TNT is ratcheting up the marketing muscle behind its mob-centric event series.
The "drama" network said Mob City, the three-week, six-installment, project from writer-director-executive producer Frank Darabont (The Walking Dead), has become the first television screenplay ever adapted and published through Twitter. The event series, which makes its linear debut on TNT on Dec. 4, is also looking to raise awareness and drive viewership via a pop-up store in New York City.
Through TNT's Mob City "adaptweetion," which is being created in collaboration with agency Deutsch NY, the Twittersphere will be transported back to1940s Los Angeles. The story will unfold gradually over three days, taking followers to the point just before the end of the first episode, when a major turn of events occurs. To find out what happens at the conclusion of the premiere episode, fans will have to tune in Mob City's premiere on TNT Dec. 4, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT). Subsequent editions are set for Dec. 11 and Dec. 18.
"The anticipation surrounding Mob City has been building so much, we wanted to create a unique story-telling experience by sharing the first episode's screenplay specifically adapted for Twitter," said Tricia Melton, senior vice president of entertainment marketing and branding for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies, in a statement. "This is a completely new and innovative way to bring show content to fans in a way that transforms a tweet into social storytelling. Through our Mob City adaptweetion, Frank Darabont's gripping dialogue from the script will become an artful social experience guaranteed to delight fans."
Meanwhile in Manhattan, TNT again working with Deutsch NY, has opened a pop-up haberdashery in Manhattan’s Chelsea Market at 75 9th Ave., between 15th and 16th Streets.
Mickey's Haberdashery, named for key Mob City figure Mickey Cohen, will be open from Dec. 2-4, giving holiday shoppers the chance to immerse themselves in the program'satmosphere and find holiday gifts. Ignacio Quiles, co-owner of QP & Monty and stylist behind Sartorial Pairings, is curating the items to be sold at Mickey's Haberdashery.
The pop-up outlet is inspired by notorious gangster Mickey Cohen, who owned various retail operations, including a men's clothing store called Michael's Exclusive Haberdashery. He exited the haberdashery business in 1951, shortly after the IRS started investigating his business dealings.
Mickey's Haberdashery is set to feature new and vintage-style apparel and accessories for men and women, as well as novelty items, all sourced and curated by Quiles. Labels include QP & Monty, Victory Collection Optical, Tracy Watt’s Hats, Jack Erwin Shoes, Recipe for Men Skincare, Leisure Life NYC and Miller's Oath. In addition, visitors to the haberdashery will have access to old-time shaves and haircuts, and a bevy of 1940s-inspired clothing and apparel.
"Mob City and the era of the 1940s are full of glamour, elegance and incredible style," said Melton. "Mickey's Haberdashery is a way for us to bring both the style and the legend of these infamous mobsters to life in an immersive, real-world experience. It's a great opportunity for shoppers to add a little '40s gangster glam to their holiday shopping."
Based on the critically acclaimed book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City, by John Buntin, Mob City is set in post-war Los Angeles, home to movie stars, studio heads and returning war heroes. But it's also a city caught between a powerful and corrupt police force and an even more dangerous criminal network determined to make L.A. its West Coast base. Mob City centers on detective Joe Teague (Jon Bernthal), an ex-Marine who holds his cards close to his chest. Teague has been assigned to a new mob task force headed by detective Hal Morrison (Jeffrey DeMunn), which is part of a crusade by Los Angeles police chief William Parker (Neal McDonough) to free the city of criminals like Ben “Bugsy” Siegel (Ed Burns) and Cohen (Jeremy Luke), the ruthless king of the Los Angeles underworld.
