Epix greenlights new drama & docs ahead of rebrand to MGM+

Godfather Of Harlem

MGM-owned linear and streaming service Epix is to rebrand as MGM+ in January 2023, with the company greenlighting several new original series that will debut next year.

The name change will take effect on 15 January, in conjunction with the launch of the third season of its crime drama Godfather Of Harlem.

Joining the show on the renamed service will be new commissions including Hotel Cocaine, from Epix Studios. The eight-part series tells the story of Roman Compte, Cuban exile, CIA operative, and general manager of the The Mutiny Hotel, the glamorous epicenter of the Miami cocaine scene of late ’70s and early ’80s. Chris Brancato will serve as showrunner and executive producer.

Meanwhile, Carnival Films and Epix Studios are co-producing Belgravia: The Next Chapter (working title), an eight-part follow-up to the 2020 limited series Belgravia, to debut in winter 2023. The series will pick up in 1865, 25 years after the events depicted in the original show, which was written by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) and based on his novel of the same name.

Developed and written by Helen Edmundson (Dalgliesh, Mary Magdalene), it will tell the love story of Frederick Trenchard, who has grown up as the third Lord Glanville, and his new love interest, Clara Dunn, who is a newcomer to London society.

Unscripted orders will include a four-part, as yet-untitled, docuseries chronicling the world’s most infamous haunted house tale: the Amityville murders. The project, from B17 Entertainment and executive produced by Lesley Chilcott offers a fresh look at every aspect of this about the heinous murder of a family of six that became eclipsed by paranormal controversy.

San Francisco Sounds (working title), meanwhile, is a two-part documentary series that tracks the history of the San Francisco music scene from 1965 to 1975. Jigsaw Productions is producing in association with Amblin Television and The Kennedy/Marshall Company.