Godfather of Harlem Set for Two-Hour Series Finale

MGM+ is bringing Godfather of Harlem to a close with a proper send-off. The network has greenlit a two-hour finale to cap the four-season crime drama chronicling 1960s Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson, portrayed by Forest Whitaker. This announcement arrives roughly a year after the Season 4 finale aired on June 22, 2025.

Filming on the extended finale kicks off July 10 at the show’s Brooklyn set.

Developed by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein, the series has long been a cornerstone for MGM+. It first launched on the network’s predecessor, Epix, and became that platform’s marquee show, with Season 3 even serving as the launchpad for Epix’s transformation into MGM+ on January 15, 2023. Given the show’s importance to the network’s history—dating back before Amazon took over MGM—executives decided the story deserved a fitting close rather than an abrupt end.

The finale finds Bumpy Johnson at his breaking point, besieged from all sides—by rivals in politics, crime, and even his own inner circle. He’ll need to call on every ally, every past sacrifice, and every lesson learned over the years to defend his empire and protect those closest to him.

Whitaker reflected that bringing Bumpy Johnson to life ranks among his career’s most rewarding roles, crediting the character and cast for letting him dig into a man torn between ambition, loyalty, and the will to survive. He expressed thanks to MGM+ executive Michael Wright, Brancato, 20th Television, Amazon, and the cast and crew for five seasons of strong partnership.

Joining Whitaker for the finale are returning cast members Ilfenesh Hadera, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Erik LaRay Harvey, and Rome Flynn, with additional guest stars to be revealed down the line.

MGM+ global programming head Michael Wright praised Whitaker’s performance as extraordinary and called the series—co-created by Brancato and Eckstein—a standout achievement among the network’s original programming. He said the two-hour finale represents a fitting tribute to the ambition and emotional depth the cast and crew have delivered since the show began, and framed it as exactly the kind of bold, character-driven storytelling MGM+ aims to champion.

The timing lines up with another Brancato project: his third series for MGM+, The Westies, debuts July 12. That show centers on the Irish-American mob’s clashes with New York’s Italian-run crime families during construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center in the Westies’ Hell’s Kitchen stronghold. Brancato is also behind MGM+’s Hotel Cocaine, which dramatizes the life of Roman Compte—a Cuban exile turned CIA operative who managed the Hotel Mutiny, ground zero for Miami’s cocaine trade in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

Brancato said he’s thankful to MGM+, 20th Television, and the cast and crew for the chance to bring Bumpy Johnson’s story to a close, noting that Whitaker brought his trademark mix of intellect, intensity, and warmth to the role of the boss who commanded Harlem for over twenty years.

Godfather of Harlem is produced by 20th Television, with Brancato, Michael Panes, Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, James Acheson, and Markuann Smith serving as executive producers. Swizz Beatz is the executive music producer.