The Westies Review: MGM+ Officially Has One Of Its Best Casts In New Mob Drama Series

The Westies on MGM+ has just about everything one would hope for and expect from a modern telling of a bygone era immortalized by prolific gangster movies like The Godfather, Goodfellas, and The Departed. Featuring key players from both the Irish mob and Italian mafia, and based on real events and people in 1980s Hell's Kitchen, The Westies knows exactly the kind of show it is as well as what it's trying very clearly to be, even if there is ultimately a slight gap between the two.

On paper, The Westies looks like a home run for MGM+, co-created by Chris Brancato (Narcos) and Michael Panes (Godfather of Harlem), and starring heavy-hitters like J.K. Simmons and Titus Welliver. While these two acclaimed actors provide much of the initial appeal, others quietly steal scene after scene with impressive and convincing performances. These include Tom Brittney (Greyhound) as a respected young leader of the small Irish gang, Jimmy Roarke, and Hamish Allan-Headley (Mayor of Kingstown), who nails the best onscreen portrayal of John Gotti since Armand Assante in HBO's 1996 film Gotti.

On screen, The Westies is engaging, violent, heavily character-driven, and is the greatest new mob series in the limited but expanding catalog that MGM+ has to offer. The cinematography is crisp and intentional, the soundtrack is perfectly curated to modern and vintage punk rock tunes by Dropkick Murphys and the like, and everything from the wardrobe to the production design brings early 1980s Manhattan to life. These aspects make The Westies a very strong mob series, although there seems to be something inherently missing at its core, perhaps an unforced emotional or empathetic quality, that makes it easy to observe but often difficult to connect with.

The Westies Is Perfect For Fans Of Classic Irish & Italian Mob Stories

The Westies is a full-bodied gangster/mob series that is well aware of its genre and its audience, which is ideal for viewers who can't get enough of these types of true organized crime stories. Simmons' highly respected protagonist, Eamon Sweeney, who is based on the real-life leader of The Westies, Mickey Spillane, is beloved yet feared in his community, displaying throughout the series the particular brand of ruthlessness required to wear the crown. While conflicts exist outside the Irish mob itself, namely, what kind of business they do and who they do it with, internal conflicts and power struggles form as a new generation of eager twentysomethings, led by Jimmy Roarke, walk a fine line between duty and irreverence.

While conflicts exist outside the Irish mob itself, namely, what kind of business they do and who they do it with, internal conflicts and power struggles form as a new generation of eager twentysomethings, led by Jimmy Roarke, walk a fine line between duty and irreverence.

As with most mob stories, issues of loyalty, trust, and betrayal make up the bulk of the ongoing drama, as old allegiances are tested as new opportunities arise. Sweeney is hellbent on maintaining his peaceful yet delicate truce with John Gotti and the Gambino crime family, who greatly outnumber and overpower his scrappy branch of Irish mobsters. Sweeney carries a no-nonsense, hardened approach to insubordination, even when it comes to disciplining his own kind, which only Jimmy and his fiery, unhinged sidekick Mickey Flanagain (portrayed with notable intensity by Stanley Morgan) begin to suspect is hypocritical and self-serving.

Between all of the pints of Guinness, crude jokes, and cigarette butts piled up in dimly lit bars at all hours of the day, The Westies leans into these familiar tropes to the point where it nears uninspired repetition. While it remains incredibly rooted in its gritty and occasionally charming atmosphere, it does create a kind of insular, even claustrophobic, effect in which time begins to blur between new targets, missions, and everything in between. One might say that these elements cause the series to feel somewhat overdone, disallowing itself any space for innovation or experimentation, because it's trying so adamantly to be distinctly and undeniably a product of its genre.

Many members of The Westies themselves, and those in Gotti's Italian crew, for that matter, are so homogenous that they inevitably exist as two collective entities sharing thoughts, accents, and ideals. Even nameless supporting characters lack the individuality required to see them as anything but an instrument of the boss's will, whether it be Sweeney, Gotti, or Roarke's young crew. Thankfully, some characters, particularly Jimmy's girlfriend, Bridget Walsh (played by Sarah Bolger), and Welliver's broken NYPD officer, Glenn Keenan, have stories adjacent to but separate from the inner workings of The Westies, which offers the show some much-needed room to breathe.

Great Performances & An Immersive World Outweigh The Westies' Flaws

Mickey Flanagan & Tom Brittney in The Westies

The Westies is a winner for MGM+ because of the strength of its ensemble cast. In fact, the show is so perfectly cast from top to bottom, including Jessica Frances Dukes as the determined FBI task force agent Birdie Polk and Sweeney's right-hand man Eddie Breen, played by Vincent Walsh, that it is truly the highlight and saving grace of the show altogether. Brittney carries his Jimmy Roarke with a reserved edge and educated poise that makes it clear he's a natural-born leader, contrasted perfectly with the hotheaded Flanagan, who is unnervingly electric and capable of just about anything, adding palpable tension in just about every scene he's in.

Welliver and Simmons are fantastic together in their first-ever collaboration, as both their characters share similar characteristics of being ego-fueled and duplicitous, but only one appears to hold the winning hand.

Welliver's brooding, oftentimes despicable, cop character is quite the opposite of his larger-than-life persona as Harry Bosch in Amazon Prime Video's popular crime series, which is both refreshing and enjoyable. Although Keenan and Sweeney are childhood friends, and the former is the one wearing the badge, there is still an unmistakable power dynamic that serves as the source of resentment for a budding rivalry. Welliver and Simmons are fantastic together in their first-ever collaboration, as both their characters share similar characteristics of being ego-fueled and duplicitous, but only one appears to hold the winning hand.

The best surprise of The Westies, however, is Hamish Allan-Headley's portrayal of the "Teflon Don" himself, John Gotti, who was known for his own brand of ruthlessness and bravado. Those who have seen Mayor of Kingstown already know how Allan-Headley can take over a scene with a commanding, even magnetic, presence, and that same energy was infused into his performance in The Westies. The collective casting and acting choices are the primary reason why the series has a firm, albeit somewhat suffocating, sense of immersion, and why The Westies season 2 should be a no-brainer for MGM+.

The Westies premieres on MGM+ on Sunday, July 12, 2026, followed by weekly episode releases each Sunday throughout August.