Although it was not talked about as much throughout the year, 2025 had one of the series that generated the most interest to watch in recent times: “Terra da Máfia”, which is part of the Paramount+ catalog.
“Mafia Land” was created and written by Irishman Ronan Bennett, known for crime films and series like “Public Enemies” (2009), a feature film directed by Michael Mann about John Dillinger, famous bank robber of the 1930s, or “Top Boy” (2011), a British detective series that deals with drug gangs in London.
Most recently, Bennett created and wrote the series “The Day of the Jackal”, starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch, based on the famous spy novel by Frederick Forsyth. The ten episodes of “Mafia Land” were written by Bennett in partnership with English playwright Jez Butterworth, known for the screenplay for the film “Ford vs. Ferrari” (2019), directed by James Mangold.
The series is set in London and deals with a family of criminals, the Harrigans, who control various illicit activities across Europe with an iron fist. The leaders of the clan are Conrad Harrigan, played by Pierce Brosnan, and his wife, Maeve, played by Helen Mirren.
The couple have two sons: the eldest is Brendan, played by Daniel Betts, a clumsy person who never stops inventing scams that never work, and Kevin, played by Paddy Considine, father of a young psychopath called Eddie, played by Anson Boon. Conrad has an out-of-wedlock daughter, Seraphina, played by Mandeep Dhilon, hated by Maeve.
The most important character outside of the Harrigan family is Harry Da Souza, played by Tom Hardy, a “handyman” who solves, always in the most brutal way, any problem that may afflict the Harrigans, whether it is eliminating an employee who has not fulfilled his role or protecting the family from a threat.
The central theme is a dispute between the Harrigans and another criminal clan, the Stevensons, led by the sadistic Richie, played by Geoff Bel). When Richie’s son disappears after a night out with Eddie Harrigan, the families’ peaceful relations give way to a bloody feud. And it’s bloody too: “Mafia Country” is incredibly violent, with scenes that recall memorable sequences from films like “Scarface” and “The Departed.”
An important name in production is Guy Ritchie, known for his explosive crime thrillers such as “Games, Cheats and Two Smoking Barrels” (1998) and “Snatch – Pigs and Diamonds” (2000). Ritchie is executive producer of the series and directed the first two episodes.
But the strong point remains the casting. Tom Hardy masterfully plays the role of the tough foreman who doesn’t even smile. Hardy learned, in films like “Mad Max – Fury Road” (2015), how to direct action scenes. And there’s no shortage of action in the series: from motorcycle chases to shootouts in port warehouses loaded with cocaine. But the ones who steal every scene they appear in are Pierce Brosnan and Hellen Mirren.
He, a gangster as charming as he is ruthless, and she, a treacherous viper, capable of setting traps for her friends and even her family. The level of evil of Helen Mirren’s character in “Mafia Land” might be something of a record.
One of the qualities of the series is the presence of superb secondary characters: the gangster Richie Stevenson, played by Geoff Bell, is frightening, while Alice Barnes, played by Emily Barber, plays an attractive woman who works for the London police and manages to infiltrate near the Harrigan family.
There are several interesting subplots that add tension and suspense without distracting the series from the central theme, which is the power struggle between the Harrigans and the Stevensons. “Mafia Land” is a detective series written, directed and acted with great talent. Guaranteed pleasure.
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