Titus Welliver To Star In ‘The Westies' MGM+ Series
EXCLUSIVE: Former Bosch star Titus Welliver is back on the cop beat as a lead opposite J.K. Simmons in The Westies, MGM+'s upcoming period crime drama series from co-creator, executive producer and showrunner Chris Brancato.
Co-created by Brancato and Michael Panes, The Westies is set in the early 1980s when the construction of the Jacob Javitz Convention Center on the Westies' home turf in Hell's Kitchen promises a financial windfall for the Irish-American organized crime gang. Despite being outnumbered 50-to-1 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. 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.
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Welliver will play Glenn Keenan, a troubled NYPD officer who grew up with the Westies crew, torn between loyalty to the law and love for his wayward son. He likely will spar with Simmons' Eamon Sweeney, the charismatic but ruthless leader of The Westies, in a pairing of two accomplished actors each of whom has headlined their own series.
Production on the eight-episode The Westies is slated to begin in July in Toronto with casting by Seth Yanklewitz, CSA and Ben Pollack.
Known for his role as LAPD Detective Harry Bosch in the Amazon franchise, Welliver recently starred in the proposed Equalizer spinoff for CBS. He next will be seen in the indie film Ricky, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Welliver is repped by UTA and Leverage Management.Best of Deadline
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