Drea de Matteo arrives for the premiere of "Broken English" at the Landmark Sunshine Theater in New York on June 18, 2007. (UPI Photo/Laura Cavanaugh) |
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PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 13 (UPI) -- AMC has announced plans to air an eight-part docu-series called Making of the Mob: New York in the second quarter of 2015.
"Utilizing an immersive blend of dramatic scenes, archival footage and groundbreaking visual effects, the program will begin in 1905 and span over 50 years to trace the rise of Charles 'Lucky' Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel and other notorious gangsters from their beginnings as a neighborhood gang of teenagers to murderous entrepreneurs and bootleggers who organized the criminal underworld and turned it into an American institution," a synopsis said.
The series will also feature interviews with historians, authors, actors such as Joe Mantegna and Drea de Matteo, law enforcement personnel and family members.
The network said it will extend the Mafia theme by partnering each episode of Making of the Mob: New York with a lead-in from its extensive library of iconic mobster films such as The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Goodfellas, American Gangster, Donnie Brasco, Scarface, Casino and Carlito's Way.
"We have a long tradition of airing many of the greatest movies about organized crime and have wanted to pair those movies with a piece of original programming for some time," Joel Stillerman, AMC's executive vice president of original programming, production and digital content, said in a statement. "Stephen David brought us a show that reminded us what an absolutely spectacular story the truth is with respect to the rise of organized crime in America and the formation of the legendary Five Families. Making of the Mob: New York features fantastic, larger-than-life characters and drama that is better than fiction in every way. This is definitely event television."
"I'm fascinated by people and relaying history through the personal stories of what they really did," added David, executive producer and president of Stephen David Entertainment. "While there have been a number of great films, television shows and books about the mob in America, the entire story has never been put together like this, and I think viewers will be surprised at the very human story of how these men created their own success and made America their land of opportunity."
