Showtime has unveiled the premiere date for the upcoming crime drama Heist 88 along with the first image from the feature highlighting star Courtney B. Vance and his heist crew. The two-time Emmy winner leads the feature from director Menhaj Huda which will stream exclusively on Paramount+ with Showtime starting on September 29 before broadcasting on the linear Showtime network on October 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Unveiled nearly a year ago, Heist 88 takes inspiration from the unbelievable true story behind one of the biggest and most brazen real-life heists on the U.S. banking system. Vance plays Jeremy Horne, the mastermind behind the attack loosely based on the real-life criminal Armand “The Chairman” Moore who has the uncanny ability to convince just about anyone to do anything. For his plan, he brings aboard four young bank employees to steal nearly $80 million through a meticulous takedown of the banking wire system in an age before widespread cybersecurity and computerization.
The image shows Vance on the other side of the law for once. Where his previous roles as lawyer Franklin Roberts in 61st Street and the infamous Johnnie Cochran in The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story saw him fighting for his clients in the courtroom, he’s instead planning his assault on the bank in the first look at Heist 88. Dressed in a suit and with a projector to his side showing off the location and all other vital information, he’s bringing his crew up to speed on the heist and convincing them that it’s all worthwhile. With his sophisticated and organized demeanor, he doesn’t come off as a run-of-the-mill criminal but rather the “Chairman” of this operation like his inspiration Moore. See the new image below.
Who Joins Vance in ‘Heist 88’?
Heist 88 is produced by Vance with Angela Bassett through their Bassett Vance Productions banner alongside MTV Entertainment Studios and Gunpowder & Sky. Vance reunites with a few familiar faces for the project, including American Crime Story‘s Keesha Sharp and 61st Street‘s Bentley Green. Sharp plays Jeremy’s love interest and political consultant with criminal machinations Bree Barnes while Green plays Jeremy’s cocky and energetic DJ nephew Marshall King. The rest of the cast includes Keith David as Jeremy’s mentor Buddha Ray, Xavier Clyde as the nerdy research junkie Danny Pugh who’s fed up with his job at the bank, Nican Robinson as Rick Windom who aspires to be a stockbroker and has worked in the back of the bank for around six years, and Precious Way as cheerful and ambitious, yet unseen employee LaDonna Sanders.
The screenplay for the crime drama was penned by Minor Adjustments series creator Dwayne Johnson-Cochran who has been working hard with Vance and Bassett for years to get Heist 88 to screens. It originally began life as a series for FX and later HBO before Bassett Vance inked a deal with MTV Entertainment which wanted it to be a feature instead.
Heist 88 streams on Paramount+ with Showtime on September 29 before arriving on linear television on October 1.
via Collider