Will Smith will star as crime boss Nicky Barnes in the new Netflix thriller feature “The Council” which hails from “Concussion” scribe Peter Landesman.
The thriller centers on a crime syndicate consisting of seven African-American men who ruled Harlem in the 1970s and early 80s with the goal of establishing a self-sufficient and self-policing African American city-state, funded by revolutionizing the drug game.
The series will explore the intrigue in the council between Barnes and a rising protege. Barnes eventually became a federal informant under the witness protection program and died in 2012. Cuba Gooding, Jr. played Barnes in a small role in Ridley Scott’s 2007 film “American Gangster”.
Smith is producing with James Lassiter,’ Matt Jackson and Jason Essex.
Source: Variety
