The Last King of the Cross: First look at TV show about nightclub mogul John Ibrahim

As the countdown begins for the premiere of The Last King Of The Cross, The Daily Telegraph has scored a sneak peek at the long-awaited drama based on nightclub baron John Ibrahim’s life.

In our exclusive first look at The Last King Of The Cross, one thing is clear: Sydney nightclub identity John Ibrahim wants to tell a story of brotherhood.

The 10-part made-for-TV series inspired by John Ibrahim’s 2017 book opens with a tense exchange between John and his and his older brother Sam.

“I don’t know how to help you anymore,” a young adult John (played by Lincoln Younes) says.

The trailer, which will air tonight during The Bachelor Australia’s premiere, cuts to a dramatic montage of the Ibrahims’ childhood in war-torn Lebanon.

Then back: “Don’t worry. The last thing I ever wanted in the world was for you to help me,” Sam (Claude Jabbour) replies.

Tim Roth, Matt Nable and Lincoln Younes in The Last King of the Cross. Picture: Daniel Asher Smith.

The first episode, which airs on February 17, begins in 1987: “As wide-eyed kid, John Ibrahim surreptitiously follows his older brother and hero, Sam, into the most exotic red-light district in the Southern Hemisphere,” according to a Paramount statement.

Younes, 30, bears a striking resemblance to Ibrahim when he was the same age.

Claude Jabbour as Sam Ibrahim. Picture: Daniel Asher Smith.

The drama charts John’s formative decades as an immigrant without education, through to the arrival of the family in Sydney’s Western Suburbs, and his ultimate rise to Australia’s most infamous nightclub mogul, or King of the Cross as he is widely known.

“We can’t let them forget who runs the street,” an older John says to Sam.

“Don’t worry they won’t,” Sam says.

Ibrahim himself is an executive producer on the project, and was snapped on set in a western Sydney carpark last June, some 35km from the actual Cross, where the Golden Mile’s most familiar landmarks were recreated.

An adolescent John in episode two of the 10-part series, as he recovers from his stabbing, he beings to turn his dreams of being a nightclub owner into a reality. Picture: Daniel Asher Smith.

For control of Kings Cross, the Ibrahim brother (Lincoln Younes as adult John) must battle the reigning King – Ezra Shipman (Tim Roth). Picture: Daniel Asher Smith.

The trailer is a heady, gritty introduction to the underbelly of 1980s Sydney: A series of gun shots, cash-filled brief cases, strippers, police raids, and conflicts.

“Everyone has their price, right?” lead antagonist Ezra Shipman (Tim Roth) forebodes.

In another scene, John says: “There’s nothing I won’t do to protect my brother.”

But the trailer’s conclusion sets up the ultimate conflict that will unfold between them.

Kings Cross in its 1980s heyday was re-created in an enormous carpark in Western Sydney to shoot John Ibrahim’s TV series Last King of the Cross Picture: Jonathan Ng

John (Lincoln Younes), Sam (Claude Jabbour), and Joey Romano (Damian WalsheHowling). Picture: Daniel Asher Smith.

“What’re you trying to do John, are you trying to start a war?” an adult Sam asks.

To which John’s reply is: “It’s business, Sam.”

Rick Maier, head of drama and executive production at Paramount ANZ said the production is “a substantial investment for Paramount+ in local drama, and a real credit to everyone involved, especially this all-star cast.”

“Just quietly we think these are some of the best performances you’ll see this year.”

Younes (Barons, Tangle, Home And Away) is one of three actors who will bring the enigmatic Ibrahim to life in the Paramount+/Cineflix series.