City on a Hill: Showtime releases first trailer for Kevin Bacon drama

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have teamed up with Showtime to produce City on a Hill, based around the actions of Boston’s Operation Ceasefire.

A good crime can be made into a good story. A real life, widespread criminal conspiracy is sometimes too great a story to be believable. It is also both a detective’s dream and nightmare. The trailer for City on a Hill shows Kevin Bacon living both sides of the life as a crooked and confident FBI veteran.

From an idea created by Chuck MacLean, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon will serve as executive producers of the complex web of criminal investigations, and the corrupt cops and officials doing the dirt in early 1990’s Boston. Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge will co-star.

Bacon plays the corrupt cop with a small conscience. Hodge plays the assistant district attorney with a career case on his hands. Based loosely on the events of Operation Ceasefire, or the Boston Miracle, the pair will tackle the gun violence and armed robbery problems plaguing the streets. They also aim to show their peers in blue a new way of operations.

Bacon’s character has no love lost, and no explaining to much of anyone, if he had his preferences. His isn’t much for the initial affirmative action hiring of Hodge’s character either. The first trailer gave us that much.

The series seems like Showtime’s more recent, properly produced answer to HBO’s The Wire or True Detective. Bacon told EW.com about the show’s depth:

"“Even though this show takes place in the ‘90s, there were movies in the ‘70s that were reflective of what we’re doing with City on a Hill. Things like Dog Day Afternoon and The French Connection and Serpico and Mean Streets. It was vibing on that kind of material and I felt like there’s not a lot that’s like that on television, and nobody is making too many movies anyway, so it seemed like a no-brainer to me.”"

The second trailer just serves as reinforcing evidence, from the first statement on through the destruction of the city’s worst elements.

Jonathan Tucker, Mark O’Brien and James Michael Cummings will comprise the major criminal elements. Jill Hennessy, Lauren E. Banks and Amanda Clayton feature with Kevin Dunn and Kevin Chapman also have recurring roles.

City on a Hill will premiere June 16 at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime.