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The Best Episodes of American Gangster

Every episode of American Gangster ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of American Gangster!

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"American Gangster" chronicles the life and times of some of Black America’s most notorious crime figures. The show will explore without glorifying, and investigate without celebrating these criminal-minded men and women. Each episode will blend

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    American Gangster Season 2 Episode 1 - Philly Black Mafia
    9.0/10(9 votes)

    #1 - Philly Black Mafia

    S2:E1

    Black Mafia was the most feared force in Philadelphia’s criminal Black underworld. One of the most ambitious criminal enterprises in the history of Black America, the group extorted, hustled, plundered and murdered with impunity. It also maneuvered skillfully through many worlds, shielding itself inside the Nation of Islam, conning politicians and other leaders, and devising multiple layers of protection and cover.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. American Gangster Season 3 Episode 1 - Larry Davis
    9.0/10(7 votes)

    #2 - Larry Davis

    S3:E1

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. American Gangster Season 2 Episode 3 - Melvin Williams
    8.4/10(10 votes)

    #3 - Melvin Williams

    S2:E3

    Before he was old enough to shave, “Little Melvin” Williams possessed a genius I.Q. and was a prodigy in the gambling haunts and alleyways along glittering Pennsylvania Avenue. His exploits helped inspire the hit series “The Wire.” On this episode of ‘American Gangster’ he tells his story, his way.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. American Gangster Season 1 Episode 2 - 'Freeway Ricky' Ross
    8.2/10(11 votes)

    #4 - 'Freeway Ricky' Ross

    S1:E2

    This installment chronicles Ross' rise and fall in narcotics distribution and his unusual connection to the Reagan-era CIA/Iran-Contras controversy.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. American Gangster Season 1 Episode 5 - The Chambers Brothers
    8.2/10(12 votes)

    #5 - The Chambers Brothers

    S1:E5

    Billy Joe, Larry, Willie and Otis Chambers are some of the most notorious drug lords in America. This installment chronicles their high points and their fall in 1988 because Larry videotaped the drug deals, and the tapes were found.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. American Gangster Season 1 Episode 6 - Lorenzo 'Fat Cat' Nichols
    7.9/10(11 votes)

    #6 - Lorenzo 'Fat Cat' Nichols

    S1:E6

    This installment shows what Queens, NY was really like when Nichols roamed the streets.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of American Gangster

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  7. American Gangster Season 1 Episode 1 - Stanley Tookie Williams
    7.4/10(14 votes)

    #7 - Stanley Tookie Williams

    S1:E1

    He was a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, he worked with troubled youth and he co-founded one of the most infamous gangs that continues to terrorize the Black community nationwide. His life is documented in this installment.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. American Gangster Season 1 Episode 3 - Leroy Nicky Barnes
    7.4/10(10 votes)

    #8 - Leroy Nicky Barnes

    S1:E3

    This installment chronicles Barnes' life addiction to heroine beginning in the 1950s. He is now known as the most notorious snitch in history.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. American Gangster Season 1 Episode 4 - Troy & Dino Smith
    7.3/10(10 votes)

    #9 - Troy & Dino Smith

    S1:E4

    This installment explores the Smiths' rise from teen criminals to masterminds of some of Bay Area's most cunning crimes.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. American Gangster Season 2 Episode 7 - Jeff Fort & The Blackstone Rangers
    0.5/10(1 votes)

    #10 - Jeff Fort & The Blackstone Rangers

    S2:E7

    Before there were Crips and Bloods, there were the Blackstone Rangers – and Jeff Fort was the group's leader. Starting as a small group of teens from the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, the Rangers absorbed countless rival gangs based largely on Fort’s remarkable leadership and organizing abilities. In 1986, Fort was tried for promising to commit acts of domestic terrorism in return for money from Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy. He was found guilty and sentenced to 80 years, which he’s currently serving in a maximum security federal prison.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. American Gangster Season 2 Episode 2 - Larry Hoover
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Larry Hoover

    S2:E2

    “King” Larry Hoover is the architect of Chicago’s largest and most powerful street organization, the Gangster Disciples. This installment presents a complex portrait of a complex man, including interviews with federal prosecutors, former associates of the Gangster Disciples, Larry Hoover’s son, his wife - and Hoover himself.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. American Gangster Season 2 Episode 4 - The D.C. Snipers
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - The D.C. Snipers

    S2:E4

    In October, 2002, the ‘D.C. Snipers’ introduced a new kind of terror to the US. public. For three weeks, the killers shot people at random - ordinary citizens doing the most mundane things - shopping, pumping gas, waiting for a bus. John Muhammad, 42, was a deranged dad on a mission to get back his kids. Lee Boyd Malvo, 17, was a homeless juvenile desperate for a father – who John Muhammad methodically transformed into a boy soldier.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. American Gangster Season 2 Episode 5 - Frank Lucas
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Frank Lucas

    S2:E5

    Frank Lucas is the subject of a blockbuster movie, also titled "American Gangster," starring Denzel Washington as Lucas and Russell Crowe as the detective and prosecutor Ritchie Roberts, who helped bring him to justice. In this episode of BET's "American Gangster," Lucas faces the camera himself and tells his story – with an assist from the real Ritchie Roberts.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. American Gangster Season 2 Episode 6 - Felix Mitchell
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Felix Mitchell

    S2:E6

    Felix Mitchell, Jr. was Oakland, California’s first major heroin kingpin – and in 1986 he had the funeral to prove it. TV cameras rolled as Felix’s body was transported in a horse-drawn carriage through the streets of East Oakland before awestruck local residents, with 17 Rolls Royces following in procession. Twenty years later, rappers Too Short and Yukmouth, former rival Mickey Moore, former Oakland mayor Elihu Harris, and others help "American Gangster" revisit the life and times of Felix Michell Jr.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. American Gangster Season 2 Episode 8 - Charles Chaz Williams
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Charles Chaz Williams

    S2:E8

    In the 1970s, Charles “Chaz” Williams went well beyond traditional hustles by robbing over 60 banks in several states. Decades later, Chaz - or Slim as he is known on the streets - takes ‘American Gangster’ on a personal tour of his life’s journey, including how he continued his bank-robbing escapades after going to jail under the blanket protection of the prison work release program.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. American Gangster Season 2 Episode 9 - Rayful Edmond III
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Rayful Edmond III

    S2:E9

    To many in his home town of Washington D.C., he was public enemy No. 1 during his 1980s reign as the city’s biggest cocaine and crack dealer. However, Rayful Edmond III says he was only trying to help his family live a better life and enjoy the finer things life had to offer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. American Gangster Season 2 Episode 10 - Kenneth Supreme McGriff
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Kenneth Supreme McGriff

    S2:E10

    Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff's long, strange journey led him to form a Queens-based drug ring, The Supreme Team. Once released from prison he became a friend and associate of music entrepreneur Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo, and re-invented himself as a movie producer with "Crime Partners," the first Goines novel to be made into a film, and featuring Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, and Ja Rule. However, his newfound career ended abruptly when he was charged and convicted for ordering deadly hits on two rivals, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. American Gangster Season 3 Episode 2 - Monster Kody
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Monster Kody

    S3:E2

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. American Gangster Season 3 Episode 3 - Midget Molley
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Midget Molley

    S3:E3

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. American Gangster Season 3 Episode 4 - Cornell Jones
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Cornell Jones

    S3:E4

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. American Gangster Season 3 Episode 5 - J. Edgar Hoover
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - J. Edgar Hoover

    S3:E5

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. American Gangster Season 3 Episode 6 - Guy Fisher
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Guy Fisher

    S3:E6

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. American Gangster Season 3 Episode 7 - Willie Lloyd
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Willie Lloyd

    S3:E7

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. American Gangster Season 3 Episode 8 - The Shower Posse
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - The Shower Posse

    S3:E8

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. American Gangster Season 3 Episode 9 - Romper Room Gang
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Romper Room Gang

    S3:E9

    This group of notorious homegrown bank robbers, from the troubled Bay Area suburb of Vallejo, robbed dozens of banks in that area in the mid-'90s.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Philly Black Mafia" is the best rated episode of "American Gangster". It scored 9/10 based on 9 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/3/2007. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Larry Davis".