Showtime has just ordered the new series City on a Hill from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The crime series will star Kevin Bacon (The Following), Aldis Hodge (Underground), Jonathan Tucker (Westworld) and Mark O’Brien (Halt and Catch Fire).
City on a Hill is created by Chuck MacLean (Boston Strangler) and based on an original idea by Academy Award winner Ben Affleck. In the early 1990s, Boston was rife with violent criminals emboldened by local law enforcement agencies in which corruption and racism was the norm — and then it all changed in what was called the “Boston Miracle.” In this fictional account, driving that change is assistant district attorney Decourcy Ward (Hodge), who comes from Brooklyn and forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran, Jackie Rhodes (Bacon). Together, they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to involve, and ultimately subvert, the entire criminal justice system of Boston.
“City on a Hill has the veneer of a classic Boston cops-and-robbers drama, but actually dives head first into challenging the very institutions it depicts,” Showtime president David Nevins said in a statement. “In reality, the series is a penetrating look at the larger criminal justice system and those who operate within it, with mesmerizing performances by Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge anchoring the suspense.”
Also starring in the series is Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan), Lauren E. Banks (Instinct), Amanda Clayton (If Loving You Is Wrong), Kevin Chapman (Brotherhood) and Jere Shea (Passion) with Kevin Dunn (Veep).
City on a Hill is executive produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Emmy nominee Jennifer Todd (Jason Bourne, Memento) for Pearl Street Films. MacLean wrote the pilot and will serve as an executive producer. Michael Cuesta (American Assassin) will return to Showtime after directing the pilots for Dexter and Homeland to direct the pilot as well as an executive producer. James Mangold (Logan) will also serve as executive producer with Bacon serving as co-executive producer.
Photo Credit: Eric Ogden/Showtime