MGM+ has announced that Oscar® winner Forest Whitaker will star in the upcoming suspense thriller series Emperor of Ocean Park.
Academy Award® and Primetime Emmy® Award winner Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, Godfather of Harlem) will star in Emperor of Ocean Park, from executive producer/writer Sherman Payne (Charm City Kings, Shameless), John Wells Productions (JWP), and Warner Bros. Television.
Whitaker joins previously announced cast members Grantham Coleman (Lawman: Bass Reeves), Tiffany Mack (Jessica Jones), and Paulina Lule (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D).
Based on Stephen L. Carter’s best-selling eponymous novel, the first title in the “Elm Harbor” trilogy, Emperor of Ocean Park is set in the worlds of politics, Ivy League academia, and the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard. The story centers on Talcott Garland (Grantham Coleman), an Ivy League law professor whose quiet life is shattered when his father, Judge Oliver Garland, dies of an apparent heart attack. The nature of the judge’s death is questioned by Tal’s sister, Mariah (Tiffany Mack), a former journalist and inveterate conspiracy theorist, who believes that the judge, a failed Black nominee to the Supreme Court, met with foul play.
Whitaker will play Judge Oliver Garland, the patriarch of his family and a formidable figure in national politics and the judicial system, is stern, intelligent, calculating, and proud. As a Black man in America, navigating unwelcoming and often hostile environments, he has formed a hard exterior, which he has come to rely on as a shield. He is also a devoted father, whose commitment to his family simultaneously bolsters and undercuts his deeply- and rigidly-held conservative principles.
Emperor of Ocean Park is produced by JWP in association with Warner Bros. Television, where JWP is under an overall deal. Damian Marcano (Lawman: Bass Reeves) is set to direct multiple episodes. John Wells, Sherman Payne, Damian Marcano, Shukree Tilghman, and JWP’s Erin Jontow will serve as executive producers. Payne, who also serves as showrunner, wrote the first episode, which will be directed by Marcano.
The series begins production in Chicago this month and is scheduled to premiere on MGM+ this summer. Stay tuned for updates.
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The Emperor of Ocean Park – Book 1 of “Elm Harbor” trilogy
New England White – Book 2 of “Elm Harbor” trilogy
Palace Council – Book 3 of “Elm Harbor” trilogy
