City on a Hill — the gritty crime drama starring Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Kevin Bacon and Screen Actors Guild award winner Aldis Hodge — has been renewed for a third season.
The third season will consist of eight episodes which will once again be executive produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The popular television show is made by US cable network Showtime and is aired in Australia on Stan.
Hodge will return to his role as District Attorney Decourcy Ward who forms an unlikely alliance with Bacon’s Jackie Rohr — a corrupt yet revered FBI veteran.
Set in Boston in the 1990s, the series explores a time when the city ran rampant with criminals and corruption. The drama is a fictional account of what was called the “Boston Miracle”.
The “Boston Miracle” was a significant benchmark in America’s never-ending battle with gun crime and violence and saw massive reform in policing and public safety strategies in some of Boston’s most crime-riddled neighbourhoods.
One of the main efforts of the reform was Operation Ceasefire, which centred on communication and saw probationers attend mandatory meetings — facilitated by community members, law enforcement, and social service providers. During these group therapy-esque congregations, the message was emphatically delivered to them that violence would no longer be tolerated.
Additionally, social services and assistance were offered to those who comply with the rules of non-violence, with incentives such as basic necessities for children or help with securing legitimate work on the table.
Given that the hotspots for youth homicide were typically poor inner-city neighbourhoods such as Roxbury — the same place where season two of City on a Hill is set — these were the areas where these strategies were introduced.
This strategy, combined with several others, saw Boston’s youth homicide rate fall by 63%.
No casting or plot information has been released, as yet, about the drama’s third season.
The first two seasons of City on a Hill are now available to stream on Stan.
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