Chris Brancato: Fictionalizing NYC's Criminal Underworld

Writer Chris Brancato, who has fictionalized criminal empires from Miami to Colombia, now turns his attention to New York's notorious Westies gang in his latest series, "The Westies." The show, set in Hell's Kitchen, begins in 1980 amidst the development of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

This new series, co-created by Brancato and Michael Panes, is a quasi-extension of "Godfather of Harlem." It explores the Irish gang's outsize influence despite their small numbers, their control over unions, and their involvement in construction scams and bid-rigging.

The narrative further complicates the Westies' story with alliances involving the Italian mob, drug kingpins, arms smugglers from the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and law enforcement. Brancato aimed to humanize the Westies by creating internal drama and contrasting them with the greedier Italian mafia.

Brancato acknowledges the challenge of making such violent criminals relatable, drawing parallels to the Marvel universe's interconnectedness. He noted that the real Westies were a small but brutal group, experts at scams and disposing of bodies, which informed the series' more graphic elements.