Sounds promising — 'Taylor Sheridan Meets Guy Ritchie' streaming hit gets 'optimistic' season 2 update

If you fancy your crime dramas with a proper bite—and you reckon there’s nothing left for TV to do with gangs of hard-nosed blokes in heavy coats—think again. The Westies has quietly become a breakout hit over on MGM+, managing to stand out even in a landscape crammed with modern mob stories. It grounds itself in the real, rather brutal world of New York’s Irish-American underdogs, who didn’t just survive the mob wars of 1980s Hell’s Kitchen but actually thrived… at least for a while.

The Westies has clocked 38 weeks in MGM+'s overall top ten, outperforming most of the platform's lineup.

The Westies: Grit, Blood, and Actual History

The thing that sets The Westies apart is it isn’t about your usual mob royalty or cliched wiseguys; this lot were a scrappy, outnumbered gang with a reputation for being that bit nastier than the rest. The actual Westies ran Hell’s Kitchen with a mix of audacity, expediency, and questionable morals, carving out just enough respect (and genuine fear) to keep the much larger Italian mafia at bay. Not many British viewers would have heard of them if not for this show—trust me, their Wikipedia page is a trip.

The series has lapped up comparisons to Mayor of Kingstown and Peaky Blinders—and, fair enough, there’s plenty here for fans of Taylor Sheridan or Guy Ritchie. Season 1 has built toward a juicy crossroads, with the gang’s grip looking properly shaky and power plays stirring left and right. The penultimate episode ramps up the tension enough to leave everyone guessing who’ll be left standing for a potential second season.

Cast and Crew: What’s Next?

The main storyline leans heavily on Sarah Bolger’s Bridget Walsh and Tom Brittney’s Jimmy Roarke—the sort of pair who look your standard mob couple from a distance, but whose secrets and double-crosses clearly run deeper with every episode. In interviews, both have said it’s that sense of buried threat that drew them in, with the show’s slow-burn plotting teasing out exactly how their paths will collide in the end.

As the first season prepares to wrap up, speculation on a renewal is swirling. Bolger put it rather succinctly speaking to MovieWeb:

Here's what Sarah Bolger told MovieWeb about a possible second season: "I think ultimately all we can do is, at this point, we all feel so passionate about The Westies. We can all pray for a Season 2, but in terms of official words, nothing from the gods yet."

Elsewhere, Tom Brittney has said he’s cautiously optimistic about Season 2, mentioning the cast and crew are actually invested from top to bottom—a rarity even by TV’s standards. 78% on Rotten Tomatoes and those streaming numbers probably help. For now, it’s up to MGM to decide if the critical buzz and steady audience count are enough to hit “go” again. If it does go ahead, co-creator Michael Panes has already promised things will get “even crazier”, with all signs pointing to an all-out gang war next round.

• Cast highlights: Sarah Bolger (Bridget Walsh), Tom Brittney (Jimmy Roarke)
• Creators: Chris Brancato & Michael Panes
• 78% critics approval on Rotten Tomatoes