Netflix announces release for Mark Wahlberg’s MMA project

Frequent collaborators Peter Berg and Mark Walhberg have teamed up again on Netflix Original’s Spenser Confidential | Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images

Spenser Confidential will be released March 6 by the streamin…

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Frequent collaborators Peter Berg and Mark Walhberg have teamed up again on Netflix Original’s Spenser Confidential | Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images

Spenser Confidential will be released March 6 by the streaming giant

Netflix Originals has announced it will release Spenser Confidential on March 6. Based on the novel Wonderland by Ace Atkins, the Boston crime mystery will star Mark Wahlberg. The show follows retired detective Spenser, who teams up with Hawk, an aspiring MMA fighter played by Winston Duke. Together, they find themselves unraveling a mystery of crime and corruption when a simple favor for a friend turns into a fight for their lives. Peter Berg directs, making the Netflix project his fifth collaboration with Wahlberg.

The original novel was set in Boston, making it a natural fit for screenwriter Brian Helgeland. Helgeland grew up in Massachusetts and has successfully adapted other novels set in Boston, most notably Mystic River (2003), for which he was nominated for the Oscar. Helgeland won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for L.A. Confidential (1997).

Part of a long running detective mystery series, Wonderland does not include the character of Hawk, who appears in other books. Additionally, the novel is set in a boxing gym. For the screenplay adaptation, Helgeland brought Hawk into the action and his sport of choice is updated to MMA.

Unsurprisingly, Mark Wahlberg took the opportunity to shoot in all his old haunts, including in the Jones Hill neighborhood, on very the street where he grew up. Whether the locals once again complained as they did when The Fighter (2010) was filmed there, is unknown.

Among the cast is Donald Cerrone, but he is unlisted on the official IMDb page, making it likely he is playing himself. Hollywood veteran Alan Arkin plays Henry, the old coach for whom Spenser and Hawk do the favor, while stand-up comic Iliza Schlesinger has the lead actress role. Comedian Marc Maron and musician Post Malone also have supporting roles.