Looks like this is one gangster that's going to swim with the fishes. After running for three weeks, Frank Darabont’s mid-season series turned limited event series Mob City has not gotten the green light for a second season. TNT cancelled the 1940s gangster drama (known for awhile there as L.A. Noir) from the former The Walking Dead showrunner on Monday. This is the third consecutive drama series that the network has cancelled after a single season.
Mob City premiered back on December 4th for a six-episode run as a limited event series. Despite a big marketing push with some seriously striking visuals, the series remained low rated throughout its entire fall run. Its first episode premiered with only 2.3 million viewers.
“Mob City was created as a three-week television event and we are incredibly proud of the six hours we presented of this remarkable drama,” explained a TNT spokesperson. “Although the ratings of the limited series haven’t warranted more hours we are eager to work with Frank Darabont again and were delighted to bring the vibrant world of Mob City to life.”
Written and directed by Darabont, Mob City was a noir drama set in 1940s Los Angeles. Based on the critically acclaimed book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City, by John Buntin, Mob City told the story of Detective Joe Teague (Jon Bernthal), an ex-Marine who held “his cards close to his chest. “ After being assigned to a newly formed mob task force, headed up by Detective Hal Morrison (Jeffrey DeMunn), Teague discovers the dark ins and outs of the Los Angeles criminal scene. The task force was part of an ordinance from the Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker (Neal McDonough) to rid the city of big-time criminals that often controlled more of the city than the city itself. Like Ben “Bugsy” Siegel (Ed Burns) and Mickey Cohen (Jeremy Luke), the ruthless king of the Los Angeles underworld also seen in last year’s film Gangster Squad, there portrayed by Sean Penn.
In the end, it was perhaps TNT’s move from their typical, procedural-based character series that did the show in. Still, the network seems not only proud of the series, but more than anxious to work with Darabont again. According to a quote given to Deadline, “Every once and then, we take a big swing, and I’m so happy we did Mob City. Ratings have been mediocre but the show is great, it was beautifully made, got good reviews and was an attention grabbing show,” explained programming head Michael Wright. The story goes on to explain that the network was especially happy with the buzz surrounding Mob City — more so than many of even their most popular series — explaining that “In today’s world, it makes sense to make shows that get attention.”
