MGM+ launches gritty 1980s crime drama ‘The Westies’

MGM+ premiered the eight‑episode series The Westies, a period crime drama set in early‑1980s Hell’s Kitchen, New York. The show dramatizes the real Irish‑American gang of the same name and the power struggle with the Italian Mafia during the construction of the Javits Convention Center.

The series stars J. K. Simmons as gang boss Eamon Sweeney, Titus Welliver as corrupt NYPD officer Glenn Keenan, and British actor Tom Brittney as Jimmy Roarke, a newcomer who warns the role could alienate fans of his previous series Grantchester. The ensemble also includes Sarah Bolger, Allen Leech, Hamish Allan‑Headly as John Gotti and Jessica Frances Dukes.

Critical response is mixed. Rotten Tomatoes lists an 80 % Tomatometer based on five reviews, praising the performances and pacing, while some critics call the drama competent but generic and criticize its lack of character depth. Reviewers note the series’ production design captures a lived‑in 1980s New York and that the storyline centers on the gang’s uneasy truce with the Gambino family to profit from the Javits Center construction.

The Westies is available on MGM+ and streams through Amazon Prime Video.