Bosch Star Titus Welliver Turns Corrupt in The Westies

Titus Welliver’s – MGM+ has dropped the first teaser for The Westies, premiering Sunday, July 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, and it’s clear Titus Welliver isn’t returning as Harry Bosch. Set during New York’s violent 1980s-era gang war, the series follows the Irish-American Westies fightin

When Titus Welliver shows up as a police officer again in The Westies, it doesn’t feel like a homecoming. MGM+ has released the first teaser for the new crime thriller—premiering Sunday, July 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT—and the tone is instantly darker than the character audiences associate with him.

The series is set in the 1980s in New York. in Hell’s Kitchen during an era described as among the city’s most dangerous and violent. The Westies follows the infamous Irish-American gang amid a historic gang war. as they fight desperately to hold onto power while the construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center brings huge money into their territory. Outnumbered by New York’s Five Families. the Westies still know how to fight for their territory—and the teaser frames it as a battle they’re determined to win.

Welliver plays Glenn Keenan, and the casting itself signals a shift. The teaser arrives with a reminder that this isn’t Bosch. In a previous interview with Collider. it was said that Keenan was “no Harry Bosch. ” and that he’s as corrupt as it gets. with a “compromised” moral compass. Welliver expanded on what that means in the role, saying, “But believe me, this guy is a Vietnam War veteran. He’s a beat cop. He still walks the streets, but he’s corrupt. His moral compass has been completely compromised. Somebody said to me. ‘Do you really want to do another cop?’ Well. if I could let you read the script. you would realize why. This is a very, very complex and deeply nuanced character… But this is a very, very dark world.”.

The stakes in The Westies stretch beyond individual choices, too. The show’s premise places the Westies inside a citywide power struggle—one intensified by outside money and relentless pressure from bigger factions—so even basic decisions about loyalty. violence. and survival can ripple outward fast.

The cast is stacked with familiar faces from across TV and film. J.K. Simmons stars as Eamon Sweeney. Tom Brittney plays James “Jimmy” Roarke. Jessica Frances Dukes portrays Birdie Polk, while Stanley Morgan is Mickey Flanagan. Sarah Bolger takes on the role of Bridget Walsh, and Allen Leech plays Brendan Cahill. Hamish Allan-Headley appears as John Gotti, Vincent Walsh as Eddie Breen, and Hilary McCormack as Erin Malone.

Chris Brancato and Michael Panes bring the series to life. Brancato, known for Godfather of Harlem and Narcos, serves as showrunner and executive producer, while Panes is also credited with the series’ creation.

For viewers who tuned in expecting the familiar reassurance of a straight-shooting cop. The Westies is promising something else entirely—an 1980s New York gang war where the men enforcing the law are just as compromised as the criminals they’re chasing. And with the premiere set for July 12 on MGM+. the teaser is already doing its work: it’s selling a world that feels brutal. personal. and impossible to clean up.

The Westies MGM+ Titus Welliver Bosch J.K. Simmons Glenn Keenan Eamon Sweeney 1980s crime thriller Hell’s Kitchen Jacob Javits Convention Center