What To Know
- The Westies is a new MGM+ drama set in 1980s Hell’s Kitchen, chronicling the violent rise of an Irish-American gang amid New York City’s massive construction boom and Mafia dominance.
- The series centers on the complex relationships and generational tensions within the gang, particularly between ruthless leader Eamon Sweeney, his loyal protégé Jimmy Roarke, and wild card Mickey Flanagan.
Crime, corruption, and survival collide in The Westies, MGM+’s gritty new drama inspired by one of New York City’s most notorious gangs. Set in 1980s Hell’s Kitchen, the eight-episode series (two premiere back-to-back) from showrunners Chris Brancato and Michael Panes explores the violent Irish-American crime syndicate as it battles for power during a pivotal moment in the city’s history.
As the Italian Mafia dominated organized crime and future mob boss John Gotti (Hamish Allan-Headley) rose through the ranks of the Gambino family, the Westies saw opportunity in the massive construction of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, which brought billions of dollars into Manhattan. “Michael and I felt that this was a rich backdrop for the series,” says Brancato to TV Insider. “As one of the largest construction projects in NYC history was taking place, rival criminal gangs were fighting for the spoils, and with each other.”
What fascinated Brancato most during his research was how different the Westies were from their Italian counterparts. “What surprised me most is the fierce sense of ethnic pride the Irish had, without the hidebound rules and regulations of their Italian cohorts in crime,” he says. “If the Italians were ‘organized crime,’ the Westies were ‘disorganized crime.’ And that’s always a recipe for drama.”
Leading the charge is Eamon Sweeney, played by J.K. Simmons, a ruthless leader determined to keep his crew powerful and profitable. Eamon is aided by his loyal right-hand man, Jimmy Roarke (Tom Brittney), whom he took under his wing as a boy from the neighborhood. “Sweeney is a surrogate father to Jimmy, who brought him into the crew and looked after him when he was young,” Brittney tells TV Insider. “So at the start, Jimmy’s loyalties are firmly with this ragtag family around him. That’s his entire world — and one he’d die, or kill, for.”
However, the story takes a Shakespearean turn, as the new generation clashes with the old. “Jimmy is really the de facto leader of the younger Westies, which makes him a link between the two generations. He has Sweeney’s trust and his ear, but he also has the trust of the younger guys. So he ends up acting almost like a diplomat, smoothing over the tensions that come up as the generations butt heads over how business should be done,” explains Brittney.
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First and foremost, Jimmy’s loyalty lies with his best friend Mickey Flanagan, an unhinged Vietnam veteran whose unpredictable behavior makes him the gang’s ultimate wild card. As Brittney explained, “Jimmy’s been a sort of older brother to Mickey since they were kids — he’d do anything to protect him, even when Mickey makes that incredibly difficult at times… And Sweeney is a kind of surrogate father to Jimmy, who brought him into the crew and looked after him when he was young, not long after he lost his own parents. So at the start of the series, Jimmy’s loyalties are firmly with this ragtag family around him. That’s his entire world — and one he’d die (or kill) for.”
‘It’s the thing about family, right? Not that they’re family by blood, but they’re chosen family,” says Stanley Morgan, who plays Mickey. “I think that they’ve been with each other their entire lives. They have — and I actually think I might be biased — but I think they’re a great pair together. I think that they have different strengths that work for each other in different ways. I think Jimmy is so smart, and he can see things in the future, but I think Mickey has an instinct. He has a gut feeling, and he’s loyal to the end. I think Mickey would die for the people that he loves…it’s brotherhood, it’s friendship, they’ll be willing to do anything for each other.”
That complicated web of loyalty is ultimately what sits at the heart of The Westies. While the series is rooted in real people and real events, Brancato believes the story resonates because the questions facing Jimmy, Mickey, and Eamon are timeless. “Though The Westies is set in 1980, we examine political and municipal corruption, fractious relationships between criminal gangs, and a generational split with the Westies themselves,” he says. “The themes explored — loyalty, honor, where to draw the line — are as relevant today as they were when the Westies roamed Hell’s Kitchen.”
The Westies, Series premiere, July 12, 9/8c, MGM+