Television series

The Long Firm

Name: The Long Firm
Genre: Drama, Crime
Released: 2004
Cast: Mark Strong, George Costigan, Lena Headey, Derek Jacobi, Geoff Bell

The Long Firm is a four-part BBC crime drama set in 1960s London, following a charismatic gangster's rise through the city's corrupt underworld. It's lean, grimy, and utterly absorbing—a portrait of power and complicity where everyone's compromised and the rules keep changing. Essential viewing for anyone who loves their crime fiction dark and morally complex.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like crime stories that linger on the grubby social climbing of 1960s London and the slow rot of a criminal's ambitions, with a lead who is more fascinating than he is likeable.

Skip it if you want a tight, fast plot, since this moves at a leisurely pace and its menace builds through character rather than set-piece action.

What it asks of you: Four one-hour episodes make it a short commitment, but each hour is dense with period detail and shifting loyalties, and it rewards sustained attention rather than casual viewing.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Peaky Blinders2013

A different era and geography, but the same genius for showing how violence and charm intertwine, how loyalty becomes a trap, and how one man's ambition destabilizes everything around him. Beautifully shot and acted.

But Six seasons is a commitment, and the later ones lose focus. Some viewers find the Birmingham accents harder to follow than the cockney swagger of The Long Firm.

GoodFellas1990

Scorsese's masterclass in making the criminal life intoxicating, then showing the cost. Like The Long Firm, it's fascinated by ritual, hierarchy, and the moment when charm stops working. Utterly gripping.

But Nearly three hours, and the violence is direct and visceral. Not a contemplative piece, which some prefer in their crime stories.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy2011

Same era, same moral murk. It's a spy thriller disguised as a procedural, more interested in paranoia and betrayal than action. If you liked the slow burn of The Long Firm, this moves at its own deliberate pace.

But Gary Oldman barely raises his voice for two hours. Some find it too quiet, too interior. The plot is intricate and requires attention.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Long Firm

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

In Cold Blood1967

Both are adapted from literary sources obsessed with what draws ordinary people into extraordinary corruption. Both refuse easy judgement while showing the damage done.

Richard Brooks' adaptation of Truman Capote's true-crime novel is shot in stark black-and-white and follows two killers with an empathy that doesn't excuse them. It's The Long Firm's spiritual ancestor—the moment crime cinema learned to inhabit its villains' heads without romance.

But It's a 1967 film about actual murder. The pacing is deliberate to the point of austerity, and there's no catharsis—just a clear-eyed study of moral emptiness.

The Godfather1972

The gold standard for crime storytelling. It understands that gangsters are businessmen first, that family and empire are inseparable, and that style matters as much as substance. The DNA is in every mafia drama since.

But Three hours 20 minutes, and if you've never seen it, the expectations might feel like pressure. It's canonical, not cosy.

In the Flesh2013

Different genre entirely—it's a zombie drama—but it has The Long Firm's interest in corruption within institutions and the performance of loyalty under duress. Tense, cleverly written, and cruelly human.

But Only three seasons before cancellation. Some viewers dislike how far it's willing to go with its sympathies. The zombie premise might seem tonal whiplash.

Sexy Beast2001

A British crime film about an underworld figure, all menace and style. Ben Kingsley's villain is unforgettable. Like The Long Firm, it's interested in how violence shapes character and the claustrophobia of criminal life.

But It's slow and strange, sometimes surreal. If you want plot momentum over atmosphere, this will frustrate you.

Layer Cake2004

A London crime thriller from the same year as The Long Firm, full of professional criminals navigating betrayal and changing allegiances. Sharp dialogue, intricate plotting, and a genuinely great central performance.

But The ending is abrupt and bleak. Some viewers want resolution; you won't get comfortable closure here.

The Sopranos1999

The show that changed television crime drama forever. It has The Long Firm's fascination with charisma, moral compromise, and the ordinary details of extraordinary violence. If you haven't seen it, you should.

But Six seasons of escalating darkness. It demands emotional investment, and the therapy sessions won't appeal to everyone. Some episodes move at a pace that feels deliberately frustrating.

Shallow Grave1994

Early Danny Boyle, early Ewan McGregor. A thriller about three flatmates who find a dead man and decide to keep the money. It has the moral rot of The Long Firm in miniature: how quickly people become complicit.

But It's stylish and kinetic in a very '90s way, which feels dated now. The plot turns on contrivances that require suspension of disbelief.

Gomorra: La Serie2014

Both see crime not as rebellion but as infrastructure, woven into the city's fabric. Both understand that power corrupts everyone it touches—victim and perpetrator alike.

An Italian series following the Naples mafia through multiple characters and viewpoints rather than one gangster's arc. It's The Long Firm's structural inverse—no protagonist to root for, just systems of power grinding through real people's lives.

But It's in Italian with subtitles. It's brutal about violence (not stylised, not exciting). The multiple viewpoints can feel scattered if you're used to following a single charismatic lead.

The Knack... and How to Get It1965

Both capture the texture and energy of 1960s London life—the clothes, the accent, the particular mix of aspiration and moral flexibility. Both are fascinated by how a place teaches you to behave.

A comedy about three young men in 1960s London, shot with anarchic energy by Richard Lester. It's set in the same world as The Long Firm but moves in the opposite direction—youth, chaos, and possibility instead of entropy and control.

But It's a period comedy from 1965, which means the humour is sometimes opaque now. Some of it lands as broad farce. It's a tonal palate-cleanser, not a drama.