Gangs of New York to be made into TV series starring Martin Scorsese

Miramax is preparing a Gangs of New York series based on the 1927 book of the same name by Herbert Asbury. Oscar winner Martin Scorsese, who directed the feature-length adaptation of the work in 2002, has been named executive producer and director of the first two episodes. About it writes deadline.

The series should show a new take on a known story with new characters that weren't in the movie. The show will be written by Brett Leonard, who worked on the Shantaram series for Apple TV.

Asbury's book details clashes between rival gangs in New York City in the mid to late 1800s, before the dominance of the Italian-American mob during Prohibition in the 1920s. This latter period was the subject of the HBO drama Boardwalk Empire, which Scorsese produced and won an Emmy Award for directing the pilot episode.

The feature-length film Gangs of New York received 10 Oscar nominations, but did not win a single statuette. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz, Liam Neeson and Brendan Gleeson.