MGM+ just dropped the eight-episode premiere of The Westies, returning audiences to the gritty streets of early 1980s Hell’s Kitchen. Created by Chris Brancato and Michael Panes, the crime drama relies entirely on its heavyweight cast to cover up a highly predictable script.
Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons steps into the role of Eamon Sweeney, the ruthlessly calculated leader of the notorious Irish-American gang. The plot hinges on Sweeney attempting to squeeze a fortune out of the Jacob Javits Convention Center construction. Doing that requires a fragile, tense truce with the Italian Mafia—specifically John Gotti and the Gambino family, played here by Hamish Allan-Headley.
But Simmons isn’t the only one doing the heavy lifting. Reviewers point out the show’s heavy reliance on familiar mob tropes, though Titus Welliver delivers a standout performance as Glenn Keenan. Welliver plays a compromised NYPD detective desperately trying to protect his estranged son while working both sides of the law. Tom Brittney and Sarah Bolger round out the main cast as the younger, hungrier generation of criminals trying to survive the crossfire.
Visually, the series gets the aesthetics right. The 1980s production design, authentic wardrobe, and kinetic fight choreography look great on screen. Yet the actual narrative plays it incredibly safe. Critics agree the series is a fun weekend binge, but it ultimately lacks the ambition and brutality of the prestige crime dramas it desperately wants to emulate. Fans looking for the next HBO-tier mob epic will instead find something closer to a B-movie Scorsese homage.