In Prohibition-era Chicago, street-tough John Torrio attempts the impossible — convincing the city’s most notorious gangs and psychopathic killers to stop slaughtering each other by submitting to a single system of control under one leader — himself — laying the groundwork for what would come to be known as organized crime.

Peaky Blinders, Sopranos.

SYNOPSIS:

Clark Street blends the stylish intensity of Peaky Blinders with the dark humor and comradery of The Sopranos.

The pilot opens on a 20-year-old Al Capone — still unnamed — as he brutally murders an Irish thug in a New York speakeasy.

The story shifts to Prohibition-era Chicago, where strategic thinker John Torrio operates under Big Jim Colosimo, the city’s reigning crime boss. Torrio is pitched a revolutionary liquor scheme involving “near beer,” immediately grasping its potential, but Colosimo refuses to enter the booze business, fearing the chaos it will bring. As tensions rise, Dion O’Banion and the Irish North Side gang violently raid Sicilian distilleries, threatening the survival of Italian neighborhoods and pushing the city toward war.

Colosimo’s empire begins to crack when his ex-wife, Madam Victoria, seizes control of his brothels and threatens exposure. Torrio attempts to negotiate peace on multiple fronts, including brokering talks between the Irish and Sicilians, but O’Banion makes clear that violence is inevitable. New York kingpin Arnold Rothstein arrives with a massive liquor distribution proposal, further fueling Colosimo’s paranoia that Torrio is maneuvering behind his back.

Into this instability steps Al Capone, newly arrived in Chicago and introduced to Torrio by Frankie Yale. Capone proves himself immediately with ruthless efficiency, and Torrio recognizes his dangerous potential while outlining a broader vision for organized crime built on structure, rules, and enforced order. Colosimo interprets Torrio’s ambition as betrayal and secretly orders a hit on him, only to call it off when Torrio reaffirms his loyalty—though trust is already broken.

The conflict explodes when Colosimo retaliates against Madam Victoria by bombing her brothel, killing an innocent young woman. As O’Banion’s men wait outside Colosimo’s café to assassinate him, Capone beats them to the punch executing Colosimo himself, vanishing before anyone realizes what’s happened. The old king is dead, Torrio’s system is born, and a far more dangerous criminal era begins.

The Pilot and Bible for Clark Street is complete and available upon request.