Magic City [Starz - US] ** Spoilers **

Richard Dower

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...-in-2012/74459

Starz Entertainment has greenlit “Magic City,” an exciting new series centered around a hotel in the heart of sexy, exciting Miami at the dawn of the 1960s, from writer/producer Mitch Glazer and executive producers Geyer Kosinski and Tony To, Starz, LLC, President and CEO Chris Albrecht announced today.

Casting will begin soon on the 10-episode dramatic series that will start production in the new year in Miami, and will air on Starz in 2012.

As Frank Sinatra rings in a new year in the grand ballroom of Miami Beach’s most luxurious dream palace – the Miramar Hotel – its visionary leader, Ike Evans, must deal with the Mob, his complicated family and a city in the midst of dramatic change as Fidel Castro takes control of Cuba, just 200 miles offshore. By day the hotel at the center of “Magic City” is all diving clown acts and cha-cha lessons by the pool, but at night Miami Beach reveals a darker truth. Dopers, dealers, strippers, gangsters and those who arrest them drift together to hear the top nightclub acts perform. Just beneath the surface, racial tensions stir. Ike must deal with all of this, even while global intrigue is brewing right under his roof.

“Mitch has created a world populated with unforgettable characters and with a big, dynamic story,” Albrecht notes. “The talented creative team that has come together for ‘Magic City’ will ensure a show that we think audiences won’t

want to miss.”

“”I was born and raised in Miami Beach, grew up in those swank hotel lobbies. I love that world and those stories,” Glazer adds. “Miami in the early ’60s was a tropical crossroads, America’s Casablanca – the Rat Pack, CIA, the mob, JFK and anti-Castro warriors — all hanging out in the same Collins Avenue nightclub.”

“Magic City” was conceived by Glazer (The Recruit, Scrooged), who is writing the first three episodes and eight episodes overall. The show is being produced by Media Talent Group, with its CEO Geyer Kosinski (“Going to California,” “Hope & Faith,” Beyond Borders) executive producing along with Tony To (“From the Earth to the Moon,” “Band of Brothers”). “Magic City” joins a lineup of memorable TV entertainment from Starz. Debuting Jan. 21, 2011 is the six-episode “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena,” starring John Hannah, Lucy Lawless and newcomer Dustin Clare as Gannicus. It is followed in spring of 2011 by “Camelot,” a fresh retelling of the King Arthur legend starring Jamie Campbell Bower, Joseph Fiennes and Eva Green, an Irish-Canadian production from GK-TV, co-produced by Irish production company Octagon, UK’s Ecosse Films and Take 5 Productions in Canada. Then, later in the year, Starz will debut “Torchwood: The New World,” a co-production with BBC Worldwide that stars John Barrowman and Eve Myles, with additional casting due soon.

JP Liz V1

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Starz-Orders-Magic-1026475.aspx

Starz has greenlit production on Magic City, a drama centering on the gritty side of Miami in the 1960s, the network announced Monday.
From executive producer Mitch Glazer Magic City revolves around Ike Evans, the head of the Miramar Hotel who meets pressures from the mob, his own family, and the changes brought on by Fidel Castro taking charge of Cuba.
"Mitch has created a world populated with unforgettable characters and with a big, dynamic story," Starz President Chris Albrecht said in a statement. "The talented creative team that has come together for Magic City will ensure a show that we think audiences won't want to miss."
The 10-episode series will begin casting soon, and is slated to premiere on Starz in 2012.

JP Liz V1

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Jeffrey-Dean-Morgan-Starz-1028245.aspx

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is in final negotiations to star in Starz's new drama, Magic City, Deadline reports.
Magic City follows the mobsters, politicians and entertainments involved in establishing Miami's first big-name hotel, just as Fidel Castro is taking control of Cuba and putting an end to gambling in Havana.
Morgan, 44, would play the suave Jewish-American man who builds the hotel and makes unusual friends and powerful enemies along the way. The actor is best known for his multi-episode arcs on Grey's Anatomy, as heart transplant patient-turned-ghost Denny, and as Sam and Dean's father on Supernatural.
Mitch Glazer (The Recruit) created Magic City, and will executive produce with Geyer Kosinski (Hope & Faith). The drama is set to premiere in 2012.

I'd love to see him back as Papa Winchester

Richard Dower

British actor Christian Cooke and Steven Strait (Stop-Loss) are in final negotiations for co-starring roles opposite Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Starz's upcoming 10-episode drama series Magic City. Set in Miami in the late 1950s-early 1960s, Magic City chronicles the collision of mobsters, politicians and entertainers at the first preeminent Miami hotel just as Fidel Castro takes control of Cuba and shuts down Havana as a gambling haven. It centers on Ike (Morgan), a suave Jewish-American man who builds the hotel and along the way makes some strange bedfellows and many powerful enemies. Strait will play Stevie, Ike's oldest son, a high-living hedonist. Cooke will play Ike's youngest son, a sweet young man who is attending law school while helping his dad.

Source: Deadline

Mr E

Split from Boss thread.

Richard Dower

Magic City adds three new castmembers: http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/starz-magic-city-adds-3-more-to-cast-as-series-begins-production/ , FYI - there are some SUPER HOT women in the cast!!!

Beverly Hills, Calif. – June 9, 2011 – Actors Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Olga Kurylenko, Jessica Marais, Steven Strait, Christian Cooke and Danny Huston begin production in Miami this week on the Starz Originals series, Magic City. In the 10-episode drama, set to debut exclusively on Starz in 2012, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen) portrays Ike Evans, the cool, visionary force behind Miami Beach’s newest hotel and a man with dangerous secrets; Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) as Ike’s wife Vera, a former showgirl who is deeply loyal to her husband and family; and Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), as Ben Diamond, Miami’s most dangerous mobster. The cast also stars Jessica Marais (Legend of the Seeker) as Ben’s beautiful, caged wife, Lily; Steven Strait (10,000 B.C.), as Ike’s eldest son, Stevie; Christian Cooke (Cemetery Junction) as Danny, Ike’s innocent, hard-working younger son; Dominik Garcia Lorido (City Island) as Mercedes, a maid in the Miramar Playa who has grown up with the Evans family in the shadow of the hotel; and Elena Satine (Just Go With It) as Judi, a platinum blonde escort who works out of the Miramar Playa and helps Ike out from time to time. Rounding out the Magic City cast are Kelly Lynch (Passion Play), Michael Rispoli (The Taking of Pelham 123), Oscar-nominated actor Seymour Cassel (Rushmore), and Yul Vázquez (The A-Team). As Frank Sinatra rings in a new year in the grand ballroom of Miami Beach’s most luxurious dream palace – the Miramar Playa – its visionary leader, Ike Evans, must deal with the Mob, his complicated family and a city in the midst of dramatic change as Fidel Castro takes control of Cuba, just 200 miles offshore. By day the hotel at the center of Magic City is all diving clown acts and cha-cha lessons by the pool, but at night Miami Beach reveals a darker truth. Magic City was conceived by writer-director-producer-Mitch Glazer (The Recruit), who grew up in the glamorous, ominous world of late ‘50’s Miami Beach. He serves as Executive Producer on the project along with Media Talent Group, with CEO, Geyer Kosinski, Co-Executive Producer Ed Bianchi and Producer Dwayne Shattuck.

Richard Dower

Willa Ford joins Magic City: http://www.justmyfaves.com/2011/07/willa-ford-heads-to-magic-city/

Richard Dower

Starz announced on Tuesday it's new series Magic City will premiere in April 2012.

Richard Dower

Casting: http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=114635

Richard Dower

Bit old, not Googled in awhile....trailer for the show, looks very 60's!

http://www.tv.com/news/watch-the-new-trailer-for-magic-city-starzs-60s-period-drama-video-27030/

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/magic-city/magic-city-season-1-preview-gu-42703.aspx

JP Liz V1

Promo Teaser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b2pI7jixax4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2pI7jixax4

Richard Dower

Premiee set for Friday April 6th: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tca-starz-encore-magic-city-jeffrey-dean-morgan-gillian-anderson-281601

Richard Dower

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Magic-City-Starz-Poster-1044169.aspx?rss=breakingnews



Character profiles: http://www.spoilertv.com/2012/02/magic-city-character-profiles.html

IKE EVANS
(Jeffrey Dean Morgan)

Ike Evans is the king of 1959 Miami Beach. Ike worked his way up from hotel cabana boy to building and owning the Miramar Playa Hotel, the most glamorous spot in America’s favorite playground. Creating his showplace has consumed Ike for years. Ike is a star, charismatic and convincing but beneath his easy charm and gracious manner lie secrets, buried deep.

Ambition, drive and vision go a long way toward making his dream real but Ike knows reality also requires cold hard cash. He has done, will do, whatever he must to keep his family safe and his dream intact… Ike is a good man who will make some bad choices for what he believes are the right reasons. The worst, most life-threatening choice was going into business with mob boss Ben "The Butcher" Diamond. Now, six years later, The Butcher is back in Miami Beach and looking for his pound of flesh.

Ike’s first wife Molly shared Ike's dream of the Miramar Playa and her family wealth and connections, made much of it possible. Her death from cancer left Ike a widower with three children. Lost and reeling, Ike met gorgeous Tropicana showgirl Vera in Havana. Now Ike and Vera Evans are the movie star-perfect couple at the helm of the glorious Miramar Playa.Ike Evans, the good and glamorous king of 1959 Miami Beach, stands atop his palace built on sand.

VERA EVANS
(Olga Kurylenko)

Vera Evans is Ike's wife and the center of his life. A long-legged beauty born of a Romany Gypsy father and Dutch mother, Vera grew up living in the extreme deprivation of occupied Holland during World War II. After losing her family in the war, Vera boarded a ship with other orphans bound for the States that ended up docking in Cuba.

Vera parlayed her childhood talent for dancing and heart-stopping looks into a career as the celebrated “Vera Cruz,” the star of Havana’s famed Tropicana nightclub. One night she locked eyes with Ike Evans from the stage and two weeks later found herself in Miami Beach, the stepmother to his three children, and the queen of the Miramar Playa Hotel. The transition hasn’t been easy, there is suspicion and distance from Ike's two grown sons and resentment from Ike's twelve year-old daughter. Vera is strong, soulful and a survivor. She loves her man and knows in her heart that he loves her too. Vera is determined to make a meaningful place for herself in Ike’s world and as a woman in 1959 America.

STEVIE EVANS
(Steven Strait)

Stevie Evans, Ike’s older son is a sleek and charming "bad boy" who manages the Miramar Playa’s sultry Atlantis Lounge. He is the Prince, cat-nip to women and hand-picked and groomed by his father to one day rule the Miramar Playa. Stevie learns the little things from Ike that keep the hotel humming – from arranging escorts for well-heeled guests to catering to players in the high-stakes cabana poker game. Stevie seems easy and natural in these dark waters but he courts danger and risk. He’s fiercely loyal to Ike, and simultaneously baffled by yet admiring of his straight-arrow younger brother. Stevie’s relationship with his gorgeous stepmother is… complicated. But devotion to his family comes first, until he meets the woman who will put everyone he loves in jeopardy.

DANNY EVANS
(Christian Cooke)

Danny Evans, Ike’s younger son, resembles his mother in both patrician good looks and sweet personality. A recent graduate of Tulane University, Danny has come home again to start his first year of law school at the University of Miami. Ever the diligent idealist, Danny will eagerly sign up to lead the charge into John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier.

Returning to the Miramar Playa has not only brought Danny closer to his family but also led to a reunion with Mercedes Lazaro, daughter of hotel general manager Victor and a friend of Danny’s since childhood. When he’s not hitting the books, Danny can often be found keeping Mercedes company on her housekeeping rounds at the hotel and trying to nudge their years of acquaintance into more romantic territory.

BEN DIAMOND
(Danny Huston)

Ben Diamond is Miami’s ruling king of the underworld. After a Dickensian childhood in an Orthodox Jewish orphanage in Philadelphia, Ben made his bones with the Chicago mafia, earning his nickname – “The Butcher” – along the way. Ben swings from breezy charm to brutality in a blink. Ben murders with a smile. He has strange and terrifying sexual appetites that he feeds without conscience. His two wives died in surgery while he watched. Ben Diamond has the crazed, blood-lust elegance of a Roman Emperor.

He’s also Ike Evans’ business partner. When Ike needed more money for the construction of the Miramar Playa, savvy Ben saw an opportunity and became a silent investor. Their completely hidden arrangement has suited both fine for years, but now Ben wants more. Political upheaval in Cuba has done expensive damage to the mafia’s casino business there, and Ben’s under increasing pressure from Chicago to find new revenue streams. So Ben has returned to Miami, with a beautiful young wife in tow, determined to squeeze every penny he can from the Miramar Playa. With or without Ike Evans.

LILY DIAMOND
(Jessica Marais)

Lily Diamond is a sultry and seductive beauty. The third Mrs. Diamond – for Ben’s first two wives died under strange yet strikingly similar circumstances – first entranced her now-husband while swimming as a "mermaid" at popular tourist stop Weeki Wachee. Lily and Ben are still newlyweds. As with Ike and Vera, this was love, or in Ben's case lust at first sight. But Lily can’t simply be dismissed as a gold-digger, for after spending time with the deadly Ben Diamond, any pretty girl would know there are easier ways to make money. Lily has an agenda that is all her own and the risky habit of following her heart, even when it leads her down a treacherous path.

JUDI SILVER
(Elle Satine)

Judi Silver is a temptress with survival instincts second to none. A platinum-blonde escort who frequently holds court in the Miramar Playa’s fashionable Atlantis Lounge, Judi also does jobs for Ike and Stevie when they need the kind of expertise – and incriminating evidence – only she can provide. Beneath her tough exterior, Judi hides a soft spot for the Evans men, and the feeling is mutual as both Ike and Stevie strive to protect Judi, sometimes simply from herself.

MEG BANNOCK
(Kelly Lynch)

Meg Bannock is Ike’s former sister-in-law, the older sister of his first wife Molly. A Grace Kellycool blonde, Meg has the class and sophistication only old family money can buy. Twice divorced, Meg lives life on her own terms and has a business savvy that in a different era would’ve made her a mogul to be reckoned with. But in this life, she’s engaged in an increasingly complicated dance with Ike – as a constant reminder of his beloved first wife, a source of funds that could buy freedom from Ben Diamond, and a keeper of secrets that could destroy Ike’s close-knit family.

BEL JAFFE
(Michael Rispoli)

Bel Jaffe is a cigar-chomping bookie who’s been installed by Ben Diamond at the Miramar Playa, doing business from the back room of the hotel’s Sea Breeze Lingerie shop. With a criminal record going back to his youth, Belvin Jaffe has been in the game long enough to know all the angles. While he likes Ike, Bel works for Ben, and he’s smart enough to stay on The Butcher’s good side with a constant stream of hot gossip, a few lucky cards at his cabana poker game, and ready assistance with whatever else needs doing.

VICTOR LAZARO
(Yul Vazquez)

Victor Lazaro is the hard-working Cuban general manager of the Miramar Playa Hotel and Ike’s most trusted lieutenant. Victor and Ike came up together in the hotel business and, after so many years, are more like brothers than friends. A loving and protective father to daughter Mercedes, Victor’s world is ripped apart when his adored wife Maria is trapped in Cuba after Havana falls to Fidel Castro. In crisis Victor will discover a steel within himself and a surprising, shadowy new world.

MERCEDES LAZARO
(Dominik Garcia-Lorido)

Mercedes Lazaro is Victor’s pretty daughter and a childhood friend of Stevie and Danny Evans. While working part-time as a housekeeper at the Miramar Playa, Mercedes is also in training to be a Pan Am stewardess. Seeking adventure and eager to see the world, Mercedes will reassess her dreams after her mother becomes trapped in the chaos of Castro’s revolution and as her “friendship” with Danny evolves into something more.

ARTHUR EVANS
(Alex Rocco)

Arthur Evans is Ike’s widower father. Decidedly non-religious, Arthur is a Russian Jew who has never been inside Temple a day in his life, not even when his beloved wife of 52 years died. These days, Arthur keeps company with curvaceous nurse Inez but misses his wife more with each passing year. Arthur ran a little sports book in his younger years and is wise to the ways of the world. His pride in Ike’s accomplishments with the Miramar Playa is tempered only by his knowledge that there’s more to the story, despite Ike’s protests.

JACK KLEIN
(Matt Ross)

Jack Klein is the State Attorney for Dade County – Miami’s DA. This charismatic crusader has a holstered gun at his side and an impressive track record putting away criminals. His ultimate catch is Ben Diamond, but right now Ike Evans is in his sights, and young Danny Evans’ legal aspirations may give Klein just the in he needs to start unraveling the web of Miami’s organized crime.



www.starz.com

Richard Dower

Couple of featurettes:

http://www.spoilertv.com/2012/02/magic-city-making-of-featurette.html

http://www.spoilertv.com/2012/03/magic-city-season-1-new-behind-scenes.html

Richard Dower

NSFW:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtzcbLmUlN8

http://www.miami.com/039magic-city039-article

Richard Dower

Ahem....based on this press release we can expect the first three episodes to "surface" farily sharpish :-)

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/03/19/starz-previews-new-magic-season-with-first-ever-three-episode-sampling-initiative-for-original-series-magic-city/124936/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Tvbythenumbers+%28TVbytheNumbers%29

Richard Dower

Starz at it again!...renewed for a second season before the first even starts:

http://www.spoilertv.com/2012/03/magic-city-renewed-for-2nd-season.html

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118051667

Richard Dower

The first episode premieres this Friday after the Spartacus finale!!

DeWitt

I'm hooked. Loved the pilot. It's looks fab, it's very sexy, & the music is perfect for the era. Nice intro to all the characters too, and now we have all the pins lined up for the rest of the season. Colour me intrigued.
Danny Huston just about steals every scene he's in. The Butcher is one helluva character.
Starz have another hit on their hands.

Richard Dower

Be watch it later on myself, critcal praise abound.

DeWitt

And the best thing is we don't even have to bother worrying about cancellation.

don ramo

just watched it there, looks like it could be a very good show,

i was trying to figure out does JDMs caracter own the hotel fully of does that other fella own part of the hotel or what, i couldnt figure out what the deal is with both of them, did i miss something or what,

PhiloCypher

don ramo wrote: »

just watched it there, looks like it could be a very good show,

i was trying to figure out does JDMs caracter own the hotel fully of does that other fella own part of the hotel or what, i couldnt figure out what the deal is with both of them, did i miss something or what,

Just watched it myself and liked what i saw , its no madmen but head and shoulders above the other nostalgia fests Pan Am and playboy club for my money.

From what I can gather Ike holds a 51% controlling stake in the hotel while Danny(heuston) holds the other 49%.

Kur4mA

I wasn't expecting much of this but have to say I was impressed. Great opener!

Richard Dower

Heads up!....ep. 2 and 3 are also out now :0-)

JP Liz V1

Starts tonight on Starz

squonk

I caught the pilot myself last night. Great show so far. I couldn't figure out what the story was with the hotel ownership myself. I took it that Danny WANTED part ownership as payment for stopping the strike but it makes more sense the other way really. It's lining up to be a good show.

The only thing that bothered me was that they built up the whole Sinatra angle from the get go, and all we got was a Sinatra record played over people looking at an imaginary stage and smiling. I'd expect that from a low budget sit com but I'd have thought they'd at least have gotten a Francis Albert lookalike to mime along to the canned music? The sets and everything else was fantastic and top notch so they built up that expectation. I just thought it was a cop out. Maybe they blew the budget for the pilot on the off-road adventures of the car earlier on!

Richard Dower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwizLVHszuE

JP Liz V1

Season 2 premiere date set for June 14th

Richard Dower

season 2 premiere tonight.

Dermighty

The latest episode where Vera performs for the crowd was a really boring episode.

Her dancing rehearsals were decent but the actual performance showed a few clips of her doing nothing like the stuff she was rehearsing. Aside from the elevator girls ass the episode didn't provide much entertainment for me. I liked the first season but the second seasons is really boring.

Additionally I don't like the thought that they may have 11 boring episodes just to lead up to 1 interesting finale.

don ramo

the show has been cancelled by Starz, i didnt bother with season 2 as 1 was so unengaging, shame really i was expecting a lot from it when i first heard about it, i just think it was badly executed,

http://variety.com/2013/tv/news/starz-cancels-magic-city-after-two-seasons-1200574479/

Dermighty

Good riddance, season 2 was dire!

JP Liz V1

Virgin Media has now added so UK and Ireland customers can see