Lost Cop Navigates Hell's Kitchen's Dangerous 80s

Titus Welliver stars as Glenn Keenan, a New York police detective caught in a dangerous bind in the new period drama, "Westies." Set in 1980s Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, the series depicts Keenan being manipulated by both the FBI and the Irish mob.

Keenan's character is described as a man adrift, lacking a moral compass and existing in a state of arrested development. He becomes entangled with the Gambino squad, a situation he never desired but cannot escape.

J.K. Simmons plays Irish mob boss Eamon Sweeney, whose syndicate is in conflict with the Gambino family over territory. Jessica Frances Dukes portrays Birdie Polk, the FBI agent leading the task force against John Gotti's organization.

Welliver explained that Keenan is deeply provincial and estranged from his son. A photograph of his son with a lieutenant of Sweeney's ignites a desire in Keenan to protect him, not out of redemption, but out of profound self-hatred.

The 1980s setting highlights the challenges of law enforcement before advanced technology. Welliver noted the prevalence of "shoe leather police work" during a time of crack cocaine epidemics and heavily armed gangsters, making it a volatile and unpredictable period.