Premiering Sunday, September 29th, “Godfather of Harlem” stars Academy Award®-winning actor Forest Whitaker as the infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson.
Produced by ABC Signature Studios, the series features an all-star cast including Vincent D’Onofrio, Ilfenesh Hadera, Paul Sorvino and Giancarlo Esposito. The first episode was directed by Academy Award winner John Ridley.
“Godfather of Harlem” is inspired by the story of infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960’s, returned home from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood 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 radical preacher Malcolm X – catching Malcom’s political rise in the crosshairs of social upheaval and a mob war that threatens to tear the city apart. “Godfather of Harlem” is a collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.
