You know you’re in the middle of the Peak TV era when a prestige limited series drama starring Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker can be close to premiering and you haven’t really heard a peep about it. Such is the case with the upcoming EPIX series “Godfather of Harlem.”
As seen in the first trailer for the series, “Godfather of Harlem” tells the true story of crime boss Bumpy Johnson, as he gets released from jail after a decade away to find that a lot has changed in his neighborhood. Now under the control of the Genovese crime family, the neighborhood is overrun by drugs and crime. With the help of Malcolm X, Johnson fights a war with the Italian mob to take back his neighborhood during one of the most tumultuous times in American History.
Joining Whitaker in the cast are Vincent D’Onofrio, Ilfenesh Hadera, Nigel Thatch, Paul Sorvino, Giancarlo Esposito, Lucy Fry, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy. “Godfather of Harlem” is written and executive produced by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein, who are best known for their work on “Narcos.”
“Godfather of Harlem” premieres on EPIX on this fall.
Here’s the synopsis:
Godfather of Harlem is inspired by the story of infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Whitaker), who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy must take on the Genovese crime family to regain control. During the brutal battle, he forms an alliance with radical preacher Malcolm X – catching Malcolm’s political rise in the crosshairs of social upheaval and a mob war that threatens to tear the city apart. Godfather Of Harlem is a collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.