Fifth Season Scores Global Rights to Crime Drama The Westies

Fifth Season has secured the global distribution rights to The Westies, a new crime drama from Chris Brancato (Godfather of Harlem, Hotel Cocaine).

Through his overall television deal with MGM+, Brancato created the series with Michael Panes, who also executive produces and showruns. The eight-episode series centers on New York City’s infamous Irish gang of the same name.

The series 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. Despite being outnumbered 50-to-1 by the Five Families of the Italian Mafia, the Westies’ brutality and cunning give them leverage.

The Westies is set to premiere on MGM+ in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia.

“With The Westies, Chris Brancato and Michael Panes have created exactly the kind of premium crime series we know audiences and buyers respond to,” said Jennifer Ebell, executive VP of television distribution at Fifth Season. “It’s sharp, character-driven storytelling set against the gritty pulse of 1980s New York, with all the ambition and edge you want from a world like this. We’re confident the series will cut through and connect with viewers globally.”