# Mafia Lover
**Mafia Lover** is a 2025 British vertical short drama, a boys love (BL) mafia romance released on the DramaBox app in 20 episodes, all dated January 26, 2025, with the series listed as ended.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/82659/mafia-lover) The story follows Ace, a ruthless mob boss who has established himself at the top of London's underworld, and Max, a young stranger who saves him during an ambush orchestrated by Ace's archenemy Jack and is then hired as his personal bodyguard.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/82659/mafia-lover) The full series runs about 58 minutes.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Vertical (9:16 aspect ratio) short drama, 20 episodes totaling 58 minutes[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/) |
| Platform and dates | DramaBox web channel, 2025; all 20 episodes dated January 26, 2025; status ended[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/82659/mafia-lover) |
| Genre tags | Revenge, enemies to lovers, mafia boss, dark romance, hidden identity[3](https://dramaexpress.net/series/mafia-lover) • [4](https://myverticaldrama.com/series/mafia-lover/) |
| Lead cast | Joe Grundy as Ace, Tristan Alexander as Max, Kevin Dixon as Jack[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/fullcredits/) |
| Key crew | Director Dan Lowenstein; writer Daria Wang; executive producer Samantha Sun[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/fullcredits/) |
| Production | Onset Octopus, a London vertical-drama studio; shot in April 2024[6](https://sp2cdn-idea-global.zingfront.com/report-preview/2025/Insight-into-Global-Micro-Drama-App-Marketing-for-H1-2025.pdf) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/) |
| Ratings | 7.5/10 on IMDb (201 ratings); 9.2/10 on DramaExpress (9.1K votes)[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/) • [3](https://dramaexpress.net/series/mafia-lover) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Ace of Spades runs London's underworld with a ruthless grip. During a trap set by his rival Jack, a stranger named Max helps him escape, and Ace, intrigued, hires Max as his bodyguard.[7](https://narto-drama.com/detail/watch/mafia-lover?lang=en-US) What Ace does not know is that the rescue was arranged: Max is Jack's loyal plant, and the whole thing is part of a larger setup.[7](https://narto-drama.com/detail/watch/mafia-lover?lang=en-US)
Ace is openly gay and flirts constantly with Max, who is uncomfortable under his advances.[8](https://www.gayrr.com/mafia-lover-web-series/) After one of Jack's attacks leaves Max behind at Ace's home, Max learns about Ace's dying mother and begins to fall for the softer side the kingpin shows; a final assault forces the two men into a joint stand, ending in a fight and mutual confessions of love.[8](https://www.gayrr.com/mafia-lover-web-series/) Reviewers note the story moves at a breakneck pace, with Jack's repeated attacks stretching the plot, and that the romance receives comparatively little screen time relative to the action.[8](https://www.gayrr.com/mafia-lover-web-series/) • [9](https://www.thegayreels.com/2025/09/mafia-lover-web-series.html)
## Production
The series was produced by Onset Octopus, a London-based vertical drama production company, which lists Mafia Lover among its global hits on DramaBox alongside The Mafia Obsession.[10](https://www.onsetoctopus.co.uk/) In an industry interview, the company's founder and producer Ben Pengilly described Mafia Lover, shot in April 2024, as his first vertical project and called himself the first British producer in the UK vertical scene, adding that the UK subsequently saw a large influx of vertical productions.[6](https://sp2cdn-idea-global.zingfront.com/report-preview/2025/Insight-into-Global-Micro-Drama-App-Marketing-for-H1-2025.pdf) IMDb credits Dan Lowenstein as director, Daria Wang as writer, and Samantha Sun as executive producer, and lists the country of origin as the United Kingdom with a February 1, 2025 release date.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/fullcredits/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/)
The cast of eight also includes Riccardo Carmelita as Young Max, Connan Aaron as Tom, Simon Bundock as Child Ace, Jake Flannigan as Robert, and Axel Nu as Carter.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/fullcredits/) • [4](https://myverticaldrama.com/series/mafia-lover/)
## Context in vertical BL drama
A February 2025 review described Mafia Lover as the fourth English-language vertical BL series from DramaBox, following two mafia stories, a secret agent story, and a CEO story, and noted that at roughly one hour for the full series it was shorter than the three earlier DramaBox BL series.[11](https://corner-cafe.org/2025/02/23/random-ramblings-on-bl-dramas-mafia-lover/) It belongs to a wave of queer vertical dramas, short romance-centered series built for mobile viewing, that have spread across apps such as DramaBox, DramaWave, and GoodShort.[12](https://gcn.ie/rise-of-gay-vertical-dramas/)
Some reviewers describe the series as American rather than British; one calls it "a sharp and fast-paced American BL web series" shot entirely on a phone.[8](https://www.gayrr.com/mafia-lover-web-series/) IMDb and the production company's own materials identify it as a UK production.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/) • [10](https://www.onsetoctopus.co.uk/)
## Other works of the same name
The title Mafia Lover is shared by unrelated works: a 2024 romance novel by Olivia King and Barbi Cox, the first book in the Mafia Enemies to Lovers series,[13](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/210280827-mafia-lover) a 2018 novel by Lynette Wilson,[14](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40718683-mafia-lover) and a Telugu-language audio series on Pocket FM with 410 episodes.[15](https://pocketfm.com/show/891fd9a55d3565791b21d3992bdef97610684dca) A separate 2026 series, Farewell My Mafia Boss Lover, follows a man who returns to his former mafia lover under a new identity to seek revenge.[16](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt43748884/)
## References
1. [Mafia Lover, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/82659/mafia-lover)
2. [Mafia Lover (TV Mini Series 2025), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/)
3. [Mafia Lover, DramaExpress](https://dramaexpress.net/series/mafia-lover)
4. [Amoureux de la mafia — Mafia Lover, My Vertical Drama](https://myverticaldrama.com/series/mafia-lover/)
5. [Mafia Lover (2025) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35854329/fullcredits/)
6. [Insight into Global Micro-Drama App Marketing for H1 2025 (Onset Octopus producer interview), Zingfront](https://sp2cdn-idea-global.zingfront.com/report-preview/2025/Insight-into-Global-Micro-Drama-App-Marketing-for-H1-2025.pdf)
7. [Mafia Lover — Free Streaming, Narto Drama](https://narto-drama.com/detail/watch/mafia-lover?lang=en-US)
8. [Mafia Lover (Web Series), LGBTQ+ Culture and Life](https://www.gayrr.com/mafia-lover-web-series/)
9. [Mafia Lover (Vertical Series), Gay Films Review](https://www.thegayreels.com/2025/09/mafia-lover-web-series.html)
10. [Onset Octopus, vertical drama production company](https://www.onsetoctopus.co.uk/)
11. [Random Ramblings on BL Dramas – Mafia Lover, Corner Café (February 23, 2025)](https://corner-cafe.org/2025/02/23/random-ramblings-on-bl-dramas-mafia-lover/)
12. [Sex and the algorithm: Inside the rise of gay vertical dramas, GCN](https://gcn.ie/rise-of-gay-vertical-dramas/)
13. [Mafia Lover (Mafia Enemies to Lovers #1) by Olivia King, Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/210280827-mafia-lover)
14. [Mafia Lover by Lynette Wilson, Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40718683-mafia-lover)
15. [Mafia Lover | Audio Series on Pocket FM](https://pocketfm.com/show/891fd9a55d3565791b21d3992bdef97610684dca)
16. [Farewell My Mafia Boss Lover (2026), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt43748884/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › LGBT-related web series*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license