EPIX’S AWARD-WINNING DRAMA SERIES GODFATHER OF HARLEM
ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL SEASON TWO CASTING,
RELEASES FULL-LENGTH TRAILER
Justin Bartha, Method Man, Annabella Sciorra, Michael Rispoli, Ronald Guttman, Gino Cafarelli, Isaach De Bankolé, Neal Matarazzo to Join Series Premiering Sunday, April 18
Premium cable network EPIX® announced today new recurring and guest cast for season two of its Emmy-Award winning drama series Godfather of Harlem. Justin Bartha (The Hangover, The Good Fight), Annabella Sciorra (The Sopranos, New Amsterdam), Ronald Guttman (HUNTERS, Black Earth Rising), Gino Cafarelli (The Irishman, Capone) and Isaach De Bankolé (Limits of Control, Casino Royale) are set to recur, joining previously announced Grace Porter (Madam Secretary, Prodigal Son) as Betty Shabazz, with Method Man (Power Book II: Ghost, Concrete Cowboy), Michael Rispoli (The Deuce, Madoff) and Neal Matarazzo (Billions, Blindspot) appearing as guest stars.
ROBERT MORGENTHAU – Justin Bartha
Robert is the patrician, unflinching and incorruptible US District Attorney for the Southern District of NY. A deeply moral man, and absolute killer in the courtroom. He hopes to use Bumpy as an ally in his pursuit of taking down organized crime in NY. From a long line of public servants who are committed to seeing justice done.
FAY BONNANO – Annabella Sciorra
Fay Bonanno is the wife of mob boss Joe Bonanno who, unlike most mafia wives, is deeply entrenched in her husband’s business. While she has a traditional reliance on catholic ritual, she’s as cold blooded as they come.
JEAN JEHAN – Ronald Guttman
A native Frenchman, Jean is ruthless, intelligent, cultured and extremely dapper. Responsible for the import of heroin between Marseille and the United States known as ‘The French Connection’ – the main supplier of heroin to the Italian mob.
FAT GINO – Gino Cafarelli
One of Chin’s henchmen. A mobster leading the fruitless hunt for Bumpy Johnson. He is a die-hard believer in the supremacy of the Mafia and its rules and regulations.
MONSIEUR 98 – Isaach De Bankolé
An African Frenchman, Monsieur 98 is a chemist known for producing extremely pure heroin. A man of few words, he is partnered with dope kingpin Jean Jehan to smuggle vast quantities of heroin into the United States.
BETTY SHABAZZ – Grace Porter (previously announced)
The wife of Malcolm X and a follower of the Nation of Islam. She is a force of stability, strength, and reason. She does not suffer fools and challenges her husband when he puts his work above family. That said, she is his fellow warrior on the path of Islam.
SAM CHRISTIAN – Method Man
The head of the Philadelphia Black Mafia, and a longtime friend of Bumpy Johnson’s. A stylish man about town, Sam will be a vital part of Bumpy’s Ten Harlems heroine distribution network.
JOSEPH MAGLIOCCO – Michael Rispoli
Newly ascended to the head of the Profaci crime family with the help of his friend Vincent Gigante, the jovial Magliocco will face immediate tests of his loyalty among the battling factions of the New York Mafia.
CAPTAIN MILLS – Neal Matarazzo
Symbolic of police culture at the time, Mills is an unrepentant racist but also a pragmatist who puts “green” over black and white.
Godfather of Harlem Season 2 finds Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) battling the New York Crime Families for control of the lucrative and murderous “French Connection,” the pipeline for heroin that runs from Marseilles to New York Harbor. With a distribution syndicate that includes black crime bosses from other major U.S. cities, Bumpy takes a cue from his friend Malcolm X’s (Nigél Thatch) message of black economic nationalism. His ambitious plan will face challenges from not only the Italians but his wife Mayme (Ilfenesh Hadera), daughter Elise (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy), rival Adam Clayton Powell (Giancarlo Esposito), prosecutor Robert Morgenthau (Justin Bartha), and even Malcolm himself. Once again, Godfather of Harlem explores the collision of the criminal underworld and civil rights in the colorful, tumultuous year of 1964.
In addition to Oscar-winner Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) as star and executive producer, season two sees the return of cast members Vincent D’Onofrio (Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Daredevil), Hadera (She’s Gotta Have It, Baywatch), Thatch (Selma, American Dreams), Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian), Lucy Fry (Bright, Vampire Academy), Rafi Gavron (A Star is Born), and Crowe-Legacy. Cast members Erik LaRay Harvey (Luke Cage) and Demi Singleton (King Richard) have been upped to series regulars.
Produced by ABC Signature Studios, the series is co-created and executive produced by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein (Narcos). Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi, along with James Acheson, Markuann Smith and Joe Chappelle, serve as executive producers. Swizz Beatz serves as executive music producer. Chris Brancato serves as showrunner.
About ABC SIGNATURE
ABC Signature is a global leader in the development, production and distribution of entertainment content across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. The studio produces many of ABC Entertainment’s most significant hits, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “black-ish,” “mixed-ish,” “American Housewife,” and “Station 19”; and co-productions “The Good Doctor,” “A Million Little Things,” ”For Life,” “The Rookie,” and late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” ABC Signature’s returning and upcoming series include “Godfather of Harlem” for EPIX; Hulu’s “Dollface,” “Marvel’s Helstrom,” and co-production “Woke; “grown-ish” for Freeform; and “The Wilds” for Amazon. The Studio produced the Emmy® Award-nominated event limited series “Little Fires Everywhere” for Hulu. For streaming service Disney +, upcoming series include “The Mighty Ducks and Big Shot.”
About EPIX ®
EPIX ® , an MGM company, is a premium television network delivering a broad line-up of quality original series and documentaries, the latest movie releases and classic film franchises – all available on TV, on demand, online and across devices. EPIX® has tripled the amount of original programming on the network and has become a destination for original premium content with series including Godfather of Harlem, starring and executive produced by Forest Whitaker; Perpetual Grace, LTD, starring Sir Ben Kingsley; spy thriller Deep State; epic fantasy drama series Britannia; War of the Worlds, from Howard Overman and starring Gabriel Byrne and Elizabeth McGovern; two-part music docuseries Laurel Canyon; docuseries Slow Burn based on the hit podcast; docuseries NFL: The Grind, from NFL Films and hosted by Rich Eisen; Belgravia, from Julian Fellowes, Gareth Neame and the creative team from Downton Abbey; six-part docuseries Helter Skelter: An American Myth, executive produced and directed by Lesley Chilcott; music docuseries By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem; six-part docuseries Enslaved featuring Hollywood icon and human rights activist Samuel L. Jackson; season two of Pennyworth, the origin story of Batman’s butler Alfred and dramedy Bridge and Tunnel, written and directed by Ed Burns; as well as upcoming premieres of drama Chapelwaite, based on the short story Jerusalem’s Lot by Stephen King and starring Academy Award winner Adrien Brody, 4-part docuseries Fall River from Blumhouse Television and docuseries Fiasco. Launched in October 2009, EPIX® is available nationwide through cable, telco, satellite and emerging digital distribution platforms as well as through its EPIX NOW app, providing more movies than any other network with thousands of titles available for streaming.
For more information about EPIX, go to www.EPIX.com . Follow EPIX on Twitter @EpixHd ( http://www.twitter.com/EpixHD ) and on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/EPIX ), YouTube ( http://youtube.com/EPIX ), Instagram ( http://instagram.com/EPIX ) and Snapchat @EPIXTV.
