At first when I started this series, I thought it would be just another typical gangster TV show with not much of a plot or well developed characters. However, season 3 onward, the show really grew on me.
The overall story arcs I found really engaging and interesting. You weren't just watching one gangster shoot another gangster, you were watching characters you cared about get into interesting and varied predicaments. Though each season was often slow at the start, though I didn't mind this personally, the way they built up to the finales was fantastic, not a single one disappointed.
The characters were also really well developed. Again unlike your typical gangster flick, where you like the characters because of the stealing and murdering and racketeering they get into, in Boardwalk Empire you actually get the sense that the mob bosses are real people with real motivations. This is best seen in Nucky Thomson but also with others, though in Al Capone's case I found he got crueller, nastier and less humorous as the seasons went by.
The setting and cinematography was also great, helped by the show's choice of music. Previously, I'd never thought of Atlantic City as much of a place, being an Englishman, but by the end I felt like I had gotten to no and love it. Overall, a great TV show which I would think is suited to quite a wide audience, not gangster film fans.
