Deadline reports that newcomer Antoinette Crowe-Legacy has signed on for a major role in Epix’s upcoming crime drama series Godfather of Harlem starring Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, Black Panther). Vincent D’Onofrio and Ilfenesh Hadera are also set to appear in the series.
Crowe-Legacy will portray the role of Elise, Bumpy’s mixed-raced daughter with a drug addiction. Elise is a lost soul who suffered for her father’s neglect and will forever be his weakness. Bumpy is raising Elise’s daughter Margaret as his own, but one day Elise comes to take her daughter away in order to start the family that she always wanted.
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Godfather for Harlem tells the story of crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Whitaker), who in the early 1960s returned after 10 years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy takes on the Genovese crime family to regain control. During the brutal battle, he forms an alliance with radical preacher Malcolm X — catching his political rise in the crosshairs of social upheaval and a mob war that threatens to tear the city apart. The series is described as a collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.
Whitaker is set to executive produce alongside his Significant Productions banner topper Nia Yang Bongiovi, James Acheson and Markuann Smith along with Chris Brancato (Narcos) and Paul Eckstein, also serving as writers for the ABC Signature Studios project.
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Godfather of Harlem serves as Whitaker’s first series regular role since he starred in CBS’ Criminal Minds spinoff Suspect Behavior in 2011. He won the Oscar for his leading role in The Last King of Scotland and had a recurring role on Fox’s Empire. Godfather of Harlem joins a scripted roster for Epix, including drama Berlin Station and comedy Get Shorty. The deal comes after Wright took over the cabler for Mark Greenberg five months ago.
