Fat Tony & Co Goes Into Production[1]

GRIPPING NEW UNDERWORLD DRAMA FOR NINE

‘FAT TONY & CO’ GOES INTO PRODUCTION

Robert Mammone stars again as the infamous criminal Tony Mokbel in Channel Nine’s new mini-series FAT TONY & CO.

From Screentime, the producers of the top rating Underbelly franchise, the nine-part drama FAT TONY & CO will uncover the true story of one of Australia’s most notorious criminals, Tony Mokbel.

On March 19, 2006, Mokbel, said to be Australia’s richest gangster, became Australia’s most wanted man. What followed was an intense manhunt that lasted 18 months and dismantled a drug empire.

A miraculous tip-off to the Australian police revealed that Mokbel was living in Athens, Greece under a false name and documents. But how do you find one man in a population of four million? FAT TONY & CO follows Mokbel from his early beginnings in Melbourne’s underworld to his eventual discovery and arrest in a café in Athens.

Other original members of the Underbelly cast set to reprise their roles in the new series include Vince Colosimo as Alphonse Gangitano, Gyton Grantley as Carl Williams, Les Hill as Jason Moran, Madeleine West as Danielle McGuire, Simon Westaway as Mick Gatto, Gerard Kennedy as Graham Kinniburgh, and Kevin Harrington as Lewis Moran.

FAT TONY & CO will also feature Shane Jacobson, Stephen Curry, Debra Byrne, Steve Bastoni, Richard Cawthorne, Simone Kessell, Nicholas Bishop and Hollie Andrew.

Screentime’s Executive Chairman, Des Monaghan, and Head of Drama, Greg Haddrick, will be Executive Producers along with Channel Nine’s joint Heads of Drama, Jo Rooney and Andy Ryan, with Peter Gawler and Elisa Argenzio producing the series. Peter Andrikidis, Andrew Prowse and Karl Zwicky will direct the nine episodes, which will be written by Peter Gawler, Adam Todd, Jeff Truman and Michaeley O’Brien.

Andy Ryan and Jo Rooney said they were thrilled to join forces again with Screentime to bring the compelling and intriguing story of Tony Mokbel to Australian television: “With this incredible cast, FAT TONY& CO will be a must-watch television event.”

Des Monaghan said, “When we first introduced Tony Mokbel, legal constraints greatly inhibited how much we could show. This time there are no such constraints – FAT TONY & CO is complete and unabridged.”

FAT TONY & CO will be filmed in Melbourne and Greece, with Melbourne production commencing on Monday. FAT TONY & CO will screen on the Nine Network in 2014.