You know the drill: a hungry upstart sets out to make a name for themselves in a competitive industry, building networks and battling the old guard. It’s a hallmark of the entrepreneurial narrative, repeated for the umpteenth time in the 10-part series Last King of the Cross, with an Underbelly-ish twist – in that the protagonist associates with various shadowy personalities. The series was inspired by the memoir of John Ibrahim, a nightclub owner whose brothers Sam and Michael are underworld figures, though John (an executive producer of the show) has never been accused of any crimes related to his brothers’ offences.
The show stars Lincoln Younes as Ibrahim and, in an early scene, dramatises the subject’s 1995 appearance at the Wood royal commission into New South Wales police corruption. It’s one of several short titbits the writers crowbar into the show’s introductory moments, seemingly unsure where to begin.
