Premiering Tuesday, 1 October, Stan’s new crime drama Godfather of Harlem is a 10-part series starring Academy Award®-winning actor Forest Whitaker as the notorious 60’s crime boss Bumpy Johnson.
Produced by Disney’s ABC Signature Studios, Godfather of Harlem features an all-star cast including Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul), Australia’s own Lucy Fry (Stan’s Wolf Creek), Vincent D’Onofrio (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Ilfenesh Hadera (Billions) and Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas). The first episode was directed by Academy Award® winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave).
Godfather of Harlem is inspired by the true story of the revered – and feared – crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Whitaker), who in the early 1960’s, returned home from ten years in prison to find the neighbourhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets now 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 (played by Nigel Thatch) – catching Malcom’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.
The announcement comes only weeks after Stan and Paramount’s exclusive multi-year output agreement announcement, as Stan continues to add even more world class drama to its service, with Epix’s Godfather of Harlem joining two other shows from the premium cable network – Get Shorty and Perpetual Grace LTD.