OFF THE WIRE
HISTORY has announced plans to air the new fact-based drama series
“Gangland Undercover,” which takes viewers inside a covert operation and
chronicles infiltrator Charles Falco’s (Canadian Damon Runyan) mission
inside one of America’s most notoriously violent outlaw motorcycle
gangs.
Offering a rare look inside this historically infamous
organized crime gang through the eyes of an undercover investigator, the
series is based on Falco’s 2013 memoir, “Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws:
My Infiltration of America’s Deadliest Biker Gangs.”
Joining
Damon Runyan in the cast are fellow Canadians Paulino Nunes (“The Firm,”
“Haven”), James Cade (“Copper,” “Rookie Blue”), Don Francks (“La Femme
Nikita,” “Hemlock Grove”), Melanie Scrofano (“Warehouse 13,” “Edwin
Boyd”), Ari Cohen (“Small Town Murder Songs,” “Maps to the Stars”), and
Patricia McKenzie (“Cosmopolis,” “Mirador”).
“’Gangland
Undercover’ is a thrilling, crime drama that is a welcome addition to
our exceptional lineup of original programming on HISTORY,” said
Christine Shipton, Senior Vice President of Content at Shaw Media, in an
official press release. “Brought to life by our stellar cast, this new
Canadian series from Cineflix Productions cements the network’s
reputation as Canada’s #1 entertainment specialty channel1.”
The
series follows Falco’s three-year mission living a double-life as an ATF
informant planted inside one of the most historically dangerous
motorcycle gangs, the California-based Vagos – a criminal group involved
in drug trafficking, arms smuggling, money laundering and murder. Falco
initially took on the assignment out of self-preservation to avoid 20
years in prison on drug charges, but his outlook soon shifted, becoming a
quest to achieve justice. Operation 22 Green, as it was known, ended in
March 2006 with the arrests of 25 gang members.
Drawing on the
wealth of material from Falco’s book, along with broader documented
historical research of inter-gang rivalries, the series captures the
reality of outlaw biker counter-culture: a world in which freedom is
equated with the right to carry guns and trade drugs with impunity, a
world in which respect can be earned through fear.
The six-episode series “Gangland Undercover” premieres on HISTORY Monday March 2nd at 10pm.
http://www.craveonline.ca/tv/articles/809223-new-fact-based-drama-series-gangland-undercover-premiere-history
