It's hard to do anything new with a gangster story, let alone one about the mob. But Bad Blood, the first season on Netflix (the one my wife and I binged), the second season already on Canadian TV - manages to do just that, with a stellar cast and a surprising story.
First the cast - you can't go wrong with Anthony LaPaglia and Paul Sorvino in a mafia narrative. We knew Kim Coates from Sons of Anarchy. He turned out to be the unpredictable, darkly charismatic, leading character in Bad Blood - someone who can turn from comforting to menacing on a dime.
The story takes in Montreal, a six or so hour drive from where we are near New York City, which plays a role in this story, too. Vito (LaPaglia) runs an outfit under siege north of the border. Sorvino plays his not fully retired father and Coates, not blood, but Declan who is second in command. (Maxim Roy is memorable as Michelle, Vito's longstanding girlfriend. Enrico Colantoni is welcome to see as Bruno the consigliere) The siege they're under comes from the bikers, Irish, and assorted gangs under Vito's umbrella in Montreal, plus a rival mob in New York, plus the US Feds who are out to get Vito on a murder he didn't commit in New York decades ago.
I won't tell you anymore about what happens - I pledged my silence to the mob - except to say that important members of Vito's crew and family start getting killed. Who is behind this is somewhat surprising but completely logical in retrospect. Who actually does get assassinated will totally surprise you.
We've always loved Montreal. Tina's family hails from there (I'm pretty sure they had nothing to do with the mob), and you can't beat the deli (they call it "smoked meat") and bagels (the latter, especially, different from what we have in New York). We'll definitely watch the second season when Netflix picks it up (which it better do).
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