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Season 1 – Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia Jul 2020 Documentary Crime Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
67% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Five Mafia families controlled New York in the 1970s and '80s, until a group of federal agents work to take them down.
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Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia — Season 1

Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Compelling interviews and a slick style help Fear City entertain, but those already familiar with the case will find few new insights.

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Critics Reviews

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Jo Livingstone The New Republic 07/29/2020
...Fear City declines to do that work and therefore fades into the long and indecorous canon of subpar entertainment about bad guys. File it next to City Heat under "Mob films, Dime-store." Go to Full Review Robert Levin Newsday 07/27/2020
2.5/4
To tell this story with the scope it requires, "Fear City" would have needed to double its running time at minimum. Go to Full Review Alissa Wilkinson Vox 07/23/2020
It's a boring choice to tell a story like this from the point of view of the FBI agents. Their perspective is well trodden in TV and movies. And New York's relationship to the mob is not exactly hidden history. Go to Full Review Matt Cabral Common Sense Media 10/12/2020
4/5
Keen look into 1980s FBI mafia takedown has foul language. Go to Full Review Victor Pineyro Seventh Art Studio 08/20/2020
8/10
The exciting thing is that, even though it shows little, it shows the first step to defeating the Italian mafia in NY, and tactics used by the feds. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Olivia Ovenden Esquire Magazine 08/19/2020
By the end what feels more shocking is not the power these families had but that anyone was able to bring it to an end. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Gareth v @geewah 06/24/2023 An entertaining and at times compelling look into organised crime and also NYC in the 1970's & 80's. Can be dry at times but on the whole an informative docu-series See more Jim R @jimrstl 08/09/2020 Shorter than most of the recent multi-part documentaries, this one was still a bit long but an entirely fascinating look at how the 5 major crime families in New York City were taken down using the Rico Act. From wire taps to surveillance to the realization that the authorities can tie in all families to a conspiracy, the crime work is impeccable. It was also nice to be reminded that Rudy Giuliani wasn't always the way he is today. See more 07/31/2020 Heavily dependent on cooperation from FBI veterans and Rudy Giuliani's federal prosecutor crew, so it's pretty slanted. For these guys, those were the glory years and they love reliving them. A few minor mob guys weigh in. Missing is any assessment of the important NYPD role. Inexplicably stops in 1986 with convictions of some mob bosses in a Giuliani-orchestrated media frenzy. After that, the mafia continued on its nefarious way for another 10 years (e.g., the Gotti years), which this superficial documentary -- very heavy on phony drama -- fails to address. See more 07/31/2020 A documentary shit in the style of a Scorsese flick, high on character and entertainment value. Thoroughly enjoyable. See more William N @William125 07/27/2020 I thought the first episode went beyond the typical history channel mob tropes, but then the second and third episodes came back down to earth. During the second episode when they started discussing RICO law it started to get stale. This series was interesting when the former mobsters were telling their mob stories but unfortunately the lawyers and FBI agents told most of the stories and they just weren't that interesting. See more 07/26/2020 Definitely good to get an insight to the mob but the documentary itself didn't reach its full potential in my opinion. See more Read all reviews
Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Jim Kossler

Self

Lin DeVecchio

Self

Joe Cantamessa

Self

Dimitri Doganis

Executive Producer

Adam Hawkins

Executive Producer

Jon Liebman

Executive Producer

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Jul 22, 2020 Mob Rule As New York runs amok, the mob operates with impunity until a little-known law and some innovative surveillance tactics give federal agents a leg up. Details Episode 2 Aired Jul 22, 2020 The Godfather Tapes As the FBI takes daring measures to wiretap the heads of five families, the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York joins the fight. Details Episode 3 Aired Jul 22, 2020 Judgment Day The FBI attempt to tie The Commission to a high-profile gangland murder, in order to prove there is a conspiracy among the mafia bosses. Details

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Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia — Season 1

Fear City: New York vs the Mafia: Trailer 1 Fear City: New York vs the Mafia: Trailer 1 2:31 View more videos
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Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia — Season 1

Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia View more photos

Season Info

Director
Bart Layton, Sam Hobkinson
Executive Producer
Dimitri Doganis, Adam Hawkins, Jon Liebman
Network
Netflix
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Documentary, Crime
Original Language
English
Release Date
Jul 22, 2020
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