McMafia explained

Image Alt:Series title on a red banner over a map of the world
Genre:Crime drama
Creator:Hossein Amini
James Watkins
Based On:McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld
by
Misha Glenny
Director:James Watkins
Composer:Tom Hodge
Franz Kirmann
Country:United Kingdom
United States
Num Series:1
Num Episodes:8
Executive Producer:Nick Marston
Dixie Linder
Ben Hall
Robyn Slovo
Matthew Read
Hossein Amini
James Watkins
Misha Glenny
Producer:Paul Ritchie
Company:Cuba Pictures
Network:BBC One (UK)
AMC (USA)

McMafia is a British crime drama television series created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins, and directed by Watkins. It is inspired by the book by journalist Misha Glenny (2008).[1] The series stars James Norton as Alex Godman, the British-raised son of a Russian mafia boss living in London whose father is trying to escape from the world of organised crime. It is co-produced by BBC, AMC Networks, and Cuba Pictures.[2] [3] It premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 1 January 2018,[4] and in the United States on AMC on 26 February 2018. The series was canceled after one season.[5] [6]

Cast

Main cast

Recurring cast

Production

McMafia was inspired by journalist Misha Glenny's non-fiction book McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld, published in 2008. The series took a few stories from Glenny's book, which documents various mafia organisations thriving around the world today. The series was created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins, and is a co-production of the BBC, AMC, and Cuba Pictures, in association with Twickenham Studios.[7]

The BBC announced the series in October 2015.[8] In April 2016, it was announced that James Norton had been cast in the lead role of Alex Godman and that co-creator Watkins would direct all eight episodes. Additional casting, including Maria Shukshina and Aleksey Serebryakov as Alex's parents, and David Strathairn as a shady Israeli businessman, was announced in November 2016.[9] In addition to Amini and Watkins, David Farr, Peter Harness, and Laurence Coriat co-wrote the series.[10]

Filming locations included London, Zagreb, Split, Opatija, Primošten, Qatar, Mumbai, Prague, Cairo, Belgrade, Belize, Istanbul, Moscow and Tel Aviv.[7] [10] [11] [12] [13] The budget was several million pounds per episode.[14]

Reception

McMafia has an approval rating of 71% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 38 reviews, and an average rating of 6.7/10.[15]

Lucy Mangan, writing for The Guardian said that the show was "beautifully put together" and described the script as "a cut above average".[16]

Planned second series

In 2018, BBC One announced that it had recommissioned the programme for an eight-part second series.[17] [18]

In March 2022, it was reported that the planned second series had been cancelled,[19] but author and executive producer Misha Glenny immediately denied the report on Twitter.[20] [21]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: McMafia. Goodreads. 2018-02-26.
  2. Web site: First look image released for BBC One's McMafia . BBC Media Centre. 2 February 2017. 22 May 2017.
  3. Web site: Bryant. Adam. AMC Releases First Photo From Upcoming Series McMafia. 22 May 2017. AMC. 7 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107030403/http://www.amc.com/talk/2017/02/amc-releases-first-photo-from-upcoming-series-mcmafia. dead.
  4. Web site: Munn. Patrick. BBC One Sets Premiere Date For 'McMafia'. TVWise. 6 December 2017. 25 September 2019.
  5. Web site: Haring. Bruce. AMC Sets 'McMafia' Premiere, Season Starts For 'Fear,' 'Badlands,' and 'James Cameron's Sci-Fi Story' – TCA. Deadline Hollywood. January 13, 2018. 25 September 2019.
  6. Web site: McMafia. AMC. 2018. 2018-02-05.
  7. News: Szalai. Georg. MIPTV: 'Drive' Writer and 'McMafia' Author on Teaming Up for BBC/AMC Series. 22 May 2017. The Hollywood Reporter. 5 April 2017. en.
  8. News: BBC One announces McMafia, brand new thriller series by Hossein Amini & James Watkins. 22 May 2017. BBC. 21 October 2015.
  9. News: Further casting announced for epic new BBC One drama McMafia. BBC. 15 November 2016.
  10. News: Brazilian star Caio Blat to star in brand new BBC series McMafia alongside James Norton and Juliet Rylance. 22 May 2017. BBC . 20 March 2017.
  11. News: Hamad. Marwa. Dubai in new BBC gangster series 'McMafia'. 22 May 2017. GulfNews. 4 March 2017.
  12. News: "McMafia" se do prosinca snima u Zagrebu. 22 May 2017. Dnevnik. 15 May 2017. hr-HR.
  13. Web site: Vuka. Petra. 2021-05-08. Znate li koji su sve svjetski filmovi i serije snimani upravo u Hrvatskoj? Neki od njih snimaju se i sada. 2021-09-29. Večernji list. hr.
  14. News: Foster. Patrick. James Norton to play another Russian in big-budget BBC drama McMafia. 22 May 2017. The Daily Telegraph. 3 August 2016.
  15. Web site: McMafia - Rotten Tomatoes . .
  16. News: McMafia review – James Norton caught in a twisted web of international crime Lucy Mangan. Mangan. Lucy. 2018-01-01. The Guardian. 2018-01-12. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  17. Web site: White. Peter. 'McMafia' Renewed For Second series By BBC One. Deadline Hollywood. May 1, 2018. May 2, 2018.
  18. News: McMafia renewed for a second series on BBC1. Harrison. Ellie. 3 February 2021. Radio Times. 8 March 2022.
  19. News: BBC 'quietly axe' McMafia after just one season. Rodger. James. 8 March 2022. BirminghamLive. 8 March 2022.
  20. Web site: Glenny . Misha . 1 July 2022 . Twitter Reply by Author - July 2022 . 2022-07-01 . Twitter . en.
  21. News: McMafia author denies season two has been axed. 9 March 2022. Yahoo!. 7 May 2022.

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