Scarface and the Untouchable series in development at Showtime

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Another gangster series is on the way as Deadline has reported that an adaptation of Max Allen Collins and A. Brad Schwartz's Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness and the Battle for Chicago is in the early stages of development at Showtime.

As you might have guessed, the series will chronicle the lives of Al Capone and Eliot Ness in Prohibition-era Chicago, something which has been touched upon before in film and television, but the non-fiction novel is said to be the "new definite history of gangster-era Chicago" as it draws upon "decades of primary source research—including the personal papers of Ness and his associates, newly released federal files, and long-forgotten crime magazines containing interviews with the gangsters and G-men themselves." The potential series is being penned by Ben Jacoby (Newsflash), who is also set to executive produce alongside Alex Kurtzman.

"The show will delve into prohibition-era politics, industrialization, mass media, the immigrant experience, law enforcement and the birth of organized crime," reads Deadline's description. "It will span from the roaring ’20s into the Great Depression, from South Side slums all the way up to the White House. It will show how Al Capone corporatized crime on a level never before imagined, and how Eliot Ness, one of the most revolutionary cops in American history, fought an uphill battle to reform law enforcement, a battle that continues to this day." If I'm being honest with myself, we've seen this type of story before, but damn if I'm not a sucker for any type of period gangster story. Insert the relevant Godfather Part III quote here.