Last King of the Cross is an Australian crime thriller television series on Paramount+, which premiered on 17 February 2023. The series is inspired by the autobiography of nightclub owner John Ibrahim and his experiences in Sydney's Kings Cross and Oxford Street. It is produced by Helium Pictures and distributed internationally through Cineflix Rights. The second season premiered on 30 August 2024. On 7 November 2025, it was announced at the Paramount Upfronts a third season of Last King of the Cross was in development.
Contents
Premise
The series follows John Ibrahim's (Lincoln Younes) journey from early poverty amid a Lebanese immigrant family to later success. Despite a lack of prospects, he becomes a nightclub mogul of Sydney's Kings Cross, known as much for entertainment as for crime and vice.
Once established in King's Cross, Ibrahim sets his sights on 1990s Oxford Street in Sydney.
Cast
Main
Lincoln Younes as John Ibrahim
Claude Jabbour as Sam Ibrahim
Tim Roth as Ezra Shipman (season 1)
Callan Mulvey as Detective Sergeant Brian Crellan (season 1)
Matt Nable as Anthony 'Big Tony' Stone
Uli Latukefu as Tongan Sam (recurring season 1; season 2)
Naveen Andrews as Ray Kinnock (season 2)
Luke Arnold as Dean Taylor (season 2)
Recurring
Christopher Stollery as Inspector Doug Kemp
Kevin Khan as Anh Tien
Tess Haubrich as Detective Liz Doyle
Maria Tran as Madame Tien
Hoa Xuande as Romeo
Damian Walshe-Howling as Joey Romano
Wesley Patten as Brett
Jake Ryan as Gibbo
Josh Kempen as Clarence
Ethan Lamb-Kelly as a teenage Dave Campbell
Tony Nikolakopoulos as Fat George
Setareh Naghoni as Wahiba Ibrahim
Simon Elrahi as Peter 'PK' Kay
Robert Rabiah as Jamour Ibrahim
Justin Rosniak as Declan Mooney
Wadih Dona as Nasa Kalouri
Allegra Monk as Molly Lewellyn
Malek Alkoni as teenage John Ibrahim
Brandon Nguyen as Bui Doi Kid #2
Daniel Widdowson as Clarkey
Joseph Frangie as Angelo Lombardi
Buffy Anne Littaua as Diane
Rob Carlton as The Fixer
Guests
Russell Dykstra as Bartuccio
Jon Sivewright as Barman
Lani Tupu as Eldon Sami
Luke Ford as Valentine Bracks
Episodes
Production
Filming of the first season began in 2022, with strict COVID-19 protocols in place. A car park in Western Sydney was converted to recreate the Kings Cross area. The team had to film amid torrential rain, amid the 2022 New South Wales floods.
Ian McShane had originally been cast as Ezra Shipman, but had to withdraw citing health reasons. The role was recast with Tim Roth.
Reception
The first season of the show became the most-watched Australian series on Paramount+.