Easily one of the best around today and immediately recognisable, Oscar winner Forest Whitaker is back but this time on the small screen in what is his long over-due debut in Showmax’s and iMagic’s new TV blockbuster series titled Godfather of Harlem. Whitaker assumes the role of the infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson with the series now officially streaming on Showmax and airing on 1Magic, with new episodes every Tuesday at 9:30pm.
In the early 1960s, Bumpy returns from Alcatraz to find the neighbourhood he once ruled in a shambles. With the streets controlled by Vincent ‘Chin’ Gigante (Emmy nominee Vincent D’Onofrio from Daredevil and Jurassic World) and the Italian mob, 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. Godfather of Harlem 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.
In case it couldn’t get better, it turns out it does…the series is from the creators of Narcos (one of our all time faves) with John Ridley (12 Years A Slave, American Crime) directing. Furthermore, Godfather of Harlem’s official soundtrack was curated by Swiss Beatz and described as “the television soundtrack of the year,” according to The Los Angeles Times. Currently fresh at a 96% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes you would really be missing a trick if you didn’t watch this one. If you are a serious TV and/or movie person then you would know how much of a big deal this is and why it’s already fantastic TV way before even watching.
You can stream Godfather of Harlem on Showmax here or watch it on 1Magic (channel 103) every Tuesday at 9:30pm.
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