Gangs of London is a British action crime drama television series created by Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery. Based on London Studio's video game of the same name, it serves as a spinoff of The Getaway franchise.
The first series premiered on 23 April 2020 on Sky Atlantic. In June 2020, it was renewed for a second series, with AMC taking over American broadcast rights and co-producing, and Corin Hardy taking over as showrunner. The second series premiered on 20 October 2022 in the UK and on 17 November 2022 in the US. In November 2022, it was renewed for a third series that premiered on 20 March 2025 in the UK. In August 2025, it was renewed for a fourth series.
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.
Contents
Premise
The series follows the power struggles of the rival gangs and criminal organisations in London. As one of the world's most dynamic and multicultural cities, London's criminal underworld is thrown into disarray following the assassination of the head of the city's most powerful crime family.
For twenty years, Finn Wallace (Colm Meaney) was the most powerful criminal in London until his death, with billions of pounds flowing through the Wallace Organisation each year. His son Sean Wallace (Joe Cole), with the help of his mother, Marian Wallace (Michelle Fairley), and Finn's right-hand man Ed Dumani (Lucian Msamati), attempts to continue his legacy. Finn's assassination causes ripples across the world of international crime, affecting the Albanian mafia, Kurdish PKK, and the Pakistani drug cartel, among various other criminal elements. Newcomer Elliot Carter (Sope Dirisu), an undercover police officer, is tasked with infiltrating the Wallace Organisation to expose them in their moment of weakness.
Cast and characters
Main
Joe Cole as Sean Wallace (series 1–3), 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 (series 1–3), the patriarch of the Dumani family and Finn's longtime right-hand man.
Jevan Onasanya portrays Ed as a teenager during flashbacks.
Sope Dirisu as Elliot Carter, an undercover police officer who infiltrates the Wallace Organisation and begins a relationship with Shannon Dumani. Introduced as "Elliot Finch", in the first-season finale, Elliot's real surname is revealed to be "Carter", with the character based on The Getaway video game character Frank Carter, by which surname he is known for the rest of the series.
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 suffers from substance abuse.
Pete MacHale portrays Billy as a teenager during flashbacks.
Valene Kane as Jacqueline Robinson (series 1–2, 4), 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.
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), the chief enforcer for the Wallace Organisation.
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 Hawks (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.
Mads Koudal as Leif Hansen (series 1), a Danish assassin and the leader of a mercenary unit that the Investors hire 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.
Guest
Emmett J. Scanlan as Jack O'Doherty (series 1, 3), Finn's personal driver and bodyguard. In the third season, Jack only appears during flashbacks.
Richard Harrington as Mal (series 1), a Welsh traveller and Kinney'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, 3), a retired enforcer for the Wallace Organisation and Elliot's former boss.
Kwong Loke as Wong (series 1), the leader of the Chinese Triads in London.
Lobo Chan as Jin Li (series 1), a well-connected Chinese gangster working with Luan.
Gordon Alexander as Cole (series 1), a sadistic hitman hired by Sean.
Laura Bach as Tove Fransen (series 1), Leif's partner and the second-in-command of his mercenary unit.
Azra Rexhepi as Elira Dushaj (series 1–3), 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 working with the Welsh travellers who employs teenage orphans as her staff.
Frances Tomelty as Niamh Quinn (series 1), Marian's older sister and the head of an Irish crime family.
Episodes
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 series.
In June 2020, it was renewed for a for a second series, 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.
In November 2022, it was renewed for a third series, with production starting in October 2023.
In August 2025, it was renewed for a fourth series.
Release
The first 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 1 October 2020 on AMC+.
The second series premiered on 20 October 2022. The third series premiered on 20 March 2025.
Reception
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 series 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 series holds an approval rating of 81% based on 16 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Gangs of London's second series 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 graphic novel titled A Gangs of London Story: Ghosts was released and is set between the first and second series. It was written by Corin Hardy and Rowan Athale and illustrated by Ferenc Nothof.