. While some users sacrifice their lives to an addiction they can't escape, others find drugs to be their only saving grace from physical or emotional pain almost impossible to overcome. Where should the lines be drawn in this lucrative industry?

Where to Watch: 20 episodes (21%) are available to watch free online (NatGeo & SnagFilms). 56 episodes (60%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 62 episodes (66%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Crime Story is an American TV drama, created by Gustave Reininger and Chuck Adamson, that premiered in 1986 and ran for two seasons on NBC. The executive producer was Michael Mann, who had left his other series Miami Vice to oversee Crime Story and direct the film Manhunter. The show premiered with a two-hour pilot — a movie which had been exhibited theatrically — and was watched by over 30 million viewers. It was then scheduled to follow Miami Vice on Friday nights, and continued to attract a record number of viewers. NBC then moved the show to Tuesdays at 10 pm opposite ABC's Moonlighting, hurting its ratings to the point that NBC ordered its cancellation after only two seasons. Set in the early, pre-Beatles 1960s, the series depicted two men — Lt. Mike Torello and mobster Ray Luca — with an obsessive drive to destroy each other. As Luca started with street crime in Chicago, was "made" in the Chicago Outfit and then sent to Las Vegas to monitor their casinos, Torello pursued Luca as head of a special Organized Crime Strike Force. Torello, his friend Ted Kehoe, and Luca had grown up in Chicago's "The Patch" neighborhood, also called "Little Sicily" or "Little Italy" and the haunt of the Forty-Two Gang. The show attracted both acclaim and controversy for its serialized format, in which a continuing storyline was told over an entire season, rather than being episodic, as was normal with shows at the time.

Where to Watch: 43 episodes (93%) are available to watch free online (Tubi, Vudu & IMDb TV). 46 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: Vinnie Terranova does time in a New Jersey penitentiary to set up his undercover role as an agent for the OCB (Organized Crime Bureau) of the United States. His roots in a traditional Italian city neighborhood form the underlying dramatic base throughout the series, bringing him into conflict with his conservative mother and other family members while acting undercover as syndicate enforcer.

Where to Watch: 71 episodes (87%) are available to watch free online (Tubi, Vudu & IMDb TV). 68 episodes (83%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & ConTV). 75 episodes (91%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The Cartel follows ten friends, all of them members of a dangerous drug cartel, whose ambition for power and money will cause them to eventually kill each other. For it is an undeniable truth that, in this business, you always lose.

Where to Watch: 57 episodes (85%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 57 episodes (85%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Starz). 65 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz).

What it's about: Villains, gangsters or Faces as they prefer to be called, are the men, gang and family members who have made headlines over the past 50 years for all the wrong reasons. Some are household names: the Krays, the Richardsons, Paul Ferris, Frankie Fraser, Arthur Thompson and Vic Dark. Many you will not recognise, but the mere mention of these people has struck fear into individuals and entire communities. Despite their notoriety, the faces of Britain s most feared criminals remain largely unknown. That is until now.British Gangsters: Faces of the Underworld gives a unique insider's insight into these men.Presented by Bernard O Mahoney, best-selling true crime author and former member of the Essex Boys Firm, Britain s most infamous and influential faces are interviewed for the first time, many of whom have never appeared on camera before.

Where to Watch: 14 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi).