
Scripted series · Showtime
City on a Hill
Boston, 1993. No one gets away clean.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How City on a Hill actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
City on a Hill reads strongest on Character Depth, Serialized and Emotional Weight.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
In early 90s Boston, an African-American District Attorney comes in from Brooklyn advocating change and forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran invested in maintaining the status quo. Together they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to encompass and eventually upend Boston’s city-wide criminal justice system.
The run
Seasons
3 seasons · 26 episodes.

Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
201910 episodes
7.0IMDbIdealistic Assistant DA Decourcy Ward and corrupt-yet-venerated FBI veteran Jackie Rohr come together in the early 1990s to take on a family of armored car robbers in a case that grows to subvert the entire criminal justice system of Boston.
Best episode · S01E02 What They Saw in Southie High

Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
20218 episodes
6.3IMDbSeason two centers on a federal housing project in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston that is plagued with drug violence and a rightful distrust in local law enforcement. As coalition leader Grace Campbell works tirelessly on behalf of the community, her efforts are undermined by gang activity happening right under her nose. Enter irreverent FBI agent Jackie Rohr, who is here to exploit Boston's defective criminal justice system in a desperate attempt to salvage his own career.
Best episode · S02E08 Pax Bostonia

Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
20228 episodes
6.1IMDbSeason three brings us to Boston's high society Beacon Hill. Having left the FBI and thrown his badge into Boston Harbor, Jackie Rohr lands a lavish new gig running security for a wealthy family. Life is good until secrets begin to unravel. When an investigation opens, ADA Decourcy Ward sees an opportunity to finally rip out the machinery perpetuating a broken criminal justice system. Siobhan Quays, representing a construction worker who was severely injured on the Big Dig, encounters the city's corruption firsthand, all while coping with the traumatic events of her past year. As Jenny Rohr can attest, given her history with her father, some experiences will haunt you beyond your breaking point.
Best episode · S03E08 Whipping Post
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.

S01E02
What They Saw in Southie High
After an eventful Sunday at church, Decourcy finds out he has a new powerful enemy in town — one that puts his wife Siobhan in an awkward position. Jackie is stirring up trouble in his own home, and his distrustful mother-in-law Rosa is onto him. Investigators Hank Signa and Rachel Behnam look into an unsolved missing persons case connected to the robbery in Revere. That could mean trouble for Frankie Ryan, who's busy laundering his most recent loot and, with the help of his brother Jimmy, getting carried away in the process.
- Directed by Ed Bianchi
- Written by Chuck MacLean

S01E06
It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
Decourcy is a step closer to connecting the stolen guns to the Revere robbery when an insider agrees to talk. Jenny is no longer able to ignore Jackie's indiscretions after they show up on her doorstep. An unexpected rush to the hospital worsens money problems for the Ryan family and Reverend Fields discovers that his longstanding influence doesn't make him invincible.
- Directed by Metin Hüseyin
- Written by Jorge Zamacona

S01E03
If Only the Fool Would Persist in His Folly
Jackie searches for his absent informant as Jenny searches for purpose, revisiting her passion to become a teacher. Decourcy works up a plan to overcome the town's infamous "Code of Silence" and get a few suspects to talk. Minogue is assigned a big case, but not the one he actually cares about. Jimmy skips town to visit his kids and finds that, even a thousand miles away, he's not safe from his problems back home.
- Directed by Christoph Schrewe
- Written by Emily Ragsdale

S01E01
The Night Flynn Sent the Cops on the Ice
In early ‘90s Boston, racism is endemic and crime is widespread. Jackie Rohr, a renowned FBI agent whose methods are not exactly by the book, does not mind the status quo. But Decourcy Ward, the new Assistant District Attorney in town, wants to uproot the corrupt system. The two form an unlikely, and obligatory, alliance to take down a gang of armored truck robbers from Charlestown.
- Directed by Michael Cuesta
- Written by Chuck MacLean

S01E09
The Deaf Sage of Pompeii
When an unlikely source confides in Decourcy, the Massachusetts State Police hatch a plan that promises arrests without the help of the FBI. However, keeping out of the way is not exactly Jackie's strong suit. The Genesis Coalition pitches a new strategy to curb Boston's crime rate. Jenny opens up about her past to a sympathetic ear.
- Directed by Adam Bernstein
- Written by Matthew Nemeth

S01E08
High on the Looming Gallows Tree
Jackie celebrates a win in front of the cameras but, behind closed doors, he reaches a new low. A shining moment from Decourcy promises a potential future in politics, but any pride Siobhan feels for her husband is squandered by an unexpected betrayal. The Grand Jury reconvenes, and this time Sheik doesn't get off easily. Thanks to Signa's detective work, the Ryan family is now under the watchful eye of the Suffolk DA.
- Directed by Clark Johnson
- Written by Stephen Day
Recently aired
Latest Episodes


S03E07
Boston Bridges, Falling Down
- Directed by Ed Bianchi
- Written by Chris Andrien


S03E05
Take Me Home
- Directed by Hagar Ben-Asher
- Written by Haley Cameron

S03E04
Ugly, Like I Said
- Directed by Marshall Tyler
- Written by P. Carter

S03E03
Speak When You're Angry
- Directed by Marshall Tyler
- Written by Emily Ragsdale
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
- Photo unavailable
Chuck MacLean
Showrunner

Michael Cuesta
Executive producer

James Mangold
Executive producer

Tom Fontana
Executive producer

Matt Damon
Executive producer

Ben Affleck
Executive producer

Jennifer Todd
Executive producer

Gavin O'Connor
Executive producer

Barry Levinson
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Haley Cameron
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Regina Porter
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Stephen Day
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Matthew Nemeth
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Jorge Zamacona
Writer
- Photo unavailable
P. Carter
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Chris Andrien
Writer
- Photo unavailable
J.M. Holmes
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Michele McPhee
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Emily Ragsdale
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Michael CuestaExecutive Producer
- James MangoldExecutive Producer
- Tom FontanaExecutive Producer
- Chuck MacLeanExecutive Producer
- Matt DamonExecutive Producer
- Ben AffleckExecutive Producer
Writing
- Haley CameronWriter
- Regina PorterWriter
- Stephen DayWriter
- Matthew NemethWriter
- Chuck MacLeanWriter
- Jorge ZamaconaWriter
Direction
- Adam BernsteinDirector
- Hagar Ben-AsherDirector
- Alex ZakrzewskiDirector
- Michael CuestaDirector
- Benny BoomDirector
- Clark JohnsonDirector
Cinematography
- Mauricio RubinsteinDirector of Photography
- Joe CollinsDirector of Photography
- Alex DisenhofDirector of Photography
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
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- Fandango At HomeBuy
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