Inside “The Westies”: Tom Brittney Leads New 1980s Crime Epic Exploring New York’s Infamous Irish-American Gang

A new gritty period drama is heading to screens, and it promises to blend historical crime, high-stakes drama and powerhouse performances. The Westies, an eight-part series set in early 1980s New York City, will bring to life one of the most notorious Irish-American crime syndicates in U.S. history — and it already has viewers buzzing, thanks to its impressive cast and creative pedigree.

Described as Peaky Blinders-esque in tone and scope, The Westies transports audiences to Hell’s Kitchen, a neighborhood undergoing violent upheaval during a transformative era. The construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center, a real-life development on the gang’s turf, provides the dramatic backdrop for power struggles, alliances, and criminal opportunity. According to the official synopsis from Deadline, the massive project promises a “financial windfall,” drawing the criminal underworld closer to a crossroads where loyalty becomes currency and betrayal a blood sport.

A Real-Life Gang Recreated On Screen

The series takes its name from The Westies, an Irish-American organized crime gang that operated primarily in Hell’s Kitchen from the 1960s through the 1980s. Known for their ruthless territorial control and ties to major mafia organizations, including factions of the Gambino Crime Family, the gang’s reign created a violent chapter in New York’s criminal history.

Rather than romanticizing their actions, The Westies aims to explore the internal dynamics, generational shifts, and moral conflicts that defined the group during its most turbulent decade. The show blends dramatization with real historical frameworks, making it part noir crime thriller, part period character study.

Tom Brittney Leads a New Generation of Westies

Fresh off his six-year run on Grantchester, Tom Brittney steps into one of the most challenging roles of his career as James “Jimmy” Roarke, the fiercely loyal, fiercely ambitious leader of the younger wing of the gang. Roarke is portrayed as both shaped by tradition and pulled toward a new era of criminal influence, embodying the tension between loyalty to the old guard and the seduction of expanding power.

Brittney’s casting marks a dramatic shift from his role as vicar Will Davenport, offering him a chance to explore darker, more complex territory. His character emerges as the emotional and strategic center of the younger Westies, tasked with navigating a world where honor codes collide with escalating violence.

J.K. Simmons Joins as Mentor Eamon Sweeney

Opposite Brittney is Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons, taking on the weighty role of Eamon Sweeney, a mentor figure whose guidance, experience and authority define much of the gang’s internal structure. Sweeney is deeply rooted in the old ways of the Westies, but as the gang enters a new era — one that includes forming alliances with the Gambino Crime Family — his loyalties are put under immense pressure.

Simmons’ character is expected to anchor the series with gravitas, portraying a man who has built his life on a rigid code only to find that code eroding beneath him. His relationship with Brittney’s Roarke will form one of the driving emotional threads of the story: a master confronting the limits of his influence and a protégé learning the cost of rising power.

A World of Power, Corruption and Crossroads

Set against the construction boom and political reshuffling of 1980s Manhattan, the show examines how criminal enterprises exploited infrastructural change. The Jacob Javits Convention Center project created opportunities for illegal labor deals, protection rackets and territorial claims, pulling the Westies — and their rivals — deeper into conflict.

The series is expected to capture both the gritty street-level brutality of the era and the high-level negotiations linking gangs to major organized crime families. The alliance with the Gambinos, one of New York’s most powerful mafia organizations, sets the stage for escalating tensions and dangerous entanglements.

From the Creators of “Narcos”: A High-Caliber Production

With creative involvement from talent connected to Narcos, The Westies aims to deliver the same blend of historical authenticity, character-driven storytelling and cinematic tension that made its predecessor a global hit. The series promises large-scale world-building, stylistic flair, and a close look at the human motivations behind brutal criminal enterprises.

Why This Series Matters

True-crime-inspired dramas continue to captivate audiences, but The Westies stands out for its focus on a lesser-explored corner of American organized crime. The Irish-American gangs of Manhattan have rarely received the cinematic treatment afforded to Italian or Latin American crime syndicates, and the show offers a fresh angle on a dark but fascinating period in New York’s history.

For Tom Brittney, it marks a defining career leap; for Simmons, another powerful addition to an already formidable portfolio; and for viewers, a new, richly textured crime saga.

With its mix of real history, psychological tension, and prestige casting, The Westies is already shaping up to be one of the most talked-about dramas of the year.