Godfather of Harlem

This will become a classic. If you like the genre, you will love it, if not, give it some time. After all, it is based on a real character. Real life, takes time to take shape.

Crime drama genre aficionados will dig Godfather of Harlem's groove with Forest Whitaker at the helm as Bumpy Johnson, a convict recently released from Alcatraz penitentiary off an 11 year beef into a strange new Harlem that he doesn't recognize: Italian's dominate what used to be African American-owned territory and the police are more intolerable, violent, and complicit in the drug trade than ever before.

The cast for Godfather of Harlem is spectacular. Forest Whitaker as Bumpy Johnson is flawless, while Vincent D'nofrio as his rival Italian capo conjures up imagery of Tony Soprano in a past life. Both men are titans on the screen.

Unfortunately, that's where the best things about Godfather of Harlem end. The story, while based on real people and places, is incredibly cliche. There's nothing in Godfather of Harlem that you haven't seen, heard or thought of before -- from the stale bigoted vocabulary that nearly every character employs in their dialogue , to the tried-and-true racist tropes that litter the story ... Godfather of Harlem ultimately feels like a caricature parody of a crime drama than an actual serious entry into the genre.

It's definitely worth watching, just don't expect your mind to be blown in the same way that shows like The Wire or The Shield captivated us. If you're looking for an excellent black-centric crime saga to start watching, give FX's "Snowfall" a shot instead. Godfather of Harlem feels too infantile in its development right now to be taken seriously as a contender -- give it a season or two to flesh itself out before engaging yourself with Bumpy Johnson's world. The makings of greatness are there screaming at us loud and clear, let's just hope the people writing the script step it up with more mellifluous and less-cliched dialogue and give us entertainment worthy of the Epic moniker the show's home network is named after.

Definitely keep your eye on this cinematic universe though. Whitaker and D'nofrio are just too amazing to ignore.

Forrest Whitaker, Vincent D'Onofrio, Giancarlo Esposito... to name a few.

This show is phenomenal.

Does a great job portraying Family man/ villian. He still resembles characters that we've grown to know and love, but perhaps it's his subtleties and what he doesn't say that helps sell the protagonist . So far so good. Kept me hooked. Looking forward to future episodes.

This show could easily be dismissed as another gangster/crime syndicate show upon first glance. And I would have done so if it weren't for the historical tie ins.

The show takes place in 1963 Harlem. The 60's in and of themselves were historically significant to America in general and Black Americans in particular. Harlem was a hotbed of activity during that time. So, while the main character is Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) we get to see people like Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Adam Clayton Powell, and Elijah Muhammad. I'm not saying these people were all portrayed accurately, but they were significant historical figures and significant in the show.

The main theme is Bumpy Johnson's battle with the Italian Mafia. He wants Harlem for himself and a certain Vincent "Chin" Gigante (Vincent D'0nofrio) would like nothing more than to eliminate Bumpy Johnson altogether.

While that theme plays out with its ebbs and flows, we get to see other historical events play out (sometimes with actual footage). Cassius Clay fighting Doug Jones for a shot at the title, the march on Washington on August 28, 1963, the Kennedy assassination, and the Malcolm X/Nation of Islam saga. I'm sure much of it is dramatized and it may ruffle some feathers.

The show is intense and in your face. Pretty much all of the characters bring something to the show whether you like them or not. It's not a battle between good and evil or even evil and evil. All the characters are layered and complex even if the bad they do is heavier than the good they do. Watch it, allow yourself to be drawn in, and enjoy.