Godfather of Harlem is a drama series starring Oscar winner Forest Whitaker as infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, now streaming on Showmax and on 1Magic.
Set in the early 1960s, Bumpy returns from 10 years in prison to find the neighbourhood he once ruled in shambles. Bumpy takes on the Genovese crime family to regain control. During the brutal battle, he forms an unlikely alliance with radical preacher Malcolm X (Nigél Thatch, reprising his role from Selma), who wants to get heroin off the streets of Harlem. This is the remarkable true story of how the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement collided during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.
Godfather of Harlem is written and executive produced by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein, co-creators of Narcos, IMDb’s top-ranked gangland show of the last decade. Nominated for Golden Globes, Emmys, BAFTAs, and People’s Choice Awards, Narcos is currently #55 on IMDb’s list of the top-rated TV of all time – only Breaking Bad, The Wire, and The Sopranos are higher ranked within its genre.
As if that isn’t enough to get us excited, John Ridley, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for 12 Years A Slave and was nominated for three Emmys as the creator of American Crime, directs the pilot and is an executive producer.
There’s not much Forest Whitaker hasn’t achieved yet. He won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA as Idi Amin in The Last King Of Scotland; took home Best Actor at Cannes as Charlie Parker in Bird; and had memorable roles in many of the biggest films in recent history, from Star Wars: Rogue One to Black Panther. So it comes as a surprise to realize he’s never been the lead in a TV series, despite impressive smaller roles in hit shows like Empire, Criminal Minds, The Shield, and E.R.
Forest Whitaker is the sort of star seemingly built to make the leap to television: He’s a decorated leading man whose subtlety of approach and whose commitment to delicate, unusual acting choices would seem to potentially play even better on the small screen.
Variety
Phenomenal as the out-of-touch godfather who’s playing catchup in a new world, and plays his character with a quiet yet haunting nuance that is this actor’s specialty.
The Los Angeles Times
He’s not the only acting drawcard either: in addition to Forest, Vincent D’Onofrio and Nigél Thatch, the impressive cast also includes Oscar nominee Chazz Palminteri (The Usual Suspects); Screen Actors Guild nominees Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas), Luis Guzmán (Traffic) and Erik LaRay Harvey (Boardwalk Empire); and Critics’ Choice nominee Elvis Nolasco (American Crime), not to mention Ilfenesh Hadera (She’s Gotta Have It, Billions) as Bumpy’s wife, Mayme.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Godfather of Harlem has “the best television soundtrack of the year.” A mix of period funk and soul; new compositions that could have been sung at the Apollo in the 60s; and new hip-hop tunes that connect the past to the present, the soundtrack was curated by Swizz Beatz (aka Alicia Keys’ husband, who Kanye West once called “the best rap producer of all time” on Twitter.) The Godfather of Harlem soundtrack, featuring the likes of DMX, Rick Ross, Jidena, A$SAP Ferg, Wale, and French Montana, already has over 400k monthly listeners on Spotify alone.
Godfather of Harlem currently has a 95% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus is that the series is “as sharply dressed as it is smartly written.” Forbes is already debating Emmys for Forest as Bumpy and Nigél as Malcolm X, while Time Magazine called it “the rare gangster epic we haven’t seen before.”
