Sphere Abacus is deepening its footprint in the premium true crime space with the acquisition of a third title, Hollywood and the Mob, in its growing MOB documentary strand, this time turning the spotlight on Hollywood’s long-rumoured ties to organised crime.
Hollywood and the Mob is produced by four times Emmy nominated producer Dash Pictures with Sphere Abacus securing early sales to AMC Networks (USA and Canada) and SBS (Australia).
Directed by Thomas Patterson and Executive Produced by Daniel Sharp and Jack Oliver, Hollywood and the Mob reveals how Hollywood secrets come to light in the explosive true story of how the mob ruled the movie business from behind the scenes.
Hollywood and the Mob is a gripping three-part documentary that uncovers Hollywood’s darkest secret: the century-long affair between mobsters, moguls and movie stars, drawn together by money, power and the glamour of the world’s most seductive industry. From the makeshift film sets of the 1910s to the corporate boardrooms of the ’80s and ’90s, it charts how organised crime infiltrated every layer of the business. This is the true saga of ruthless ambition and the dangerous men who secretly ran Hollywood behind the scenes.
Hollywood and the Mob follows the success of the first two MOB series – Marilyn and the Mob, with Sphere Abacus reporting new sales to AMC Networks (USA and Canada), SBS (Australia), Channel 4 (UK and Ireland), Sky (German Europe) and L7 (Italy) and Elvis and the Mob, which has sold to SBS (Australia), Channel 4 (UK and Ireland) and RTL (German Europe).
Sphere Abacus‘ Managing Director, Jonathan Ford, comments, “The MOB series demonstrates the growing interest in programming that cleverly combines true crime with history. We’re very pleased to announce these initial sales to international broadcasters with more to come, and to be once again working with the creative team at Dash Pictures.”
Two-part documentary Marilyn and the Mob takes a deep dive into the final weeks of her life, investigating her relationship with known mobsters like Sam Giancana and how she became a pawn in the Mafia’s power plays. As we explore the blurred lines between Hollywood, politics and organized crime, the series speculates on whether Monroe knew too much and whether her death was more than a tragic overdose.
Elvis and the Mob (2 x one hour) explores how the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and his manager Colonel Tom Parker became entangled with the Mob, in a city built on vice and crime. When Elvis Presley started performing in Las Vegas, the gaze of the Mafia, who helped build the city, fell upon him. Using archival footage, FBI files, expert interviews and high-end graphics, the series explores the intersection of Elvis’s superstardom and the criminal empire of Las Vegas and reveals how the Mafia profited from the King, how Parker’s deals may have sealed Elvis’s fate, and whether his shocking death was truly as simple as it seemed.
