Ben Affleck, Matt Damon to make a pilot for Showtime

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ANI Los Angeles [USA]
Last Updated : Jul 28 2017 | 1:22 PM IST

Hollywood actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are returning to Television again.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Pearl Street Films production company partners have landed a pilot order at Showtime for gun violence drama 'City on a Hill'.

The show is based on an original idea from Affleck.

'City on a Hill' is a fictional account of the "Boston Miracle," a police operation that helped calm the streets. In the early 1990s, Boston was rife with violent criminals emboldened by local law enforcement agencies in which corruption and racism was the norm and then it all suddenly changes.

At the center is an African-American district attorney who comes in from Brooklyn advocating change. He forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran who is invested in maintaining the status quo.

So together they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to encompass and eventually upend Boston's citywide criminal justice system.

Chuck MacLean (Boston Strangler) will pen the script for Showtime and Pearl Street Films. The pilot will be helmed by Gavin O'Connor, who directed 'The Accountant'.

Pearl Street's Jennifer Todd, said in a statement, "City on a Hill is a gritty thriller about severe corruption and gangs, the type of series that takes you back and centers around the crime-riddled streets of Boston in the early '90s. We are excited to be a part of this project with Showtime and to partner with Gavin again."

Meanwhile, O'Connor shared that he is excited to work on this pilot that has a complex story of family, blood, betrayal, honour.

He added, "His take on the ties that bind is handled with a deep honesty and insight. I see the show as a brawling thriller and an intimate family drama - played out on the rough streets of Boston."

For Pearl Street, City on a Hill marks the company's second scripted TV foray following Syfy's short-lived drama Incorporated, which was canceled after one season.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

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First Published: Jul 28 2017 | 1:22 PM IST

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