EXCLUSIVE: Former Bosch star Titus Welliver is back on the cop beat as a lead opposite J.K. Simmons in The Westies, MGM+‘s upcoming period crime drama series from co-creator, executive producer and showrunner Chris Brancato.

Co-created by Brancato and Michael Panes, The Westies is set in the early 1980s when the construction of the Jacob Javitz Convention Center on the Westies’ home turf in Hell’s Kitchen promises a financial windfall for the Irish-American organized crime gang. Despite being outnumbered 50-to-1 by the Five Families of the Italian mafia, the Westies’ legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente. But internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI’s ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia.

Welliver will play Glenn Keenan, a troubled NYPD officer who grew up with the Westies crew, torn between loyalty to the law and love for his wayward son. He will likely spar with Simmons’ Eamon Sweeney, the charismatic but ruthless leader of The Westies, in a pairing of two accomplished actors each of whom has headlined their own series.

Known for his role as LAPD Detective Harry Bosch in the Amazon franchise, Welliver recently starred in the proposed Equalizer spinoff for CBS. He will next be seen in the indie film Ricky, which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival. Welliver is repped by UTA and Leverage Management.

Production on the eight-episode The Westies is slated to begin in July in Toronto

The highly anticipated upcoming series led by Bosch star Titus Welliver already feels like the Goodfellas sequel fans never got.

Although legendary film director Martin Scorsese made several acclaimed spiritual successors like Casino and The Irishman, an official follow-up to Goodfellas never came to fruition.

Scorsese could have gone the trilogy route like Francis Ford Coppola did with The Godfather, but the Academy Award-winning filmmaker thoughtfully left his celebrated project to its place in American film history.

Now, actor Titus Welliver, known for his appearances in Oscar-winning films like Argo and Gone Baby Gone, could be spearheading what many may consider to be an unofficial Goodfellas expansion project.

The Westies Takes Place In NYC Just Years After Goodfellas Ends

Welliver’s new crime drama series, The Westies, is slated to premiere in early 2026, picking up around the same time that the story of Goodfellas ended in the year 1980. The Westies follows the notorious Irish mob of the same name, set in 1980s New York City.

The official logline for The Westies reads: “In 1980s Hell’s Kitchen, the Westies crime gang eyes profits from the Javitz Center construction. Though vastly outnumbered by Italian mafia, their brutality earns them a share. Generational tensions rise as FBI probes deepen.”

Developed by one of the co-creators of Narcos, The Westies will naturally have gangster elements to it, given its factual subject matter. Welliver will play Glenn Keenan, a troubled NYPD officer who can’t escape the mob influence of his NYC neighborhood.

How The Italian Mafia Will Factor Into Titus Welliver’s New Series

One key link between the narrative worlds of Goodfellas and The Westies is the infamous “Five Families,” most notably the Luchese and Gambino crime families.

Both Henry Hill, played by the late Ray Liotta in the classic movie, and John Gotti, who Mayor of Kingstown star Hamish Allan-Headley will portray in The Westies, were key figures of the Italian mafia, gaining prominence in New York City during separate but similar eras.

Hill, of course, could not become a true “made man” in the eyes of the Italian mafia due to his Irish background. Though The Westies will take place after the events of Goodfellas, the effect of Henry Hill’s betrayal of the Italian mafia in the 1980s will undoubtedly be felt.

Though Welliver’s Glenn Keenan character will be wearing an NYPD badge in The Westies, his tactics and allegiances will often lean over the thin line of justice. J.K. Simmons will play the mob leader Eamon Sweeney opposite Welliver. The two will likely work together in the series, especially in their dealings with the Italian mafia and its inescapable influence across New York.