These 7 TV show mob bosses failed to be a good family man

There have been many shows over the years that have documented the fast-paced and high-strung life of mob bosses. In all these series, there is a constant theme of how difficult it is to balance personal and professional life, especially when one is in charge of an illegal and dangerous business.

Therefore, here are 7 TV show mob bosses who failed to be good family men and exposed their families to danger.

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Nucky Thompson, Pablo Escobar, and other TV show mob bosses who failed to be good family men

1. Tony Soprano – The Sopranos

Created by David Chase, this crime drama TV show features James Gandolfini in the title role and focuses on Tony Soprano (Gandolfini), who is a New Jersey mafia boss. However, Soprano suffers from panic attacks, and when he starts seeing a psychiatrist after much hesitation, Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), tells him to open up about his life and career. Tony then details his difficulties balancing his personal life with his criminal life.

The show aired from 1999 to 2007 and had six seasons. Considered one of the greatest mafia shows of all time. The Sopranos features the greatly complex and enigmatic character of Tony Soprano, who might have all the intelligence to run a mafia ring, but there were times when he failed as a family man and made questionable decisions.

Tony cheated on his wife, Carmela (Edie Falco), repeatedly and was emotionally distant from his kids. The show’s main premise was to highlight how difficult it was for Tony to balance his family and professional life. Worse, the mob boss even dragged his family into danger on multiple occasions.

The TV show was therefore a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of getting enveloped in such a dangerous world that a person does not even have time to give to his family and has to stay distant from them on most occasions.

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2. Walter White – Breaking Bad

Starring Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, and others, this crime drama TV show is created by Vince Gilligan and is one of the most famous shows in modern times. The series received universal acclaim and was an important story about the pitfalls of greed and power.

The series focuses on a humble high-school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Cranston), who is diagnosed with stage-three lung cancer and decides to produce and distribute methamphetamine to leave his family with enough financial funds after his death. He also gets the aid of his former student, Jesse Pinkman (Paul), and the two get seeped into the world of mafia drug leaders and dangerous mob bosses.

However, as the TV show progresses, Walter becomes a powerful distributor, and his greed makes him do things he shouldn’t. Not only did he destroy his marriage and get his wife involved, but he also evaded the law and lied to his brother-in-law, traumatized his son, and even put his small daughter into danger.

Throughout the TV show, Walter mentioned that he was doing all of this for his family, but at the end, he accepted that he did everything for himself. Therefore, the acclaimed TV show aptly portrayed how men, enveloped in a world of danger, drag their family into it as well and can never be present and loving family men.

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3. Nucky Thompson – Boardwalk Empire

Created by Terence Winter and based on a non-fiction book by Nelson Johnson, this period crime drama TV show features Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, and others. The show is set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and covers the Prohibition Era of the 1920s.

The series covers the life of the historical criminal kingpin, Enoch L. Johnson. Buscemi plays the role of Enoch or “Nucky Thompson, which is inspired by the real-life figure and is a charismatic political figure in Atlantic County. Nucky is the corrupt treasurer of the county and is one of the most powerful figures with political ties.

Often involved with the mafias and mobs that run in New York and Chicago, Nucky is the perfect representation of a man who is a leader in the world but cannot ever be a good family man. He bootlegs liquor throughout Atlantic City and regularly gets into trouble with his enemies. The TV show aired from 2010 to 2014 and had five seasons.

Throughout the show, Nucky leads a lavish lifestyle, but he always chooses power and wealth over his family and does not create any meaningful bonds with his relations. Even with his adopted son and wife, Margaret, Nucky maintains a transactional relationship, and therefore, he is a portrait of a man who is shallow in nature, even if he is powerful in the real world.

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4. Clay Morrow – Sons of Anarchy

Starring Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, and others, this action crime TV show is created by Kurt Sutter. The show has a cult following and aired from 2008 to 2014 for seven seasons. The show focuses on the lives of a group of people in a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club that operates in the fictional town of Charming in California’s Central Valley.

The main character is Jax Teller (Hunnam), who discovers a manifesto by his late father, who was the founder of the motorcycle club. Jax begins to question himself about his life choices after reading the manifesto, and the TV show explores themes like loyalty, brotherhood, betrayal, and vigilantism. The series is gritty and action-packed, and showcases the high-stakes life of the motorcycle gang and their lifestyle.

Clarence or “Clay” Morrow (Ron Perlman) is an important character in the show, and even though he is one of the founding members of the motorcycle gang, his leadership is defined by lies, murder, and betrayal. He has no respect for his wife, Gemma (Katey Sagal), and is one of the primary antagonists on the show. Even though he is the leader of a large squadron, he orders the death of fellow SAMCRO members and even keeps his dark secrets from his stepson, Jax.

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5. Avon Barksdale – The Wire

Created by David Simon and featuring Dominic West, John Doman, Idris Elba, and others, this crime drama TV show is one of the most influential cult series from the early aughts. The TV show aired from 2002 to 2008 and had five seasons. Set in Baltimore, Maryland, the TV show focuses on major public institutions of the city and their relationship to law enforcement in each season.

Some of the subjects of the show are the illegal drug trade, the city government and bureaucracy, the port system, the educational system, and the print news media. The series did not gain any massive following during its run and did not win any awards. However, it was only after the show’s airing that critics and viewers began to appreciate the gritty and raw quality of the show, and it is now regarded as one of the greatest series of all time.

Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) is an enigmatic character on the show who is played by Wood Harris and is one of the most powerful drug dealers in Baltimore. He also runs the Barksdale Organization, and he seeks power over everything. Avon does not have any familial bonds, and his story is an example of how far men stray from family life after entering the dangerous drug business. Avon ultimately ruins his life and is only surrounded by betrayal and mistrust.

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6. Gustavo Fring – Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul

Another character from Breaking Bad, who is a major narcotics distributor and does not have any family life, is Gustavo Fring. Played by Giancarlo Esposito, Gustavo or Gus Fring was introduced in the crime drama TV show in its second season and was the main antagonist in the show’s third and fourth seasons.

Gus was also a major character in the show’s spinoff, Better Call Saul, for seasons 3 to 6. Fring is a cold and calculative Chilean-American businessman who not only is the largest narcotics distributor in the Southwestern United States, but he also has several legal businesses, like the chain of successful fast-food restaurants called Los Pollos Hermanos. He even has an industrial laundry facility, which is used to launder money for his vast drug operations.

Even though he works for the Mexican cartel, he wants to plot revenge against them for killing his business associate and lover, and wants to become independent of the cartel. He therefore hires Walter White so that he can produce methamphetamine for him. However, he is loyal to no one, and even though he appears cold and composed, he lives an isolated life after the death of his partner. His obsession with control and revenge makes him a shining example of how the business of drugs does not create family men.

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7. Pablo Escobar – Narcos

Sometimes, even if a mob boss loves his family, it is not enough because being a family man means that you keep your family out of danger and don’t drag them into your criminal activities.

Created by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro, this crime drama TV show is set in Colombia and focuses on the famous Colombian narcoterrorist and real-life drug lord Pablo Escobar, who was the leader of the Medellín Cartel and was a billionaire because of his cocaine production and distribution.

The TV show also showcases how Escobar interacted with drug lords and the Drug Enforcement Administration agents, and his various enemies. The series was a critical and commercial hit, and Wagner Moura delivers a scene-stealing performance as Pablo. Even though Escobar was living with his family, he regularly endangered them with every move that he made.

He was also constantly on the run, and he therefore exposed his wife and children to a lot of danger. His story is a cautionary tale as it proves that even if a man loves and provides all the luxuries of the world to his family, it is not enough if he is not present himself and works in a sector where his family will have to live in constant danger.