The Russian mob is opening a new franchise in England.
McMafia sounds almost offensive enough on so many levels, not the least of which having to do with burgers, fries and mansions, to be a spoof. But the new series coming to AMC and BBC Worldwide North America isn’t a parody. It is based on a book that was called an organized crime version of Fast Food Nation. McMafia is an epic drama series set in the international world of organized crime.
McMafia was created and written by director Hossein Amini the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of Drive, and Snow White And The Huntsman) and James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Bastille Day), who direct all eight episodes.
The series is inspired by Misha Glenny’s 2008 best-selling book McMafia.
“Misha Glenny’s book reminds us that underneath the headlines of today what we used to think of as organized crime is something completely different,” Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV, said in a statement. “It’s a global operation, with tentacles in every corner of our world. The creative team behind McMafia has brilliantly used the essence of this source material to write a compelling and relevant piece of television.”
According to the official synopsis:
“McMafia charts Alex’s journey through a terrifying labyrinth of international criminals, money launderers, corrupt politicians and ruthless intelligence agencies. He soon finds himself embroiled in an underworld that stretches from London to Moscow, Dubai to Mumbai, Africa to the Americas, a battleground where Mexican cocaine cartels compete with Pakistani drug lords, Balkan smugglers and the Russian Mafia itself. What starts out as a story of survival and revenge becomes an epic tale of a man’s struggle against the lures of corruption in the modern world and in himself."
A fast-paced thriller that is epic and intimate, glamorous and gritty, global in scale and forensic in detail, it delves into how, with the rise of globalization, the corporate has become criminal and the criminal corporate, and how, driven by the global demand for cheap products, everyone is complicit in some way.
The series will star James Norton (Happy Valley, War & Peace) as the lead character, Alex Godman, as he is drawn deeper and deeper into the criminal world.
Godman is “the English-raised son of Russian exiles with a mafia history, who has spent his life trying to escape the shadow of that criminal past, building his own legitimate business and forging a life with his girlfriend Rebecca,” according to the character breakdown. “But when his family’s past murderously returns to threaten them, Alex is drawn into the criminal world and forced to confront his values to protect those he loves.”
McMafia will also star David Strathairn (The Bourne Ultimatum, Good Night, and Good Luck) as Semiyon Kleiman, a well-connected Israeli businessman with a “twinkle in his eye that betrays deeper secrets.” Juliet Rylance (The Knick, American Gothic) plays Rebecca Harper, Alex’s “strong-willed and morally upright British girlfriend,” Aleksey Serebryakov (The Method, Leviathan) will play Alex’s father Dimitri, who is the exiled head of the Russian mafia. Maria Shukshina (Yolki 3) will portray Oksana, Alex’s socialite mother, and Faye Marsay (Game of Thrones, Pride) will play Katya, Alex’s sister.
“McMafia shares the ambition and sophistication of The Godfather, now for TV audiences,” Matt Forde, EVP Content Production, Sales and Distribution, BBC Worldwide North America, said in a statement.
The series will be written by David Farr (The Night Manager, Spooks, Troy – Fall of a City), Peter Harness (Doctor Who, Wallander, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell), and Laurence Coriat (Wonderland, Me Without You).
McMafia will be co-produced by AMC, BBC and Cuba Pictures (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Coalition, London Road, Boy A), in association with Twickenham Studios
Production on McMafia has already started in London.