The big day has arrived. After over a decade of waiting, we’ve finally received the trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI along with a release date: sometime in 2025. There’s still over a year to go before we can play Rockstar’s highly anticipated game. But what if we pass the time with some series that directly inspire the title? Let’s do it.
1. Magic City
It’s clear that Vice City is Miami, and in case there was any doubt, the trailer has completely dispelled it with its current images of the city. Among them, we see everything from a woman twerking on top of a car to the beautiful landscapes of the city in the United States. And if there’s a recent series that has portrayed the Miami Beach mafia well, it’s Magic City.
Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead) and directed by Mitch Glazer, the series focuses on the Miami mafia and other characters in Miami Beach in the late 1950s. Undoubtedly, it’s a spectacular portrayal of the setting we’ll experience in GTA VI.
2. The Sopranos
The satirical yet harsh tone of the entire Grand Theft Auto series owes a lot to “The Sopranos,” the 1999 series created and produced by David Chase for HBO. Brilliantly led by James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, it’s one of the greatest series in history and undoubtedly a clear reference for GTA.
The show is a chronicle of the everyday life and personal as well as professional adventures of a mafia family living in New Jersey. They’re ordinary people but relentless in their rituals and traditions. The plot revolves around the confessions of “capo” Tony Soprano to his psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi.
3. Miami Vice
If there’s one clear reference series for GTA VI, it’s “Miami Vice.” The iconic ’80s series by Michael Mann spans 5 seasons and 111 episodes, offering enough material to see all the elements developers have drawn from for their new video game.
Set in the 1980s, the show follows James “Sonny” Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas), a pair of undercover detectives in Miami’s world of drug trafficking. Both lead lifestyles that match their work (Sonny lives on a sailboat with his pet crocodile named “Elvis,” while Tubbs is never without his sawed-off shotgun), making their adventures both entertaining and intriguing.
4. The Wire
But if there’s a series that the entire GTA franchise has drawn from, it’s The Wire. HBO’s drama created by David Simon is a perfect portrayal of the underworlds of the United States, focusing on the drug trafficking business in Baltimore.
Featuring real-life characters intertwined with the protagonists, the series is a perfect portrayal of what we subsequently see in any Grand Theft Auto. Moreover, it’s one of the greatest series in history, so any excuse is good to watch it.
