Jewish-American gangster Meyer Lansky. Photo: public domain.

It’s not often that Hasidic characters on TV use foul language with law enforcement officials, but that’s just what happens on Season 2 of “Gravesend” on Amazon.

“I only wish I could take credit for that son-of-a-bit—’s death,” a jeweler named Abraham (Ken Lerner) says. “Shalom!” This is in reference to a man named Saul Cohen, who kidnapped and killed a young boy named Jacob Pressman during the first season.

The mic drop moment is one of a few surprising ones on the second season, which premiered recently.

There are a few scenes that take place in Borough Park, Brooklyn, and it is clear that the plot point is inspired by the real-life tragic cases of Etan Patz or Leby Kletzky, who were abducted in 1979 and 2011, respectively.

Abraham explains to a mafia man that “kreplach” is “Jewish ravioli.” In Boca Raton, Florida, Benny Z, an Italian mobster and main character of the show, meets up with Murray Zorwitz,  a Hasidic man who owns 12 marinas. Murray is originally from Crown Heights. He’s played by Jewish actor Martin Kove, who starred as John Kreese in “The Karate Kid” and Netflix’s “Cobra Kai.” It’s a hoot to see Kove as a Hasidic character. Kove delivers a good performance, though a scene where Hasidic men beat up his character’s nephew doesn’t pass the smell test.

On getting involved with Hasidic Jews in sports gambling, Benny’s sidekick tells him: “You know I think it’s a great idea, you working with the Jews. They’re really good businesspeople. One thing about them, boy, they all stick together, I think even better than our own kind.”

Jewish mafia characters have been shown on screen before, from Warren Beatty’s depiction of Bugsy Siegel, to Robert DeNiro as the fictitious Sam Rothstein in “Casino,” and Harvey Keitel as Meyer Lansky and, most famously, Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth in “The Godfather Part II.”

On HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” Michael Stuhlbarg played the role of the real Jewish mobster, Arnold Rothstein. On the same show, Williams Forsythe starred as kosher butcher and mobster Manny Horwitz.

“Gravesend” tries to mimic “The Sopranos” (which featured a small subplot with Hasidic Jews), and oddly has a theme song that seeks to be like the “Sopranos” theme — Alabama 3’s “Woke Up This Morning.”

Some heavyweight actors shine, like Chazz Palminteri as a boss named Cesar, and Armand Assante as Nicky Sessta, an old-timer who warns Benny about being used. Several “Sopranos” actors are part of this big cast, including Vincent Pastore as Donnie “Glasses,” and Joseph R. Gannascoli as Tomasso. Both actors do a fine job here.

Willam DeMeo, who created and wrote the show, sadly does not have the acting chops required for the lead role, and the result is that some scenes become farcical, like the end of the eighth episode, which is so bad you might laugh.

There’s a Dr. Schwartz (Michael B. Katz) who is made an offer he can’t refuse in terms of removing bullets from Benny’s body.

The series also has way too many black and white flashbacks, and as a result, it’s hard to maintain tension.

There’s a “meta” moment when Jewish actress Fran Drescher of “The Nanny” fame talks about loving the film “Saturday Night Fever.” Drescher actually appeared in that iconic film. Drescher is engaging, but she is only given a small role for some inexplicable reason.

There are some great moments, including whenever Andrew Dice Clay, Kove, Assante, Palminteri, or Drescher are on the screen, and it is worth watching just for that. But there are shockingly unconvincing moments, and if it’s a mob show, and the violence doesn’t look anything close to real, it’s a problem — capish?

Watching the second season of “Gravesend” can make you feel like you are on solid ground when legendary actors do a piece of work. But at other times, you’ll feel like you are sinking in quicksand.

The author is a writer based in New York.