Director: John Swab
Cast: Ben Foster, Michael Mando, James Badge Dale, Graham Greene, Rory Cochrane
King Ivory is a 2025 American crime thriller directed by John Swab, starring Ben Foster and Michael Mando in a raw, research-grounded drama about the fentanyl trade operating inside Oklahoma State Penitentiary — one of the most violent prisons in the United States.
What is King Ivory about?
Inside the forbidding walls of Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester — known to inmates and guards alike as 'Big Mac' — rival gangs wage a quiet, deadly war over the most lucrative contraband the prison system has ever seen: fentanyl. The film follows the competing power structures within the facility, tracing how the poison flows from street-level suppliers through layers of corruption and loyalty into a place that was meant to contain it. Built on firsthand accounts from law enforcement officers and current and former gang members, the story presents prison life as an ecosystem with its own rules, hierarchies, and moral codes — where survival sometimes means becoming the very thing the system claimed to punish.
Cast & crew
Ben Foster brings intense physical commitment to his role, a quality familiar from earlier crime work. Michael Mando, known internationally for genre television, matches him with coiled energy. James Badge Dale, Graham Greene, Rory Cochrane, Melissa Leo, Ritchie Coster, and George Carroll fill out a cast assembled for credibility rather than star wattage — a deliberate choice by director John Swab, whose prior crime films favour authenticity over polish.
Context & significance
For Persian-speaking viewers who followed the American opioid crisis through news coverage or personal community impact, King Ivory offers an unflinching look at how fentanyl became the dominant currency inside incarcerated communities — a story with echoes in Iranian diaspora discussions about addiction and institutional failure. The film arrives with a Persian dub, making it fully accessible without subtitle reading. Crime dramas built on documentary research have long attracted Iranian diaspora audiences who appreciate factual grounding over genre fantasy, and King Ivory's prison setting gives it a claustrophobic tension that translates across cultures.
Where & how to watch
King Ivory is available on K-Time with a Persian dub and Persian subtitles. Watch on the web browser, your TV, or your phone — no extra download or VPN required. Start and cancel anytime with a single subscription.