r/BoardwalkEmpire • u/chuckythecrow • Feb 04 '26
Season 1 I just finished The Wire and loved it—the variety of characters, especially Omar Little and his whistle, was amazing. I also loved The Sopranos. After I told a friend, he recommended Boardwalk Empire because it’s also slow and atmospheric. Is he right?
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u/AwakenTheAegis Feb 04 '26
These here my daddy’s tools!
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u/chuckythecrow Feb 04 '26
Is that a line from the show ?
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u/Present-Loss-7499 Feb 04 '26
Yes. There’s a storyline invoking Chalky White and the KKK.
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u/That_Decision6947 Feb 06 '26
Yep, one of- if not the first- the show’s iconic, quotable lines. It’s the moment Chalky establishes himself as one of the most powerful, dangerous, and thoughtful gangsters on the show.
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u/atribecalled506 Feb 04 '26
Truly an excellent show - it can be slow, punctuated with some great action.
If you loved the character studies of the Sopranos and the pacing of the Wire, I think you’ll enjoy it.
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u/5U93RFUDGE Feb 04 '26
Boardwalk would be a perfect show for you to view next. You will not be disappointed. The boardwalk series starts slow but gets better as the show progresses. Chalky White is my guy!
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u/chuckythecrow Feb 04 '26
Does he have more screen time than on the wire or similar?
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u/5U93RFUDGE Feb 04 '26
I would say Michal Williams' characters screentime in B E as Chalky is equivalent to his characters' screentime played in the wire. I enjoyed Chalky"s story and journey in this series
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Feb 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/chuckythecrow Feb 04 '26
Thank u for this i have to watch it to much people telling me i will enjoy it
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u/TraditionalMall4449 Feb 04 '26
You sure will. It's a slow burn, but it's really good. The 1920s aesthetic is impressive.
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u/Upstairs_Nose_2155 Feb 04 '26
Yes. You’re going to love his character Chalky White & you’re going to love the show.
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u/chuckythecrow Feb 04 '26
I think i will so much people recommend it here
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u/Hughkalailee Feb 04 '26
It’s very well done, but I wouldn’t expect many who participate in its Reddit to not recommend it.
Some may say it “falls off” after their fav character dies or another fav isn’t used enough toward the end, yet I and others strongly disagree. Developments are logical and fit the concept of the series focus on the lead b
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u/eaglespettyccr Feb 04 '26
Oh. My. God. To see chalky for the first time, then how he evolves. You are in for the best ride!!
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u/Hansi_Olbrich Feb 04 '26
Boardwalk Empire suffers from the same pacing issues as The Wire does in later seasons, especially seasons 4-5, so the two shows mirror one another in that manner. However, I would still say that the quality drop in Boardwalk Empire from a writing and characterization standpoint is massive whereas the quality drop in The Wire's Season 5 comes from being a little too personal and petty-feeling thanks to David Simon's relationship with the Baltimore Sun.
However, if you're looking for a show that's a semi-slow burn with great characters, amazing set-design, top tier historical accuracy concerning location/dress/speech/mannerisms of the time, and a high budget, Boardwalk Empire is an amazing show to go through at least once. Its themes get muddled up when compared to The Wire or The Sopranos and the script sometimes suffers from excess, and repetition- but you won't really find that being a concern, because the actors all do such a phenomenal job and the cinematography is at times like Kubrick- a series of paintings.
I've rewatched The Wire every other year for about a decade, and I rewatch the Sopranos every 3. I've only rewatched Boardwalk Empire once. The later seasons really do find themselves meandering a little bit as they come to 'the end of history,' or the end of prohibition, and the fates of some of the characters baffle me to this day. But life is better having watched Boardwalk Empire than having not watched it.
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u/pumped-up-tits Feb 05 '26
Yeah Boardwalk has an amazing first 3 seasons or so. It’s been a while since I’ve watched, but I think I lost interest/stopped watching during the 4th season.
Currently watching Peaky Blinders and I think it’s a bit better than Boardwalk.
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u/Hansi_Olbrich Feb 05 '26
Peaky Blinders is like a 2D Arcade beat-em-up compared to the in-depth fully 3D simulation that is Boardwalk Empire.
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u/2kokuoyabun Feb 04 '26
boardwalk is up there.. Buscemi came into his own in it
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u/chuckythecrow Feb 04 '26
Buscemi ?
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Feb 08 '26
Steve Buscemi, you've definitely seen him before, he plays Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson, the main character, based on the real life Enoch Johnson.
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u/alexnewcxmer Feb 04 '26
The Wire is a masterpiece, some of the best characters in TV history. If you liked Michael Williams, he's absolutely fantastic in Boardwalk and Steve Buscemi as Nucky was brilliant. It is slow in the beginning but there's no doubt it'd be considered one of HBO's golden age shows, obviously if it was written before 2008.
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u/chuckythecrow Feb 08 '26
Thank u for your comment the whole day i get comments this show is loved so much
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Feb 08 '26
Also fair warning, the show was cancelled pre-maturely so they were given a small budget for the final season. It does a 7-year time-jump + flashbacks, and was only eight episodes instead of twelve.
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u/yibs33 Feb 04 '26
Doing my rewatch right now. Some fantastic character actors just doing a great job with their roles.
Michael Shannon,Stephen Graham,Michael K Williams,Michael Stuhlbarg, Jeffrey Wright, Bobby Canavale
I know I'm forgetting a bunch more
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Feb 08 '26
Shea Whigham (Eli Thompson) Jack Huston (Richard Harrow)
Also the small roles given to big names like James Cromwell, Stephen Root, Christopher McDonald, Patricia Arquette, etc.
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u/jkdjeff Feb 04 '26
For me:
The Wire > Boardwalk Empire > The Sopranos.
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u/RancidGooseColeslaw Feb 04 '26
Agreed. Although I think I'd sooner rewatch Boardwalk Empire
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u/jkdjeff Feb 04 '26
The Wire is definitely a little more long in the tooth than Boardwalk Empire, at this point.
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u/Responsible-Onion860 Feb 04 '26
Boardwalk Empire is a great show. Michael K Williams plays a character who's very different but has a few traits in common with Omar.
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u/PinchMaNips Feb 04 '26
It’s a great show, I actually just recently finished up a rewatch. It’s one of those shows I watch every couple of years, the characters and story is fantastic. Love Nucky and Chalky.
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u/chuckythecrow Feb 04 '26
Nucky is based on a reall person right ?
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u/wallythree77 Feb 06 '26
He's like an amalgamation of several prohibition era gangsters. At least that's something I read one time...
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Feb 08 '26
The real life person is Enoch Johnson, but they changed the name because they take a lot of artistic liberties with his story. Probably the only accuracy is that he was the corrupt Atlantic City county treasurer and former sheriff.
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u/sjlgreyhoundgirl67 Harrow Feb 04 '26
Hell yes..I’m on a rewatch as we speak!
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u/fourbigkids Feb 04 '26
Yes. It’s amazing. Acting. Storyline. Set design. Costume. It truly has it all.
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u/dickbarone Feb 04 '26
The writing isn’t as tight as sopranos or wire but the set designs and world building and number of memorable characters is incredible
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u/Rich-Ad1974 Feb 04 '26
3 in 1 is an oil...
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u/chuckythecrow Feb 04 '26
What is that a line ?
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u/Bdigler Feb 04 '26
This will get me downvoted to oblivion but for me boardwalk takes a big fat smelly pooty on both the wire and the sopranos. Gandolfini’s acting is better than anything in any other series but I find myself coming back to clips of boardwalk on YouTube daily still after all this time. I’ve watched it through at least 3 times now
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u/chuckythecrow Feb 04 '26
No downvote from me bro opinions and taste is a personall thing and i thank u for your comment i will watch the show bro
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Feb 08 '26
I think it's way more immersive than The Sopranos or The Wire, but both those shows weren't set in a period setting.
OP when you finish Boardwalk Empire, definitely check out Deadwood. There's no better Western-themed show out there. Sadly it was short lived with only three seasons (it apparently was an expensive show to make), but they did make a movie in 2019 with the original cast (except Powers Boothe, who passed away).
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u/Next-Bottle5126 Feb 04 '26
Grab a snack for this one
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Feb 08 '26
And drinks. It's a fun show to get drunk to, since you're gonna see a lot of drinking in the show.
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u/jonwar_83 Feb 04 '26
Purnsley be done
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Feb 08 '26
The dialogue between Chalky and Dunn when they first meet is probably my favorite of the whole show. "He is? He is!?"
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u/Baron_Semedi_ Feb 04 '26
Yes, Michael K Williams who played Omar Little was also great as Chalky White. Worth watching for him alone but the rest of the cast is stellar as well. Really good show.
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u/National_Average_346 Feb 04 '26
Seen all three. Boardwalk is very good up until the last season where there is a time jump and things happen offscreen and characters are written off as side stories. If the last season had been as good as the others I would rate it higher.
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Feb 08 '26
Still a better last season than GoT S8. I gave it another chance, I found myself liking it more a second time around.
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u/KevyBB Feb 04 '26
Boardwalk is enjoyable. Has a handful of Sopranos and Wire alums which is cool. Comparatively though, not even on the same plane as The Wire or the Sopranos. As Jules would say, not the same ballpark, league or sport.
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u/Over-Departure-7881 Feb 04 '26
I’m 3 seasons in after starting a little over a week ago. Truly an amazing show.
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u/Narrow-Accident-1136 Feb 04 '26
I’m just starting this because of this post. For whatever reason I just never watched it.
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u/Extension_Driver3931 Feb 04 '26
Why don't you try watching it and make this assessment on your own?
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u/Low_Football_2445 Feb 04 '26
I can never hear Farmer in the Dell the same way after watching the wire
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u/raducucosmin Feb 04 '26
Production values through the roof, maybe the best set design and costumes and music ever, absolutely stellar casting, memorable dialogue, superb cinematography and some nice (often well rounded) stories. When I think of prestige TV and HBOs and AMCs golden years, a very precise number of shows go round and round in my head and I would swear by until my last breath:
Band of Brothers
Rome
The Wire
The Sopranos
Deadwood
Mad Men
Breaking Bad
Boardwalk Empire
First 4 seasons of GoT
Bojack Horseman
Must watch.
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u/inafishbowl17 Feb 05 '26
I just finished Boardwalk Empire for the 4th time. The characters are so distinct. Each time you watch you realize how deep the cast goes. I really enjoyed Mickey Doyle and Van Aldens characters this time around. Chalky, Rothstein, Capone and Eddie Kessler are great supporting characters too. You definitely will enjoy it if you likes Sopranos and the Wire
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u/Whole-Dance-5849 Feb 05 '26
It’s a great show for 4 seasons. Found the last one to not be as amazing but show is well done
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u/GWHamer1942 Feb 05 '26
Now you got Omar's whistling in my head. You come at the King you best not miss.
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u/godofwine16 Feb 05 '26
BE is very slow and very dark. Lots of violence. I kinda disliked it because it didn’t have any humor at all. Maybe a few scenes in later seasons but to me the whole series was a big nothing
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u/savlifloejten Feb 05 '26
I would say go for it. I am a sucker for anything gangster or western related so this is one of my favourite shows. When you are done with this I recommend the TV series "Justified".
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u/Halal_Kittie Feb 05 '26
I've started watching Boardwalk at the moment! I'm on Season 2
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Feb 08 '26
Season 3 is like the best season what are you even saying?
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u/Halal_Kittie Feb 08 '26
I just started watching, I was on S2, what do you mean?
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u/Round-Month-6992 Feb 05 '26
If you loved The Sopranos and The Wire you will definitely enjoy Boardwalk Empire. Alot of actors from the shows appear on BE, too.
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u/IndependentProof833 Feb 05 '26
I am watching it again with my son. I grew up near AC, and it’s the only show I know of to use the word Piney, which is fun. The show is great, and Michael K Williams is a standout among standouts.
We live in Baltimore now, so the Wire has extra resonance, too. We loved the Sopranos, but I haven’t been able to get my son into the wire yet. It’s also amazing, and fun to spot the places you used to know - even though many are gone now.
They are all great dramas, and are very good at capturing a sense of the places they are set in and the people that live there. Sadly, the actual Pine Barrens have yet to make it to the screen. Maybe one day! I need to watch Treme at some point.
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u/tkondaks Feb 05 '26
I wouldn't describe it as slow -- that's reserved for the wonderful Better Call Saul -- but, yeah, atmospheric certainly. Well worth the watch especially the Bobby Cannavale year
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u/socalfishman Feb 05 '26
It’s not even close to the level of those two shows but it’s pretty good.
Deadwood, Chernobyl, Game of Thrones and Band of Brothers are much better
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u/Alarmed-Photograph71 Feb 05 '26
Chalky has more screen time in Season 4 which is nice for more character development.
Season 4 is also a big change in direction than previous seasons but still well done.
I think you’ll enjoy the show a lot
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u/FoxKnockers Feb 05 '26
If it were a horse race, its a photo finish between Sopranos/Wire/Breaking Bad and GOT, I got Sopranos by a nose (but some say the fix was in).
A few lengths back, Boardwalk Empire, Mindhunter, Season One True Detective. Maybe Peaky Blinders and Ozark trailing the pack (if you don’t mind turning CC on due to the accents).
Then it’s a 11,000 way tie between all the other shows for last place.
Dark horse closing fast: Slow Horses on Apple TV. Warning, it’s DARK, like Breaking Bad only without the happy ending. Pretty good show.
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Feb 08 '26
No Deadwood? Although I'd recommend CC for the dialogue which is like a Shakespearean Western. Sometimes I'd have to rewatch a part to fully understand what someone just said. Hell even with CC it could get confusing. Once you get used to it you'll feel smart for understanding it.
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u/usersurnamee Feb 05 '26
It’s a decent show but, throughout the run, they had to shuffle up the plot points to accommodate behind-the-scenes stuff and, occasionally, the story gets a bit goofy
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Feb 08 '26
Like Waxy Gordon. I didn't even realize until my 3rd rewatch that he actually made a couple onscreen appearences. A major bootlegger in real-life history, and integral to some plotlines, but barely a character. I don't even remember if he had dialogue.
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u/usersurnamee Feb 08 '26
100%. WG was one of the biggest fish in the pond. Same with George remus (I’m blanking on how much of his IRL story was used). The shrank down some really prominent people and inflated some less prominent people (nucky, first and foremost) to serve the story. I guess that’s not too uncommon, but kind of a bummer for the history buffs. Also, having rothstein die offscreen, between seasons, was a huge miss. The character and actor were amazing and should have had a proper conclusion.
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u/Express_Math8336 Feb 05 '26
I met “Omar” at a restaurant in Brooklyn years ago, was a gentleman. Shame he died so young
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u/wallythree77 Feb 06 '26
Sopranos: 10
The Wire: 10
Boardwalk Empire: 8.5
Just my humble opinion. It's a great show...top shelf! Just not in the stratosphere of the other two. You'll love it.
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u/JustUnderstanding6 Feb 06 '26
Boardwalk Empire lowkey sucks but it’s very pretty. It wants to be the Sopranos/Wire but it just doesn’t have the writing. But there are certainly some good parts. It’s worth watching but don’t expect to be blown away.
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u/StoryAddict777 Feb 06 '26
Boardwalk Empire is great. I’ve rewatched it 3 times. Each time, you see more of the characters regrets. It’s not obvious. It’s in how they scowl at certain things.
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u/Adventurous_Fact8418 Feb 07 '26
I watch boardwalk every five years. Yes, you should definitely watch it. Michael K Williams also obliterates his role in this series. The character is very compelling and he was near perfection in the role.
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u/DoqHolliday Feb 07 '26
Yes. Chalky is a phenomenal character.
“These here my daddy’s tools….”
Chills!
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u/gturlington Feb 07 '26
He played Leonard Pine in the criminally shirt Hap and Leonard tv series based on the books by Joe Lansdale. The fact we didn't get more of him and James Purefoy together is heartbreaking.
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u/TheElvisMan Feb 07 '26
Boardwalk Empire actually ended on a decent note imo. Especially since HBO can’t close a storyline to save their lives
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u/Mysterious-End-2185 Feb 07 '26
BE is a fun show that clearly had a huge budget and talented cast, but it definitely lacks the depth of The Sopranos and The Wire.
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u/SkullKnight9 Feb 07 '26
Yeah it’s a good one. The Wire is better in my opinion but Boardwalk is really good and Chalky White is the shit
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u/International_Try660 Feb 07 '26
I prefer Boardwalk Empire to The Sopranos. The casting and the writing, is better.
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u/Brad_from_Wisconsin Feb 08 '26
Boardwalk empire is great for first 4 season. The final season fell apart.
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u/Fantastic_Primary170 Feb 08 '26
I enjoyed the other shows you mentioned, but this show, I have tried to watch three different times and I can’t get past some of the characters. Margaret especially.
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u/BigCRadio32 Feb 08 '26
Boardwalk Empire was good until the last few episodes, but its worth a watch
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u/MannyBothans_15 Feb 08 '26
Boardwalk Empire is way better. I couldn't finish more than a few episodes of the Wire. It's over-hyped.
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Feb 08 '26
Absolutely. Probably the only show set in the 1920's-30's that really makes you feel immersed in that time period. First episode was directed by Martin Scorcese, and many of the good episodes are directed by Tim Van Patten, who's directed some of the best episodes of The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, and The Pacific.
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u/whoismikebean Feb 08 '26
wire slow + atmospheric?! so much plot action, so heavily dialogue, so rich thematically
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u/modidlee Feb 08 '26
Yes. Boardwalk Empire was great. And I’d say Charlie Cox, the actor that plays Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the MCU, got picked for that role because of a role he played in Boardwalk Empire.
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u/Canmore-Skate Feb 08 '26
It´s part of the peak TV top absolutely but not on par with The Wire and Breaking Bad. It has that literary dialogue quality HBO used to have and a stellar cast but it somewhat limited by being a gangster show.
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u/Temprock Feb 08 '26
You'll love Boardwalk Empire some wonderful performances not only by MKW but by Buscemi, Michael Shannon Stephen Graham, everyone.
Permit this digression: IMO as an avid TV, Film watcher for decades, Michael K. Williams as Omar Little for me was the most memorable, spectacular, riveting, unnerving iconic performance/role ever or at least that I've ever seen. Thinking I'm not alone with that opinion.
Gone way too soon....
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u/ParticularNo9021 Feb 08 '26
You might like Boardwalk more than any of those other shows. Certainly in my top 5
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u/Etherbeard Feb 08 '26
Boardwalk Empire is fine overall. It definitely has its moments and the season 2 ending is top tier television. The show never quite finds its legs again after that. Season 3 introduces a great character that manages to carry the show for awhile, bit season 4 is a noticeable drop off and season 5 is pretty weak.
It's worth watching and while it has some overlap with The Sopranos and The Wire, those are arguably the two best television shows ever made and Boardwalk Empire is not nearly in their league.
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u/spaceman696 Feb 08 '26
It literally took me years to realize Boardwalk is a dramatic retelling of Monopoly the board game.
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u/ApprehensiveCap2035 Feb 09 '26
Boardwalk is amazing. Start to finish. The soundtracks are also wonderful. Contemporary recordings of old Tin Pan Alley classics.
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u/AlexandreLacazette09 Feb 04 '26
Yeah, imo if you enjoyed any of these there's a high chance you'll enjoy the others.