Starz has returned with season 3 of its hit drama “BMF,” which chronicles the rise and fall of the Flenory brothers and their massive drug cartel Black Mafia Family from the mid-1980s until the mid-2000s.
Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “T” Flenory were born and raised in Detroit and the first two seasons followed how they grew their business in that city and Meech’s ambitions that led him to expand beyond their hometown.
Season three, which begins March 1 at 8 p.m. on Starz, features Big Meech, played by his son Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., moving full time to Atlanta and turning it into a drug hub with growing confidence and ruthlessness.
“What separates him from most is how fearless he is,” said Flenory Jr. in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Once he knows what he wants, he doesn’t let anything get in his way.”
He said Atlanta was an ideal place to do business given how the highways easily led to smaller cities around the Southeast such as Birmingham and Chattanooga, similar to why UPS and logistics companies galore are based here.
The city already had existing drug lords so Big Meech had to develop alliances from scratch and bring in better product at better prices to build market share. He had to do this while staying off the radar of the police and evading death.
“It’s hard to go to someone else’s city and set up shop.” Flenory Jr. said. “It rubs people the wrong way. It’s crazy to see at such a young age what he was able to do and eventually control everything.”
And Big Meech does this without his brother T, who stays behind to run the business in Detroit. “They’re trying to figure out their lives without being near each other,” Flenory Jr. said. “Meech is trying to live better and grow. He’s sick of how he was living before.”
Legendary strip club Magic City, which first showed up season two, becomes even more integral season three. “My dad spent time there and we got to shoot there,” Flenory Jr. said. They used the actual club season two, then built out a replica version to shoot many of the indoor scenes for the current season.
Guest stars set to show up in season three include “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum Cynthia Bailey, R&B star Ne-Yo and rapper Saweetie. Flenory Jr. gives special props to guest star and Atlanta rap star 2 Chainz. “He killed his part,” he said. “He brought fun and humor to his character.”
Heather Zulhike, interim showrunner while Randy Huggins recuperates from unexplained health issues, said storytelling is more challenging season three with Big Meech and T in different locations.
“The fans love seeing the brothers together,” she said. “We worked hard to still have them cross storylines and come together in unexpected ways. It also adds drama. They don’t report to each other. They do whatever they want, but now have to help each other when there’s a problem. And Meech becomes the face of BMF.”
The season also spends time with characters who lived at Techwood Homes, a public housing project that would eventually get torn down before the 1996 Olympics. “There were so many good people who lived there,” Zulhike said. “The heart and soul of this show is family and we’re proud how we showed those family dynamics at Techwood. We also show the brutality of the Red Dog unit,” the notorious Atlanta Police Department anti-drug task force.
Zulhike said the Flenory brothers were able to sustain their operation as long as they did in part because Big Meech instilled loyalty. “He treated everybody the same,” she said. “People found family that they didn’t necessarily have at home.”
Flenory Jr. said his father, who has been serving a 30-year sentence since 2008 for large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering, is able to watch the show while in prison. “They go in the day room and watch it as it comes on,” he said. “And he tells me what I should do better, exactly what he was thinking at that time. He would criticize the scripts and say, ‘I wouldn’t say that!’” (According to The Detroit News, Big Meech’s sentence may be shortened and he could possibly be free as early as 2025.)
“BMF” is one of Starz’s biggest shows. Season two averaged 10.6 million viewers per episode via multi-platform viewing, according to Starz. It quickly renewed the show for a fourth season even before the third season had debuted. Flenory Jr. could see the show last eight seasons given how much more story there is to tell.
The pay cable network last month aggressively promoted the show in Atlanta including a private launch party at Underground Atlanta, a public pop-up museum about the history of “BMF” curated by Cam Kirk Studios featuring original BMF memorabilia and a photo opportunity with Flenory Jr. in front of a Starz “BMF” promotional billboard off Howell Mill Road.
That billboard was an homage to “BMF” billboards pushing Big Meech’s entertainment label in the early 2000s.
Credit: RODNEY HO/
Credit: RODNEY HO/
IF YOU WATCH
“BMF,” season 3 begins Friday, March 1 at 8 p.m. on Starz and available as an add-on streaming option via Hulu
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