Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge have signed on to star in the upcoming Showtime pilot “City on a Hill,” Variety has learned.
The one-hour drama, which boasts Ben Affleck and Matt Damona among its executive producers, is a fictional account of a real time in Boston history that came to be called the “Boston Miracle.” District Attorney Decourcy Ward (Hodge) comes from Brooklyn and forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran Jackie Rhodes (Bacon), who is deeply invested in maintaining the status quo. Together they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to encompass and eventually upend Boston’s city-wide criminal justice system.
“Kevin Bacon radiates intelligence and mystery with every role he plays,” said Showtime president and CEO David Nevins. “He is a gifted, mesmerizing actor who will be the perfect partner and foil to Aldis Hodge, one of Hollywood’s rising talents and someone primed to stand at the center of this powerful drama.”
The pilot is based on an original idea by Affleck and Chuck MacLean, who will also executive produce and serve as writer. In addition, Jennifer Todd of Pearl Street Films will also executive produce alongside James Mangold and Michael Cuesta, with Cuesta also directing the pilot. Bacon will serve as co-executive producer. Showtime will produce.
A star for more than three decades since his breakout roles in “Diner” and “Footloose,” Bacon won a Golden Globe and SAG honors for his lead role in the television movie “Taking Chance,” and was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his supporting role in “The River Wild” and a SAG Award for “Murder in the First.” He has received three other SAG Award nominations with the ensembles of “Frost/Nixon,” “Mystic River,” and “Apollo 13.” More recently, Bacon has starred in the television series “I Love Dick” and “The Following.” His many other credits also include “A Few Good Men,” “JFK,” and “The Big Picture.”
In addition to winning a SAG Award with the ensemble of “Hidden Figures,” Hodge was nominated for SAG honors with the cast of “Straight Outta Compton.” His additional film credits include “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,” “The East,” “A Good Day to Die Hard,” “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” and “Magic Camp.” Hodge has also starred or recurred in numerous television series, including “Underground,” “Leverage,” “Black Mirror,” “Turn: Washington’s Spies,” and “Friday Night Lights,” among others.
Bacon is repped by MGMT Entertainment and Gaines Solomon Law Group. Hodge is repped by Paradigm Talent Agency, the Priluck Company, and Ziffren Brittenham LLP.