Shows like The Penguin
15 picks with a similar feel
What defines The Penguin, going by its Boxlist taste profile: Unhurried and serious: a dark crime series. Best if you like patience over pace. Its strongest markers on Boxlist are themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry, plus tags such as mob family, bold and crime boss.
Here are 15 shows with a similar feel, ranked by how closely they match that profile. Treat them as picks to try, not a definitive list.
Based on The Penguin (2024).
- 1
MobLand (2025)
TV8.4Heavier option
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and dark, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: drug trafficking, betrayal, gangster.
- 2
Surviving Escobar - Alias JJ (2017)
TV7.7
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and dark, with themes of deep rivalry.
- 3
Banshee (2013)
TV7.9
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and dark, with themes of deep rivalry. Common ground: crime boss, criminal.
- 4
Sons of Anarchy (2008)
TV8.4More intricate
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and dark, with themes of deep rivalry. Common ground: organized crime, criminal.
- 5
Godfather of Harlem (2019)
TV8.0
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and dark, with themes of deep rivalry. Common ground: crime boss.
- 6
Sneaky Pete (2015)
TV7.7
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and slow-burning, with themes of deep rivalry.
- 7
The Sopranos (1999)
TV8.5Darker
Why it's like The Penguin: Also dark and weighty, with themes of deep rivalry. Common ground: violence, organized crime.
- 8
Boardwalk Empire (2010)
TV7.9More intricate
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and slow-burning, with themes of deep rivalry. Common ground: gangster.
- 9
- 10
Gangs of London (2020)
TV8.0
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and dark, with themes of deep rivalry. Common ground: violence.
- 11
- 12
Peaky Blinders (2013)
TV8.6Heavier option
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and dark, with themes of deep rivalry. Common ground: criminal, gangster.
- 13
Gomorrah (2014)
TV8.0More intricate
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and dark, with themes of deep rivalry. Common ground: organized crime.
- 14
- 15
Lupin (2021)
TV7.8More intricate
Why it's like The Penguin: Also weighty and dark, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: criminal.
Boxlist compares The Penguin with every show in its catalogue on ten taste scores (pace, tone, weight, realism and more), story themes, genres and TMDB keywords, and ranks the closest. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 7.2 or more from at least 150 votes, new releases wait until their ratings settle, and only one title per franchise makes the list. It is an approximation of feel, so treat it as a starting point. Ratings are TMDB audience scores out of 10.
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Take the taste testQuestions
- What should I watch if I like The Penguin?
- Picks with a similar feel include MobLand, Surviving Escobar - Alias JJ, Banshee and Sons of Anarchy. Each shares part of The Penguin's taste profile, themes or tags; the full list has 15 shows.
- How are these shows like The Penguin chosen?
- Boxlist compares The Penguin with every show in its catalogue on ten taste scores (pace, tone, weight, realism and more), story themes, genres and TMDB keywords, and ranks the closest. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 7.2 or more from at least 150 votes, new releases wait until their ratings settle, and only one title per franchise makes the list. It is an approximation of feel, so treat it as a starting point.