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For over 50 years, New York City’s five major Mafia families had their hands in every facet of organized crime, from bootlegging to gambling. But although initially protected by their own code of omertá, or “silence,” the Families’ own greed and corruption led to their demise. The new six-hour docuseries “American Godfathers: The Five Families,” executive produced and narrated by Michael Imperioli (“The Sopranos”), explores the inception, rise, and fall of the five families. The series will premiere on Sunday, Aug. 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The History Channel, with the next two episodes airing on Monday, Aug. 12, and Tuesday, Aug. 13, respectively. You can watch with 7-Day Free Trial of Philo.

How to Watch “American Godfathers: The Five Families”

About “American Godfathers: The Five Families”

Executive produced and narrated by Emmy Award winner Michael Imperioli (“The Sopranos”), the nonfiction documentary series “American Godfathers: The Five Families,” based on Selwyn Raab’s New York Times best-seller “Five Families: The Rise, Decline and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires,” traces the history of New York City’s five Mafia families, starting in 1931 with Sicilian-born “Lucky” Luciano, who created The Commission and appointed the original “New York Five”: the Bonanno, Gagliano, Luciano, Mangano, and Profaci families.

Initially protected by their own honor code of omertá, or “silence,” following generations of the Five Families brought “the uniquely American values of greed and celebrity” into the walls of the organization. Coupled with the relentless pursuit of federal law agencies for decades, the shift and decimation of the code led to their demise.

The three-episode docuseries, produced by Propagate and the Barnicle Brothers, tracks the 50-plus-year history of the infamous Five Families from the heyday of Luciano through to the 1963 Valachi hearings, the Sparks Steak House massacre, the media storm that followed when “Big Joey” Massino flipped on his own family, the history and eventual breakdown of the code, the power struggles within the families, and much more. Through archival images, footage and audio recordings, re-creations, and new on-camera interviews with authors (including Raab), historians, experts, law enforcement, witnesses, and former mafia affiliates, audiences will get a never-before-seen look “at the inner workings of the most powerful criminal organization of the 20th century.”

The three-episode series will air on consecutive nights beginning on Sunday, Aug. 11.

Why Is Philo the Best Way to Watch “American Godfathers: The Five Families”?

Neither the A&E Networks-owned History Channel nor History itself have a streaming service of their own, but each episode will be available to stream the next day on The History Channel app and website. However, with Philo’s seven-day free trial, you’ll be able to watch all three nights of the new docuseries for no cost, plus plenty more from A&E, AMC, BET, Comedy Central, Discovery, and more. When your trial is up, Philo’s subscription is just $28 per month for over 60 channels, including nearly 20 of the top cable channels on the market.