MGM+ Orders The Westies from Narcos Creator Chris Brancato

MGM+ has officially ordered crime drama The Westies from Narcos creator Chris Brancato. The Peaky Blinders-esque period drama series about fearsome Irish gangs in New York City will begin production in Toronto in July 2025. Martin Scorsese established a similar storyline in his 2002 film Gangs of New York, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis as it followed the rise of Irish gangs and their power struggles with other criminal groups in the Five Points area of ​​Manhattan.



But instead of setting The Westies in the late 19th century, as in Scorsese's film, Brancato (pictured) has opted for an '80s New York City setting for his MGM+ crime drama.

“We are thrilled to bring our viewers another provocative, exciting crime drama from the incomparable vision of Chris Brancato,” Michael Wright, head of MGM+ said in a statement on Tuesday. “Chris is a gifted showrunner who builds his stories around compelling characters operating in dangerous worlds about to explode. The Westies is him at his best, and we can’t wait to bring it to our MGM+ audience.”

The Westies, named after the violent Irish gang in New York City, will be set around the construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center in the 1980s on the gang’s home turf in Hell’s Kitchen, which promises to be a financial windfall. The Westies gang must take on the Five Families of the Italian Mafia, even as an internal conflict arises between the brash younger generation and the old school leadership, and the Westies are drawn into the FBI’s deepening investigation into organized crime.

Brancato will co-produce and executive produce the eight-episode crime series with Michael Panes. The Westies comes out of Brancato’s overall television deal with MGM+ and follows the success of Godfather of Harlem, starring Forest Whitaker and set for a fourth season beginning Sunday, April 13, and the crime thriller Hotel Cocaine.

The series will premiere exclusively on MGM+ in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia. Amazon MGM Studios Distribution will distribute The Westies in all other international markets.