While season 2 starts this Monday in US + 24 on Canal + Séries, return to a series still too little known. Produced by Tom Fontana, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and starring Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge, she's got it all.
What is it about ?
In the 1990s, violence and crime reigned in Boston. It is in this adulterated context that an African-American prosecutor, DeCourcy Ward, arrives from Brooklyn. Integral and determined to change the situation, he begins by attacking a famous family of robbers ...
The "Boston Miracle"
Set in the 1990s, City on a Hill is certainly a fiction, but it is partly inspired by real facts. And in particular the "Boston Miracle". At that time, the city was plagued by crime. Worse still, some of the local law enforcement officials ended up falling into corruption, forming clans and becoming confused with the thugs. Until everything suddenly changed with the "Boston Miracle".
In reality, this resulted in an attempt to prevent violence developed by David Kennedy, professor of criminology. This program aims to reduce gun violence by targeting the young men most likely to be involved in a shooting, all with a combination of assistance and law enforcement.
In City on a Hill, the agent of change is District Attorney DeCourcy Ward, played by Brooklyn-based Aldis Hodge, who forms an unlikely alliance with Jackie Rohr, played by a wicked Kevin Bacon. Rohr is a corrupt but revered veteran of the FBI who is deeply invested in maintaining the status quo.
Together, they face off against a family of armored car thieves from Charlestown (Jonathan Tucker, Mark O'Brien and Jimmy Cummings) in a case that ultimately turns Boston's criminal justice system upside down.
Francisco Roman / SHOWTIME
Kevin Bacon between light and shadow
As good at playing the executioner of hearts as just executioners, Kevin Bacon offers himself a tailor-made role with Jackie Rohr. He is detestable, but commands admiration by his charisma and his patter, even if the series does not hesitate to show it from the perspective of the poor guy.
We can guess how much Bacon has fun with this character. He sails like a pasha in his comfort zone. There's never a time when he doesn't seem like he's having fun, playing with the Boston accent, and reveling in Jackie's excess. Between alcohol, cocaine, extramarital affairs, circumventing the law... his character is on the road. And he gives it to their heart's content.
Francisco Roman / SHOWTIME
Aldis Hodge, the rising talent
Hodge plays Decourcy Ward, an African-American deputy prosecutor, a delicate position in this city during the 1990s where racism is expressed in an uninhibited manner. Convinced of being in his right, he made a name for himself by proposing that the cops be put in prison not only for corruption, but also in cases of shootings. All in rectitude and morality, he stands out against Rohr. And lets pass the feeling of making a pact with the devil by thus associating with this corrupt cop.
After a remarkable performance in One Night in Miami where he played footballer Jim Brown, Aldis Hodge will play alongside Dwayne Johnson in Black Adam in the Hawkman costume. If he impresses with his build, his charisma also sparks on the screen. With Kevin Bacon, they offer together a duo of actors as tense as it is unexpected.
City On Hill, season 2, Monday at 10:30 p.m. on Canal + Séries and on MyCanal
