Empires of New York

- Season 1

(2020)

At the dawn of the '80s, America finds itself in deep decline. New York seems to symbolise everything that's gone wrong. It's crime-ridden, strapped for cash, dark, and dirty.

It's 1983, and the Big Apple is back, Wall Street is booming, and yuppies are crowding the clubs.

By the mid '80s, five larger-than-life New Yorkers, Donald Trump, Ivan Boesky, Leona Helmsley, John Gotti, and Rudy Giuliani, start to change the way people think about power and success.

It's 1986, and New Yorkers are fawning over five seemingly unstoppable icons: Donald Trump, Ivan Boesky, Leona Helmsley, John Gotti, and Rudy Giuliani. Every day seems to bring a new celebration of their success.

Black Monday hits, the market crashes, and the great bull market of the '80s goes down with it. New York and the country as a whole are left with a brutal hangover, ending the party for the Emperors of New York as well.

At the dawn of the '90s, the titans who helped remake New York City are either sitting in jail, awaiting sentencing, or licking their wounds after humiliating defeats. The same public that celebrated their success celebrates their fall from grace.