# Last King of the Cross
*Last King of the Cross* is an Australian crime drama television series on Paramount+, inspired by the 2017 autobiography of Sydney nightclub owner [John Ibrahim](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-ibrahim). It dramatizes the rise of Ibrahim and his older brother Sam from Lebanese immigrant arrivals to dominance of the nightlife and underworld of Kings Cross, Sydney's red-light district.[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/) • [2](https://www.sky.com/watch/last-king-of-the-cross)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Inspired by John Ibrahim's best-selling 2017 autobiography of the same name; Ibrahim serves as an executive producer[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/) |
| First season | Premiered on Paramount+ Australia on 17 February 2023, 10 episodes; became the streamer's most-watched Australian series[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/) |
| Second season | Premiered 30 August 2024, 8 episodes, set against the Oxford Street nightclub scene of the 2000s[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/) • [3](https://www.c21media.net/news/mark-fennesseys-last-king-of-the-cross-greenlit-for-season-2-by-paramount/BEAJ%2520%28Broadcast%2520Program%2520Export%2520Association%2520of%2520Japan%29) |
| Lead cast | Lincoln Younes as John Ibrahim, Claude Jabbour as Sam Ibrahim, Tim Roth as crime boss Ezra Shipman[2](https://www.sky.com/watch/last-king-of-the-cross) |
| Production | Helium Pictures for Paramount+ Australia; produced by Mark Fennessy and Karl Zwicky; Cineflix Rights handles international distribution[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/) |
| Scale | Season 1 involved over 350 speaking parts, an 18-week shoot, and four directors across five blocks[4](https://www.mediaweek.com.au/john-ibrahim-is-back-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-last-king-of-cross-season-2) |
| Audience score | 7.4/10 on IMDb from about 2,400 user ratings[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18767204/ratings/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and source material
The series follows John Ibrahim (Lincoln Younes) from his childhood flight from war-torn Lebanon in 1978, through his family's resettlement in western Sydney, to his takeover of nightlife in Kings Cross in the 1980s and 1990s.[6](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-17/last-king-of-the-cross-lincoln-younes-claude-jabbour-interview/101987390) The district is described in the show's own framing as a "mini-Atlantic City, barely half a mile long with every form of criminality on offer".[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/)
The central relationship is between John and his older brother Sam (Claude Jabbour), who organize the street together but lose each other in their ascent to power. In the story, John, the strategist, buys his first nightclub in his late teens while Sam supplies muscle and intimidation. As a cocaine wave sweeps Sydney, the brothers contend with the reigning crime boss Ezra Shipman ([Tim Roth](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-roth)), a Vietnamese gang known as the Bui Doi, outlaw motorcycle clubs, and a corrupt police force, before a Royal Commission into police corruption destabilizes the district further.[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/) • [7](https://www.intl.paramountplus.com/ca/shows/last-king-of-the-cross/)
The show is a fictionalized drama rather than a straight biopic. An early scene dramatizes Ibrahim's 1995 appearance at the Wood royal commission into [New South Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-south-wales) police corruption, and the opening on-screen text states that several characters and events are entirely fictitious.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/16/last-king-of-the-cross-review-true-series-too-polished-for-its-own-good) • [9](https://www.mamamia.com.au/last-king-of-cross-true-story/) Younes, who spent time with Ibrahim before production, said the memoir and Ibrahim's direct consultation gave the writers firsthand knowledge of the world, a distinction from earlier series such as *Underbelly* that drew on the same milieu without that access.[6](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-17/last-king-of-the-cross-lincoln-younes-claude-jabbour-interview/101987390)
### Seasons
**Season one (2023).** The 10-episode first season tracks John's entry into Kings Cross as a teenager, his survival of a stabbing, his purchase of a first nightclub, and the battle for control of the district against Ezra Shipman, the Bui Doi, motorcycle clubs, and corrupt police, culminating in the Royal Commission that changes Kings Cross permanently.[7](https://www.intl.paramountplus.com/ca/shows/last-king-of-the-cross/) It premiered on 17 February 2023 and became Paramount+'s most-watched Australian series.[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/)
**Season two (2024).** Picking up 18 months after the first season, with Kings Cross diminished, John lying low overseas, and Sam in jail, the second season follows John's attempt to capture a new kingdom on [Oxford Street](https://www.edgepedia.org/oxford-street), the center of Sydney's queer nightclub scene.[11](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/last-king-of-the-cross-season-two-commences-filming/) • [10](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/MR-231214-Screen-Australia-announces-over-6-9-million-of-production-funding-for-11-projects.pdf) [Naveen Andrews](https://www.edgepedia.org/naveen-andrews) joined the cast as Ray Kinnock, a character Fennessy identified as the season's primary antagonist and as fictional.[4](https://www.mediaweek.com.au/john-ibrahim-is-back-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-last-king-of-cross-season-2) The season also introduces John's younger brothers Michael (Dave Hoey) and Fadi (Alex Kaan), and returns Tess Haubrich as Detective Liz Doyle, Matt Nable as Big Tony, and Uli Latukefu as Tongan Sam.[11](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/last-king-of-the-cross-season-two-commences-filming/) It premiered on 30 August 2024 and concluded on 11 October 2024.[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/) • [12](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/58535/last-king-of-the-cross)
Fennessy has said the plan remains to make a third season, which might need only six episodes to wrap the story, and that season two's ending could serve as a conclusion if no commission follows.[4](https://www.mediaweek.com.au/john-ibrahim-is-back-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-last-king-of-cross-season-2) Listings disagree on the show's current status: TVmaze lists it as running with a return expected, while other episode guides treat the two-season run as complete, and trade reporting in 2026 described a third season as in development without a confirmed production schedule.[12](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/58535/last-king-of-the-cross) • [13](https://next-episode.net/last-king-of-the-cross) • [14](https://wheretowatch.tv/where-to-watch/last-king-of-the-cross-itvx/14/10/)
## Production
**Helium Pictures.** The series is a Helium Pictures production for Paramount+ Australia, developed by Mark Fennessy, who began adapting Ibrahim's book while at Endemol Shine Australia and took the project with him when he launched Helium in 2021.[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/) • [3](https://www.c21media.net/news/mark-fennesseys-last-king-of-the-cross-greenlit-for-season-2-by-paramount/BEAJ%2520%28Broadcast%2520Program%2520Export%2520Association%2520of%2520Japan%29) Fennessy originally planned a three-part fictionalized drama covering three decades of Ibrahim's life, the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.[4](https://www.mediaweek.com.au/john-ibrahim-is-back-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-last-king-of-cross-season-2)
The first season was reported to carry a production budget of AUD$50 million (about US$33.48 million); Fennessy said only that the real figure was significantly less than that reported amount.[3](https://www.c21media.net/news/mark-fennesseys-last-king-of-the-cross-greenlit-for-season-2-by-paramount/BEAJ%2520%28Broadcast%2520Program%2520Export%2520Association%2520of%2520Japan%29) • [4](https://www.mediaweek.com.au/john-ibrahim-is-back-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-last-king-of-cross-season-2) The Kings Cross strip was recreated as a full set built over 14 weeks in Sydney, including a replica of the 1974 [Coca-Cola](https://www.edgepedia.org/coca-cola) sign known as "The Gateway to the Cross".[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/16/last-king-of-the-cross-review-true-series-too-polished-for-its-own-good) • [9](https://www.mamamia.com.au/last-king-of-cross-true-story/) The Darlinghurst Road set was reused for season two, which filmed in the summer of 2023 at Raging Waters theme park in [Western Sydney](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-sydney).[4](https://www.mediaweek.com.au/john-ibrahim-is-back-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-last-king-of-cross-season-2)
The writing team for season one comprised Kieran Darcy-Smith, Morgan O'Neill, Jane Allen, Alastair Newton Brown, Matt Nable, and James Pope, with direction shared by Darcy-Smith, Grant Brown, Catherine Millar, and Ian Watson.[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/) Season two was written by Sam Meikle, Sarah Smith, Fin Edquist, Jane Allen, Tim Pye, and James Pope, directed by Grant Brown, Ian Watson, and Tori Garrett, and received Screen Australia production funding.[10](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/MR-231214-Screen-Australia-announces-over-6-9-million-of-production-funding-for-11-projects.pdf) • [11](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/last-king-of-the-cross-season-two-commences-filming/)
## Reception and distribution
The Guardian's review of season one found the series polished but risk-averse, criticizing its early timeline jumps, four changes in the first seven minutes, and what the reviewer called forgettable machismo, while noting faithful recreations of the Kings Cross strip and its Coke sign.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/16/last-king-of-the-cross-review-true-series-too-polished-for-its-own-good) On IMDb the series holds a 7.4/10 rating from about 2,400 users, with individual season-one episodes scoring between 7.7 and 8.2.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18767204/ratings/)
Cineflix Rights, the exclusive international distributor, sold the first season to [Sky UK](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-uk), Ireland, Italy, and Germany, Paramount+ in Canada, and Warner Bros Discovery in New Zealand.[3](https://www.c21media.net/news/mark-fennesseys-last-king-of-the-cross-greenlit-for-season-2-by-paramount/BEAJ%2520%28Broadcast%2520Program%2520Export%2520Association%2520of%2520Japan%29) In the UK the show aired on [Sky Atlantic](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-atlantic) and later Sky Max, with a [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) rating of 15 for profanity, violence, drug misuse, sexual threat, nudity, depictions of suicide, and blood and gore.[2](https://www.sky.com/watch/last-king-of-the-cross) In October 2026 ITV acquired the first two seasons from Cineflix Rights, making both available free on ITVX from 1 November 2026, and CANAL+ took a multi-regional license covering the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Benelux countries, and Romania.[1](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/) • [15](https://www.prensario.net/Cineflix-Rights-closes-multiple-CEE-deals-in-advance-of-NEM-53174.note.aspx)
## References
1. [MEDIA RELEASE: ITV acquires Paramount+ Australian crime thriller Last King of the Cross from Cineflix Rights, Cineflix (13 October 2026)](https://cineflix.com/news/media-release-itv-acquires-paramount-australian-crime-thriller-last-king-of-the-cross-from-cineflix-rights/)
2. [Last King of the Cross, Sky.com](https://www.sky.com/watch/last-king-of-the-cross)
3. [Mark Fennessy's Last King of the Cross greenlit for season two by Paramount+, C21Media (23 June 2023)](https://www.c21media.net/news/mark-fennesseys-last-king-of-the-cross-greenlit-for-season-2-by-paramount/BEAJ%2520%28Broadcast%2520Program%2520Export%2520Association%2520of%2520Japan%29)
4. [John Ibrahim is back: Everything you wanted to know about Last King of Cross Season 2, Mediaweek (30 August 2024)](https://www.mediaweek.com.au/john-ibrahim-is-back-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-last-king-of-cross-season-2)
5. [Last King of the Cross (TV Series 2023– ) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18767204/ratings/)
6. [Last King of the Cross tracks the journey of Sydney nightclub identity John Ibrahim, ABC News (17 February 2023)](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-17/last-king-of-the-cross-lincoln-younes-claude-jabbour-interview/101987390)
7. [Last King of The Cross, Paramount+ Canada](https://www.intl.paramountplus.com/ca/shows/last-king-of-the-cross/)
8. [Last King of the Cross review – true crime series too polished for its own good, The Guardian (16 February 2023)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/16/last-king-of-the-cross-review-true-series-too-polished-for-its-own-good)
9. [The true story behind The Last King Of The Cross, Mamamia](https://www.mamamia.com.au/last-king-of-cross-true-story/)
10. [Screen Australia media release: production funding for 11 projects including Last King of the Cross season 2 (December 2023)](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/MR-231214-Screen-Australia-announces-over-6-9-million-of-production-funding-for-11-projects.pdf)
11. [Last King of The Cross Season Two Commences Filming, Paramount Australia & New Zealand (14 January 2024)](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/last-king-of-the-cross-season-two-commences-filming/)
12. [Last King of the Cross, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/58535/last-king-of-the-cross)
13. [Last King of the Cross, Next Episode](https://next-episode.net/last-king-of-the-cross)
14. [Last King of the Cross Arrives on ITVX as Australian Crime Thriller Lands UK Streaming Deal, WhereToWatch (October 2026)](https://wheretowatch.tv/where-to-watch/last-king-of-the-cross-itvx/14/10/)
15. [Cineflix Rights closes multiple CEE deals in advance of NEM, Prensario](https://www.prensario.net/Cineflix-Rights-closes-multiple-CEE-deals-in-advance-of-NEM-53174.note.aspx)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Crime and thriller series › Organized crime and heist series*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license