McMafia
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). 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. It premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 1 January 2018, and in the United States on AMC on 26 February 2018. 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. The BBC announced the series in October 2015. 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. In addition to Amini and Watkins, David Farr, Peter Harness, and Laurence Coriat co-wrote the series. Filming locations included London, Zagreb, Split, Opatija, Primošten, Qatar, Mumbai, Prague, Cairo, Belgrade, Belize, Istanbul, Moscow and Tel Aviv. The budget was several million pounds per episode. Reception. Lucy Mangan, writing for "The Guardian" said that the show was "beautifully put together" and described the script as "a cut above average". Planned second  series and cancellation. In 2018, BBC One announced that it had recommissioned the programme for an eight-part second series. However, in March 2022, it was announced that the planned second series had been axed. In a statement, the BBC said the cancellation was due to difficulties filming during the coronavirus pandemic, Norton's career pressures, and concerns of broadcasting a show that portrays Russians as corrupt people following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.