The new Tubi film Murder City tells the intense story of disgraced ex-cop Neil (Mike Colter), who lost his job and is forced into a life of crime under a notorious queenpin named Ash (Stephanie Sigman). Neil is working to rectify a debt owed by his father, Graham (Antonio Fargas), all while trying to protect his wife (Medina Senghore) and son (Isaiah C. Morgan). Throughout the movie, the protagonist grapples with his identity as a dedicated husband, father, son, and brother while dealing with the consequences of his actions which are a result of his unfortunate circumstances.
Amidst the action and crime fighting, Neil’s resilience in keeping his family safe and preserving his marriage offers a silver lining and emphasizes the strength of Black love. Colter provided a deeper insight with The Root about this theme and the intentional decision to depict it within the film.
“I remember going through it and just talking about who’s going to play the wife, because I served as a producer on this. So it was really important for me, and I saw a couple of things that Medina had done, and immediately I was like, ‘Man, if we could get her, it would be really great.’ She has such a capacity as an artist. She’s so good and just if I could get her.”
Colter was thrilled that Medina Senghore took on the role and acknowledges why her presence and caliber as an actress were sought after for the part. “When I saw her work, I was like ‘I really like her work… she’s so grounded, so authentic, and beautiful.’ I thought we would make a nice couple cinematically. It would be something that people would enjoy because a lot of times, you know, there’s colorism in this business and there’s an idea of what people want to see on screen and that the studios, they wanna do this and we do a little bit of that.”
“You know, it’s like they have an idea in their head about what they want this to be, what Black love has to look like, and all this other stuff. And I just thought she had a very interesting quality about her, gorgeous skin and just really grounded and I immediately felt like she would just be perfect if she would sign up and she did. I thought we had an instant, you know, ability to connect and trust each other and stuff like that too and I hope it worked out.”
Actor Antonio Fargas stars in Murder City and acknowledges that seeing Black love in a crime-thriller movie is a precedent that offers a testament to its strength in exceptional situations.
“When it’s put in a context that those people who make those decisions about what they see, it’s like comedy can say a lot about the pathos and the pain that we’re in, but it’s shaped with comedy. And so when we can shape this, something pure that hasn’t been or that’s now starting to be tapped in terms of Black love, but in terms of being set in a crime scene situation or chaos, how that survives and how that can flourish within the context of this movie is a gift,” he stated.
Murder City debuts June 29th as a part of Tubi’s and Village Roadshow Pictures’ Black Noir cinema collection partnered alongside NBA all-star Kevin Garnett.
Watch the official trailer below: