# Godfather of Harlem (2019)

> After ten years in prison, Harlem crime boss Bumpy Johnson returns in the early 1960s to reclaim a neighborhood now controlled by the Italian mob.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/68156

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 40
- Episode runtime: 55 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Chris Brancato, Paul Eckstein
- Network: Epix, MGM+
- Cast: Forest Whitaker, Erik LaRay Harvey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ilfenesh Hadera, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Nigel Thatch, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucy Fry
- TMDB rating: 8.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8080122/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: gritty, tense, moody, brooding

## What critics say

Reception is broadly positive, with viewers praising the period crime drama and its lead performance, while the final season rated lower than earlier ones.

## Synopsis

Godfather of Harlem (2019-2025) is an American crime drama series created by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein for Epix, later carried on MGM+. Forest Whitaker stars as Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson, a crime boss who returns from ten years in prison to find the Harlem streets he once ruled controlled by the Italian mob. Erik LaRay Harvey plays Delbert 'Del' Chance, a young man drawn into the fight, while Vincent D'Onofrio plays Vincent 'Chin' Gigante, and Ilfenesh Hadera plays Mayme Johnson, Bumpy's wife. The engine of the show is Bumpy's patient, dangerous effort to win back his piece of the neighborhood, balancing street negotiations, rival crews, family loyalty and the cost of a criminal life. Across four seasons of ten hour-long episodes, the story moves as one continuing arc rather than a case of the week. Set in early 1960s Harlem, it places its gangsters against a neighborhood in political and social upheaval, with civil rights leaders appearing in the background. The tone is gritty, moody and heavy, with a period-rich texture of smoke-filled rooms, tailored suits and tense street confrontations. Fans of Boardwalk Empire, Power and Peaky Blinders will find resonance in its prestige crime-saga ambition and its portrait of power won and lost.

## Shows like Godfather of Harlem

- [Power Book II: Ghost (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/82405)
- [Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/77013)
- [Quarry (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/58915)
- [Parish (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/121159)
- [Power Book IV: Force (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/99556)
- [A Thousand Blows (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/130735)
- [The Drop: A Snowfall Saga (2026)](https://ember.film/tv/1105199)
- [The Continental: From the World of John Wick (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/63375)
- [Mob City (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/40735)
- [Boardwalk Empire (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/1525)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt