'Godfather of Harlem' starring Forest Whitaker has been renewed for season 2 at Epix
Epix has renewed its popular show 'Godfather of Harlem' for a second season, it was announced on Thursday. The show is backed by MGM's premium cable network and produced by ABC Signature Studios. The second season consisting of 10 episodes is created by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein and is expected to go into production in New York soon.
According to a report in Variety, Epix president Michael Wright said, "'Godfather of Harlem' season one was a remarkable success, tripling previous viewership numbers for the network and earning acclaim from both critics and viewers. We couldn’t wait to reunite with Chris, Paul, Forest and the team at ABC Signature to continue telling this compelling and extremely relevant story.”
The cast members of the first season included Vincent D’Onofrio, Ilfenesh Hadera, Nigél Thatch, Giancarlo Esposito, Lucy Fry, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Rafi Gavron, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, who is also an executive producer on the show.
'Godfather of Harlem' season 1 centered on crime boss Bumpy Johnson played by Whitaker who is freed after 11 years in person. He returns to his neighborhood in the early 1960s only to find the place that he once ruled in shambles and now under the control of the Italian mob. If Johnson wants to regain control of his neighborhood, he must go toe-to-toe with the Genovese crime family. The first season portrayed this journey.
The show received an impressive 91 percent ratings from critics and 89 percent from viewers on aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes and was one of the shows at the forefront of being renewed. The official plot of the second season or the cast is yet to be announced by the network. The news of 'Godfather of Harlem' being renewed comes just a week after Epix canceled two of their shows -- 'Perpetual Grace, LTD' and 'Berlin Station'. One of the other shows which premiered in 2019 and received a renewal includes 'Pennyworth'.