“This city is so damn beautiful, but only from a distance. Up close, it’s all gutter.”

These words, spoken by the English actor Simon Pegg in a startlingly transformative role as comedian-turned-gangster Hecky Nash, provide the building blocks for one of several current promos for the upcoming TNT miniseries “Mob City.” They also do a fine job of summing up what lies at the heart of the six-part, Frank Darabont-created television event, which digs into the violent struggle between Mickey Cohen and other ruthless gangsters of 1940s-era Los Angeles, and the city’s police force that was frequently equally corrupt in its own way.

The network’s marketing campaign for the miniseries, marked by smoke and fedoras and Tommy guns and other classic crime-related objects of the era, has sought to embrace both “the grit and the glamor of [Los Angeles] and of the time period,” said Tricia Melton, SVP of entertainment marketing and branding for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies. “The story Frank is telling and the imagery and the incredible production value of the show itself all come to life beautifully when we play this juxtaposition.”

TNT’s efforts to emphasize the hazy line between the law and the lawless of middle-20th-century LA extend from show footage depicting blatant, ruthless violence and corruption from both sides of the conflict to cooler, quieter imagery that is literally inflected with shades of gray.

“We’re putting forward the whole notion of black hats and white hats and the symbolism of gray hats,” said Melton, “[in] this world where you have to live somewhere in between. The entire [“Mob City”] campaign is supposed to evoke that, creating this emotion and this meaning around the moral ambiguity not just of the story, but of the city.”

Debuting December 4, “Mob City” will air as six episodes over three weeks, recognizing, Melton said, “that viewers and fans have adopted a binge-viewing appetite, and serving it up that way while making it an event each week for three weeks.” The broadcasting strategy plays up the epic quality of the content, which uses crime as a lens to deeply explore a rich and fascinating time and place in American history.

“We really have taken a page from the overall topic of the show and the story that’s unfolding,” said Melton, “which is really about, when you break it down, the struggle for the soul of the city of LA.”

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