The crime gangs are back, baby … well, almost. While there are some pretty righteous gritty crime drama/thriller series out there, none are as brutal, brilliant, and bloody as Gangs of London. It’s been well over two years since season 2 dropped in the UK and the U.S., and since season 3 of the hit series was renewed. Now, thanks to Sky TV’s new trailer, we finally know when to expect its return, and it’s much sooner than you think. Gangs of London season 3 is set to premiere in the UK in March 2025, but when might it premiere in the U.S.?
The first season of Gangs of London premiered in April 2020 both in the UK and the U.S., then we were all left with a super long, nail-biting wait for season 2, which finally dropped in the UK in October 2022, followed by a November 2022 release date in the U.S. Given the historical proximity of its international release dates, I’d say it’s more than fair to expect that season 3 will release in the U.S. not long after it premieres in March in the UK, likely releasing in spring or early summer.
So, what can we expect from season 3 after everything that happened in seasons 1 and 2? Easy: more chaos, more drama, more violence, and much more blood, thrills, spills, and chills. And likely a lot more maiming.
The official synopsis for season 3 confirms a ruthless fight for control of London’s criminal underworld, where no one is safe. Chaos erupts when a shipment of dirty cocaine kills hundreds, leading to the collision of fan favorites, which is only further complicated by new arrivals bound by blood ties. This will, no doubt, lead to brutal power struggles and unexpected alliances to deal with fierce rivalries.
Expect season 3 to unfold around a whodunnit (and why) mystery that attracts interest not just from Elliot (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) and the Dumanis but also from local authorities and other elements of the criminal network, each of whom will use the drug disruption as an opportunity to seize control. With undercover cop-turned-gangster Elliot now (sort of) in charge, we’ll see him risk it all, working tenfold as a top-level criminal alongside the Dumani crime family while all the turbulence unfolds around him.
In an interview with The Standard , Dìrísù said he believes season 3 “will be the best series yet. I had a day on set that I think was one of my favourite days on set of the whole three years of making [Gangs of London] so far. And there are just, like, not even just moments, but sequences and people this year that make me really excited about this season. There’s something special about what’s happening.”
In addition to Dìrísù’s return, Gangs of London season 3 will also see the return of character favorites Sean Wallace (Joe Cole), Wallace matriarch Marian (Michelle Fairley), Lucian Msamati (Conclave) as Ed Dumani, Brian Vernel (Slow Horses) as Billy Wallace, and Narges Rashidi (The Girlfriend Experience) as Lale, among others.
The cast will be joined by new additions Richard Dormer (Game of Thrones), Andrew Koji (Warrior), who will be an unnamed assassin using his martial arts chops to make heads roll, T’Nia Miller (Sex Education), who will portray the new Mayor of London, and former EastEnders star Phil Daniels and Ruth Sheen (Brassic), who will play a married couple embroiled in old-school London gangster values.
Season 1 introduced us to the competing power dynamics between gangs and criminal organizations in present-day London. When London’s biggest crime boss, Finn Wallace (Colm Meaney), is mysteriously shot in the face and killed, his son Sean is left to pick up the pieces and regain order in the empire. Hellbent on avenging his father, Sean does so with a harshness that many of the other crime families consider excessive. However, before he can do anything about it, Sean is also shot in the face, only this time, it’s by trusted Wallace family enforcer (and undercover cop) Elliot Carter.
Season 2 sees the Wallace family presumably down and out, the Pakistani mafia and other crime families fight to ascend to the throne in control of the criminal network, and Elliot transition from undercover cop to hitman as he becomes more enmeshed in London’s criminal activity. What he doesn’t know, though, is that Sean survived is back with a vengeance, this time to face off with Elliot in a one-on-one that leaves Sean hanging off a crane, seemingly about to die, and Elliot in the clear.
With all that’s set to go down in season 3, expect one key aspect of Gangs of London to remain fixed: its focus on the diversity of its eponymous setting. And that's part of what we're looking forward to most in the new season!
Gangs of London will premiere on Sky TV in the UK in March 2025, with a U.S. release on AMC+ hopefully shortly thereafter.