95% on Rotten Tomatoes and it starts with a double-bill. Don’t miss it.
How do you replace an actor with the calibre of Denzel Washington? Simple, you can’t.
However, the producers of Godfather Of Harlem have made a very shrewd move by casting another Oscar-winner, Forest Whitaker, in the lead role of the gangster drama.
Godfather of Harlem tells the “true story of infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighbourhood 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 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.”
As film fans will know, this was the exact same territory that Frank Lucas – portrayed by Denzel Washington in American Gangster – used to control. In fact, in 1968, Lucas is the right-hand man of Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson. When Johnson dies of a heart attack, Lucas takes control of the Harlem crime scene.
In terms of the supporting cast, the list of actors is very impressive with the likes of Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas), Chazz Palminteri (The Usual Suspects), Luis Guzmán (Boogie Nights), and more starring.
The show is created by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein (Narcos, Narcos: Mexico) and it has already earned some very impressive reviews.
At present, the show holds a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 72% on the more reputable Metacritic.
Here’s what the critics have had to say about Season 1 of Godfather of Harlem:
TV Guide: “It’s gritty, pulpy and unpredictable and confident.”
TIME – “The show’s ambition pays off in the rare gangster epic we haven’t seen before.”
LA Times – “This prequel to American Gangster does play with nostalgia from the era… But its depiction of a racially divided, corrupt and often venal world rings just as true today.”
NY Times – “Through it all, Whitaker keeps a tight rein on his performance, letting his storied intensity break through in just a few flashes.”
Godfather of Harlem starts on Tuesday, 7 January at 9pm on RTÉ2 and the second episode is being shown immediately after.
Take a look at what’s in store.
Clip via Rotten Tomatoes TV
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