The fourth season of Godfather of Harlem, starring Forest Whitaker, has been officially renewed by MGM+.
The fourth season finds Whitaker’s Bumpy Johnson aiming to increase his control of Harlem as he comes up against a new rival. According to the official description:
In Season Four, Bumpy Johnson (Whitaker) continues his bloody war for control of Harlem against New York’s Mafia families, while contending with the emergence of a potential rival in newly arrived Black gangster Frank Lucas. After Malcolm X’s (Jason Alan Carvell) tragic death, Bumpy must also grapple with his daughter Elise’s (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy) involvement with the Black Panthers.
MGM+ and series co-creator Chris Brancato both talked about their excitement at the series being renewed.
“Forest Whitaker’s inspired performance as Bumpy Johnson has introduced an iconic, archetypal television antihero to the premium television landscape,” said MGM+’s head Michael Wright. “The cast and creative team exceed expectations every single season, both creatively and cinematically. We couldn’t be more delighted to embark on a fourth season with this incredibly talented group of people.”
The series also stars Ilfenesh Hadera, Lucy Fry, Antoinette Crow-Legacy and Erik LaRay Harvey.
Brancato added: “I’m so gratified to continue my creative partnership with Michael Wright, his MGM+ team, and ABC Signature,” said Chris Brancato, co-creator. “This show has been a labor of love, and we dedicate this season to Paul Eckstein, my friend and co-creator, who passed unexpectedly this summer.”
Whitaker also talked about his feelings about the series’ renewal.
“After such a long time away, I’m so excited to be returning to set alongside such an incredible cast, crew, and creative team, under the powerful leadership of Chris Brancato. We’re so appreciative of Michael Wright’s support at MGM+, and thrilled that Godfather of Harlem has resonated with fans around the world. We can’t wait to get to work on season four!”
Whitaker also executive produces Godfather of Harlem with Brancato and series co-creator Paul Eckstein alongside Nina Yang Bongiovi, James Acheson and Markuann Smith. Swizz Beatz serves as the series’ executive music producer.
In January, Shadow and Act spoke with Whitaker about how the series illustrates the various stressors on the Black community.
“I think the show has always been trying to mirror society and the community, particularly Harlem,” he said. “I think we’re just getting to see how threats are shown from the government, how choices are being made to affect the community, and how we can find ways to fight back with the protests and from criminal activities of Bumpy. But it allows us to explore more of the effects of the time. Because the effects are so strongly linked to some of the things today, including police brutality, the opiate crisis —- all these things, we get a chance to explore this on a larger level because we are looking through this prism of the world yesterday. Now it’s expanding to today, and it’s expanding to all the different organizations that tried to control it.”
