Oscar winner signs up to star in new series about infamous Irish-American gang
The show is set to begin filming this summer
Oscar winner J.K. Simmons has signed up to star in a brand new TV series about infamous Irish-American gang The Westies.
From the co-creator of Godfather of Harlem, Narcos, and Narcos: Mexico, Chris Brancato, The Westies is an eight-part series set in 1980s New York City.
The show takes place when 'the construction of the Jacob Javitz Convention Centre on the Westies' home turf in Hell's Kitchen promises a financial windfall.'
'Despite being outnumbered fifty-to-one by the Five Families of the Italian Mafia, the Westies' legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente,' the show synopsis continues.
JK Simmons (Getty Images)
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'But internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI's ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia.'
The show was created by Brancato and Michael Panes, who will both serve as executive producers.
The series is set to begin filming in Toronto, Canada this July.
J.K Simmons (70) is a multi-award-winning actor.
His credits include Whiplash, Juno, Justice League, La La Land, and Red One.
He is set to play the role of Eamon Sweeney – 'the charismatic but ruthless leader of The Westies whose old-school charm and neighborhood loyalty mask fierce criminal ambition and calculated brutality.'
The Westies were a Manhattan-based Irish-American organised crime outfit.
Their activities included racketeering, drug trafficking, burglary, illegal gambling, fraud, and carrying out contract killings.
According to the NYPD, they're responsible for between 60 to 100 murders spanning 18 years from 1968 to 1986.
The gang was founded in the 1960s and was led by James Coonan until he was jailed for 75 years in 1988.
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