Amidst the weathered row houses and rust-barnacled tugboats framing the port city of Providence, Rhode Island, lies an Irish-American neighborhood known as “The Hill.” There, the old-world ways of street justice and loyalty still permeate through the tough blue-collar neighborhood. It is where the familial bonds of the Caffee brothers are constantly teetering above a moral abyss, something akin to the classic sibling fable of Cain and Abel.
It is this tradition that the new SHOWTIME original series, BROTHERHOOD follows. BROTHERHOOD tells the story of two brothers who sometimes share a twisted sense of moral compromise — both with their own skewed, idealistic visions of what makes the American dream. They live the lie that noble ends can sometimes only be accomplished through dubious means.
Tommy Caffee (JASON CLARKE) is a family man whose ambition and street smarts help him navigate the back-room dealings and underhanded tactics of Providence politics. He is a local politician out to protect “The Hill” and its interests by any means necessary. Tommy’s complicated family and professional lives turn upside-down with the return of his gangster brother Mike (JASON ISAACS), who has come back to the neighborhood to regain control of its underworld activities.
Caught in the turbulent crossfire of a tense, conflicted relationship between two brothers is their mother, Rose (FIONNULA FLANAGAN), who is proud of both sons, to the point where she turns a blind eye to Mike’s shady, sometimes deadly dealings — even when he passes her counterfeit money as a gift.
Then there is Tommy’s wife, Eileen (ANNABETH GISH), who tirelessly supports her husband but is constantly wary of how Mike potentially places Tommy and their children in harm’s way.
Their path is a minefield of shifting alliances, leaving the brothers constantly in doubt about who they can trust. Mike’s close confidante, Pete McGonagle (STIVI PASKOSKI), is a recovering alcoholic struggling to stay straight but who easily reverts back to his role as Mike’s enforcer. Then there is competing gangland boss Freddie Cork (KEVIN CHAPMAN), who regularly threatens Tommy with blackmail (or Mike’s life) in order to secure sweetheart city contracts.
Even if Tommy can protect his brother Mike’s life and business interests with his own brand of backroom dealings, he knows that police detective Declan Giggs (ETHAN EMBRY) is always lurking in surveillance and monitoring his every move.
Driven by their mutual resentment and rivalry, the Caffee brothers embark on a dangerous course, where their love and loyalty will be tested like never before. The duality of both men and their lives interweave to create a volatile dynamic that could destroy both of them…and both of their families.
