A few goodfellas are in the market to get whacked or get made at Showtime.
The network is developing an hour-long mob drama from the eye-catching trio of Brian Grazer, Terence Winter and Nicholas Pileggi, Variety has confirmed. Winter will write the as-yet-untitled project, which sources say is in early stages, and is based on Pileggi’s chronology of organized crime in America, as seen through the eyes of the mafia’s First Family.
The series is being produced by Grazer’s Imagine Studios for Showtime, with Grazer and Samie Kim Falvey executive producing for Imagine. Winter and Pileggi will also exec produce.
News of the project comes less than three weeks after Winter, who cut his teeth in this genre writing on “The Sopranos,” was revealed as a writer and executive producer on spinoff series of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” set in the Gotham police department. The series It is said to build on the film’s examination of the anatomy of corruption in Gotham City.
Winter and Pileggi in particular have ample experience in the mob space. The former created the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire” about a corrupt Atlantic City treasurer who was regularly in cahoots with the mob, while the latter has written novels on the mafia including “Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family” and “Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas.” Pileggi’s two books inspired Martin Scorsese’s classic mob features “Goodfellas” and “Casino,” respectively.
Grazer has plenty of other projects on his plate, including the upcoming “Genius: Aretha,” and a recently-announced potential “Empire” spinoff centered around Taraji P. Henson iconic Cookie character.
Deadline first reported the development news.