Official poster for City on a Hill

Scripted series · Showtime

City on a Hill

Boston, 1993. No one gets away clean.

7.2IMDb188 votesWorth your time
Community0/20 ratingsYour ratingRateSign in to rate
2019 – 20223 seasons · 26 episodes~55 min per episodeTV-MACanceled
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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.

Character DepthDefining8.8

How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.

SerializedVery strong7.0

How much each hour depends on the one before it.

Emotional WeightStrong6.6

How much the series is designed to affect you.

BingeabilityStrong6.5

How hard it is to stop after one episode.

TensionStrong6.5

The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.

Cliffhanger IntensityStrong5.5

How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.

SpectacleLight3.5

Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.

World BuildingLight3.5

The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.

HumourLight2.5

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.

  • Official poster for Season 1

    Season 1 · Complete

    Season 1

    201910 episodes

    7.0IMDb

    Idealistic 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

  • Official poster for Season 2

    Season 2 · Complete

    Season 2

    20218 episodes

    6.3IMDb

    Season 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

  • Official poster for Season 3

    Season 3 · Complete

    Season 3

    20228 episodes

    6.1IMDb

    Season 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.

Still from What They Saw in Southie High

S01E02

What They Saw in Southie High

7.4IMDb14 votes

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.

23 Jun 201955 min
Still from It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City

S01E06

It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City

7.4IMDb11 votes

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.

21 Jul 201955 min
Still from If Only the Fool Would Persist in His Folly

S01E03

If Only the Fool Would Persist in His Folly

7.4IMDb14 votes

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.

30 Jun 201955 min
Still from The Night Flynn Sent the Cops on the Ice

S01E01

The Night Flynn Sent the Cops on the Ice

7.3IMDb15 votes

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.

16 Jun 201955 min
Still from The Deaf Sage of Pompeii

S01E09

The Deaf Sage of Pompeii

7.2IMDb9 votes

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.

11 Aug 201955 min
Still from High on the Looming Gallows Tree

S01E08

High on the Looming Gallows Tree

7.2IMDb10 votes

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.

4 Aug 201955 min

Recently aired

Latest Episodes

Still from Boston Bridges, Falling Down

S03E07

Boston Bridges, Falling Down

6.7IMDb6 votes
18 Sept 202254 min
Still from Ugly, Like I Said

S03E04

Ugly, Like I Said

5.3IMDb7 votes
28 Aug 202254 min

The craft

Key Crew

Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.

Executive production

Direction

Cinematography

Where to watch

Streaming

Availability verified against regional listings.

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