''The Wire'' is an American
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
created and primarily written by author and former police reporter
David Simon
David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–08).
He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' Hom ...
. The series was broadcast by the cable network
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2, 2002, and ended on March 9, 2008, comprising 60 episodes over five seasons. The idea for the show started out as a police drama loosely based on the experiences of his writing partner
Ed Burns
Edward P. Burns (born January 29, 1946) is an American screenwriter, novelist, and producer. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. For HBO, they have collaborated on ''The Corner,'' ''The Wire,'' ''Generation Kill'', ''The Pl ...
, a former
homicide detective
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no intent ...
and public school teacher.
Set and produced in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, ''The Wire'' introduces a different institution of the city and its relationship to law enforcement in each season, while retaining characters and advancing storylines from previous seasons. The five subjects are, in chronological order: the
illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
, the
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
system, the city government and bureaucracy, education and schools, and the print news medium. Simon chose to set the show in Baltimore because of his familiarity with the city.
The large cast consists mainly of actors who are little known for their other roles, as well as numerous real-life Baltimore and Maryland figures in guest and recurring roles. Simon has said that despite its framing as a crime drama, the show is "really about the American city, and about how we live together. It's about how institutions have an effect on individuals. Whether one is a cop, a
longshoreman
A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes.
After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...
, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge or a lawyer, all are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution to which they are committed."
''The Wire'' is lauded for its literary themes, its uncommonly accurate exploration of society and politics, and its realistic portrayal of
urban life. During its original run, the series received only average
ratings and never won any major television awards, but is now often cited as one of the greatest television series of all time.
[Sources that refer to ''The Wire''s being praised as one of the greatest television shows of all time include:
*
*
*
*
*
* Roush, Matt (February 25, 2013). "Showstoppers: The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time". '']TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
''. pp. 16–17.
*
*
*
*
Production
Conception
Simon has stated that he originally set out to create a police drama loosely based on the experiences of his writing partner
Ed Burns
Edward P. Burns (born January 29, 1946) is an American screenwriter, novelist, and producer. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. For HBO, they have collaborated on ''The Corner,'' ''The Wire,'' ''Generation Kill'', ''The Pl ...
, a former
homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
and public school teacher who had worked with Simon on projects including ''
The Corner
''The Corner'' is a 2000 HBO drama television miniseries based on the nonfiction book '' The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood'' (1997) by David Simon and Ed Burns, and adapted for television by David Simon and David Mill ...
'' (2000). Burns, when working on protracted investigations of violent drug dealers using
surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...
technology, had often been frustrated by the bureaucracy of the
Baltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Dating back to 1784, the BPD, consisting of 2,935 employees in 2020, is organized into nine districts covering of land and of waterway ...
; Simon saw similarities with his own ordeals as a police reporter for ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
''.
Simon chose to set the show in Baltimore because of his familiarity with the city. During his time as a writer and producer for the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
program ''
Homicide: Life on the Street'', based on his book ''
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets'' (1991), also set in Baltimore, Simon had come into conflict with NBC network executives who were displeased by the show's pessimism. Simon wanted to avoid a repeat of these conflicts and chose to take ''The Wire'' to
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
, because of their working relationship from the
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
''The Corner''. HBO was initially doubtful about including a police drama in its lineup but agreed to produce the pilot episode.
Simon approached the
mayor of Baltimore
The mayor of Baltimore is the head of the executive branch of the government of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The Mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills, ordinances, or resolutions passed by the ...
, telling him that he wanted to give a bleak portrayal of certain aspects of the city; Simon was welcomed to work there again. He hoped the show would change the opinions of some viewers but said that it was unlikely to affect the issues it portrays.
Casting
The casting of the show has been praised for avoiding big-name stars and using character actors who appear natural in their roles.
The looks of the cast as a whole have been described as defying TV expectations by presenting a true range of humanity on screen.
Many of the cast are black, consistent with the demographics of Baltimore.
Wendell Pierce
Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1963) is an American actor and businessman. Having trained at Juilliard School, Pierce rose to prominence as a character actor portraying roles both on the stage and screen. He first gained notoriety portra ...
, who plays Detective
Bunk Moreland
William "Bunk" Moreland is a fictional character in ''The Wire'', played by Wendell Pierce. Bunk's character is based on a retired Baltimore detective named Oscar "The Bunk" Requer. He is portrayed as a generally competent, if profane and curmud ...
, was the first actor to be cast.
Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), t ...
, who won the ostensible lead role of Detective
Jimmy McNulty
James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Dominic West.
McNulty is an Irish-American detective in the Baltimore Police Department. While talented in his profession, McNulty's c ...
, sent in a tape he recorded the night before the audition's deadline of his playing out a scene by himself.
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–2020) ...
received the role of
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Lance Reddick. Daniels is well regarded in the Baltimore Police Department by making his subordinates focus on decent police work and quality arrests. He occasional ...
after auditioning for the roles of Bunk and heroin addict
Bubbles.
Michael K. Williams
Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame in 2002 through his critically acclaimed role as Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''. He has been described as a "singular pr ...
got the part of
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', portrayed by Michael K. Williams. He is a notorious Baltimore stick-up man, who frequently robs street-level drug dealers. He is legendary around Baltimore for hi ...
after only a single audition. Williams himself recommended
Felicia Pearson
Felicia Pearson (born May 18, 1980) is an American actress, rapper and author. She played Felicia "Snoop" Pearson on ''The Wire'' and wrote a 2007 memoir, ''Grace After Midnight,'' detailing her troubled childhood and time in prison for second- ...
for the role of
Snoop after meeting her at a local Baltimore bar, shortly after she had served prison time for a second degree murder conviction.
Several prominent real-life Baltimore figures, including former
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
Governor
Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, Ehrlich represented Maryland's 2nd Congressional district in the U.S. House o ...
; Rev. Frank M. Reid III; radio personality Marc Steiner; former police chief, and radio personality
Ed Norris
Edward T. Norris (born April 10, 1960) is an American radio host and former law enforcement officer in Maryland. He is the cohost of a talk show on WJZ-FM (105.7 The Fan) in Baltimore, Maryland. Norris, a 20-year veteran of the New York Police ...
; ''
Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' reporter and editor David Ettlin; Howard County Executive
Ken Ulman
Kenneth "Ken" Ulman (born May 4, 1974) is an American attorney, founder and CEO of a consulting firm, Margrave Strategies, and former Democratic politician in Howard County, Maryland. Prior to working in the private sector, Ulman served as count ...
; and former mayor
Kurt Schmoke
Kurt Lidell Schmoke (born December 1, 1949) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 47th mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1987 to 1999, the first African American to be elected to the post. He is the current president of the University ...
have appeared in minor roles despite not being professional actors.
"Little Melvin" Williams, a Baltimore drug lord arrested in the 1980s by an investigation that Burns had been part of, had a recurring role as a deacon beginning in the third season.
Jay Landsman
Jay C. Landsman is an American retired homicide detective and actor. He was featured in David Simon (writer), David Simon's 1991 book about the Baltimore homicide unit ''Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets''. According to the book, Landsma ...
, a longtime police officer who inspired
the character of the same name, played
Lieutenant Dennis Mello. Baltimore police commander
Gary D'Addario
Gary D'Addario is an American retired police commander, television technical advisor and actor from Baltimore, Maryland.
D'Addario joined the Baltimore police department in 1967. An Italian-American, D'Addario advanced in the department easily ...
served as the series' technical advisor for the first two seasons
and had a recurring role as prosecutor
Gary DiPasquale. Simon shadowed D'Addario's shift when researching his book ''Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets'' and both D'Addario and Landsman are subjects of the book.
More than a dozen cast members previously appeared on HBO's first hour-long drama ''
Oz''.
J. D. Williams
J.D. Williams (born May 22, 1978) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the HBO television programs '' Oz'' as Kenny Wangler, ''The Wire'' as Bodie Broadus and ''Pootie Tang'' as Froggy, ''Surviving Family'' (2012) as Bobby, ''T ...
,
Seth Gilliam
Seth Gilliam (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Ellis Carver on ''The Wire'', Clayton Hughes on '' Oz'', Detective Daniels on ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2007–2008), Dr. Alan Deaton on ''T ...
,
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–2020) ...
, and
Reg E. Cathey
Reginald Eurias Cathey (August 18, 1958 – February 9, 2018) was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles as Norman Wilson in ''The Wire'', Martin Querns in '' Oz'', the game show announcer in ''Square One Television'', Dr. ...
were featured in very prominent roles in ''Oz'', while a number of other notable stars of ''The Wire'', including
Wood Harris
Sherwin David "Wood" Harris (born October 17, 1969) is an American actor. He has portrayed the drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama ''The Wire'', cocaine dealer Ace in '' Paid in Full'' and high school football player Julius Campbe ...
,
Frankie Faison
Frankie Russel Faison (born June 10, 1949) is an American actor known for his role as Deputy Commissioner, and, later, Commissioner, Ervin Burrell in the HBO series ''The Wire'', as Barney Matthews in the ''Hannibal Lecter'' franchise, and as Suga ...
,
John Doman
John Doman (born January 9, 1945) is an American actor best known for playing Maryland State Police Superintendent, Deputy Police Commissioner and Major William Rawls on HBO series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Colonel Edward Galson on '' Oz'' (20 ...
,
Clarke Peters
Peter Clarke (born April 7, 1952), known professionally as Clarke Peters, is an American-British actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freamon in the television series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) and Albert Lambrea ...
,
Domenick Lombardozzi
Domenico "Domenick" Lombardozzi (, ; born March 25, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Herc in ''The Wire'', and is also known for his roles in ''A Bronx Tale'' (1993), ''Entourage'', and ''The Irishman'' (2019).
Care ...
,
Michael Hyatt
Charlene "Michael" Hyatt is a British-born American actress. Before her work in film and television, she performed on stages throughout the United States, particularly in ''Ragtime'' on Broadway. She has played Brianna Barksdale on ''The Wire'' ...
,
Michael Potts, and
Method Man
Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...
appeared in at least one episode of ''Oz''. Cast members
Erik Dellums
Erik Todd Dellums (born September 23, 1964) is an American actor and narrator. He played the drug kingpin Luther Mahoney for two seasons on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' and voiced the roles as the radio DJ Three Dog in the 2008 video gam ...
,
Peter Gerety
Peter Gerety (born May 17, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known as Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008).
Career
Gerety is a veteran of stage, screen and television. In early 1992, he performed to critical acclaim on Broadway ...
,
Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954), is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989 ...
,
Clayton LeBouef
Clayton LeBouef (born November 12, 1954) is an American actor, best known for his recurring role as Colonel George Barnfather in '' Homicide: Life on the Street''. He appeared in several episodes during each of the show's seven seasons on the a ...
,
Toni Lewis
Toni Lewis is an American actress best known for playing Terri Stivers on '' Homicide: Life on the Street''. The role led to her receiving a nomination for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is also ...
and
Callie Thorne
Calliope "Callie" Thorne is an American actress known for her role as Dr. Dani Santino on the USA Network series '' Necessary Roughness''. She is also known for past work such as her roles on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' as Detective Laura ...
also appeared on ''
Homicide: Life on the Street'', the earlier and award-winning network television series also based on Simon's book; Lewis appeared on ''Oz'' as well. A number of cast members, as well as crew members, also appeared in the preceding HBO miniseries ''
The Corner
''The Corner'' is a 2000 HBO drama television miniseries based on the nonfiction book '' The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood'' (1997) by David Simon and Ed Burns, and adapted for television by David Simon and David Mill ...
'' including
Clarke Peters
Peter Clarke (born April 7, 1952), known professionally as Clarke Peters, is an American-British actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freamon in the television series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) and Albert Lambrea ...
,
Reg E. Cathey
Reginald Eurias Cathey (August 18, 1958 – February 9, 2018) was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles as Norman Wilson in ''The Wire'', Martin Querns in '' Oz'', the game show announcer in ''Square One Television'', Dr. ...
,
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–2020) ...
,
Corey Parker Robinson
Corey Parker Robinson (born February 9, 1975) is an American actor. He has appeared on the Home Box Office, HBO program ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'' as Detective Leander Sydnor. He also appeared in ''The Wire'' creator David Simon's earlie ...
,
Robert F. Chew
Robert Francell Chew (December 28, 1960 – January 17, 2013) was an American acting coach and actor. He was best known for portraying drug kingpin Proposition Joe on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''.
Early life
Chew was born on December 28, 19 ...
,
Delaney Williams
Delaney Williams (born December 12, 1962) is an American character actor from Washington, D.C. He appeared on the HBO drama ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) as a recurring guest star playing homicide sergeant Jay Landsman. He also had a small role o ...
, and Benay Berger.
Crew
Alongside Simon, the show's creator,
head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
,
showrunner
A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...
, and
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
, much of the creative team behind ''The Wire'' were alumni of ''
Homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
'' and
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
-winning miniseries ''
The Corner
''The Corner'' is a 2000 HBO drama television miniseries based on the nonfiction book '' The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood'' (1997) by David Simon and Ed Burns, and adapted for television by David Simon and David Mill ...
''. ''The Corner'' veteran,
Robert F. Colesberry, was executive producer for the first two seasons and directed the season 2 finale before dying from complications from heart surgery in 2004. He is credited by the rest of the creative team as having a large creative role as a producer, and Simon credits him for achieving the show's realistic visual feel.
He also had a small recurring role as
Detective Ray Cole. Colesberry's wife
Karen L. Thorson
Karen L. Thorson is an American television producer. Thorson was married to fellow producer Robert F. Colesberry until his death in 2004. She worked on all five seasons of ''The Wire''. Before joining the crew of ''The Wire'' she worked as an ass ...
joined him on the production staff.
A third producer on ''The Corner'',
Nina Kostroff Noble
Nina Kostroff Noble is an American television producer.
Early life and education
Noble is the daughter of Pat Curtice, who worked as an assistant director on commercials, and Larry Kostroff, who worked in the film industry in various position ...
also stayed with the production staff for ''The Wire'' rounding out the initial four-person team.
Following Colesberry's death, she became the show's second executive producer alongside Simon.
Stories for the show were often co-written by Burns, who also became a producer in the show's fourth season.
Other writers include three acclaimed crime fiction writers from outside of Baltimore:
George Pelecanos
George P. Pelecanos (born February 18, 1957) is an American author. Many of his 20 books are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writ ...
from Washington,
Richard Price
Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer, pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the French ...
from the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
and
Dennis Lehane
Dennis Lehane (born August 4, 1965) is an American author. He has published more than a dozen novels; the first several were a series of mysteries featuring recurring characters, including ''A Drink Before the War''. Of these, four were adapted a ...
from Boston.
Reviewers drew comparisons between Price's works (particularly ''
Clockers'') and ''The Wire'' even before he joined.
["''The Wire'' Complete Third Season on DVD", ASIN B000FTCLSU] In addition to writing, Pelecanos served as a producer for the third season.
Pelecanos has commented that he was attracted to the project because of the opportunity to work with Simon.
Staff writer
Rafael Alvarez
Rafael Alvarez (born May 24, 1958) is an American author based in Baltimore and Los Angeles. Alvarez went to work for the ''Sunpapers'' of Baltimore as a teenager—first in the circulation department and then the horse racing desk in sports—be ...
penned several episodes' scripts, as well as the series guidebook ''The Wire: Truth Be Told.'' Alvarez is a colleague of Simon's from ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' and a Baltimore native with working experience in the port area.
Another city native and independent filmmaker,
Joy Lusco
Joy Lusco, also known as Joy Kecken and Joy Lusco Kecken, is an American film and television director and writer. She often works with her husband, Scott Kecken. They worked on the HBO drama series ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'' on four of the ...
, also wrote for the show in each of its first three seasons. ''Baltimore Sun'' writer and political journalist
William F. Zorzi
William F. Zorzi Jr. (born 1954) is an American journalist and screenwriter. He worked at ''The Baltimore Sun'' for almost twenty years and covered politics for the majority of his career. He has also written for the Home Box Office, HBO televisi ...
joined the writing staff in the third season and brought a wealth of experience to the show's examination of Baltimore politics.
Playwright and television writer/producer
Eric Overmyer
Eric Ellis Overmyer (born September 25, 1951) is an American writer and producer. He has written and/or produced numerous TV shows, including '' St. Elsewhere'', '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''Law & Order'', ''The Wire'', ''New Amsterdam'', ...
joined the crew of ''The Wire'' in the show's fourth season as a consulting producer and writer.
He had also previously worked on ''Homicide''. Overmyer was brought into the full-time production staff to replace Pelecanos who scaled back his involvement to concentrate on his next book and worked on the fourth season solely as a writer.
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
winner, ''Homicide'' and ''The Corner'', writer and college friend of Simon,
David Mills also joined the writing staff in the fourth season.
Directors include ''Homicide'' alumnus
Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954), is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989 ...
,
who directed several acclaimed episodes of ''
The Shield
''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt poli ...
'',
and
Tim Van Patten
Timothy Van Patten (born June 10, 1959) is an American director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He has directed episodes of ''Perry Mason'', '' Boardwalk Empire'', '' Black Mirror'', '' Deadwood'', '' Ed'', '' Game of Thrones'', '' The Pacifi ...
, a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
winner who has worked on every season of ''
The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
''. The directing has been praised for its uncomplicated and subtle style.
Following the death of Colesberry, director
Joe Chappelle
Joseph Chappelle is an American screenwriter, Film producer, producer, and Film director, director of film and Television director, television. He is perhaps best known for his work on the critically acclaimed HBO series ''The Wire'', where he d ...
joined the production staff as a co-executive producer and continued to regularly direct episodes.
Episode structure
Each episode begins with a
cold open
A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Ameri ...
that seldom contains a dramatic juncture. The screen then fades or cuts to black while the intro music fades in. The show's opening title sequence then plays; a series of shots, mainly close-ups, concerning the show's subject matter that changes from season to season, separated by
fast cutting
Fast cutting is a film editing technique which refers to several consecutive shots of a brief duration (e.g. 3 seconds or less). It can be used to quickly convey much information, or to imply either energy or chaos. Fast cutting is also frequent ...
(a technique rarely used in the show itself). The opening credits are
superimposed
Superimposition is the placement of one thing over another, typically so that both are still evident.
Graphics
In graphics, superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to ...
on the sequence, and consist only of actors' names without identifying which actors play which roles. In addition, actors' faces are rarely seen in the title sequence.
At the end of the sequence, a quotation (
epigraph) is shown on-screen that is spoken by a character during the episode. The three exceptions were the
first season finale which uses the phrase "All in the game", attributed to "Traditional West Baltimore", a phrase used frequently throughout all five seasons including that episode; the
fourth season finale which uses the words "If animal trapped call 410-844-6286" written on boarded up vacant homes attributed to "Baltimore, traditional" and the
series finale
A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...
, which started with a quote from
H. L. Mencken
Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...
that is shown on a wall at ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' in one scene, neither quote being spoken by a character. Progressive story arcs often unfold in different locations at the same time. Episodes rarely end with a
cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...
, and close with a fade or cut to black with the closing music fading in.
When broadcast on HBO and on some international networks, the episodes are preceded by a recap of events that have a bearing upon the upcoming
narrative
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...
, using clips from previous episodes.
Music
Rather than overlaying songs on the soundtrack, or employing a score, ''The Wire'' primarily uses pieces of music that emanate from a source within the scene, such as a jukebox or car radio. This kind of music is known as ''diegetic'' or
source cue
Diegetic music or source music is music in a drama (e.g., film or video game) that is part of the fictional setting and so, presumably, is heard by the characters. The term refers to diegesis, a style of storytelling.
The opposite of source mu ...
. This practice is rarely breached, notably for the end-of-season montages and occasionally with a brief overlap of the closing theme and the final shot.
The opening theme is "
Way Down in the Hole
"Way Down in the Hole" is a song written by the singer-songwriter Tom Waits. It was included on his 1987 album ''Franks Wild Years'', which was later made into a stage production.
The song was used as the theme for HBO's ''The Wire''. A different ...
," a
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
-and-
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
-inspired song, written by
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
for his 1987 album ''
Franks Wild Years
''Franks Wild Years'' is the tenth studio album by Tom Waits, released 1987 on Island Records. Subtitled "Un Operachi Romantico in Two Acts", the album contains songs written by Waits and collaborators (mainly his wife, Kathleen Brennan) for a ...
''. Each season uses a different recording and a different opening sequence, with the theme being performed by
The Blind Boys of Alabama
The Blind Boys of Alabama, also billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, is an American gospel group. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama, and has featured a changing roster ...
, Waits,
The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
History
The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 19 ...
, DoMaJe and
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...
. The season four version of "Way Down in the Hole" was arranged and recorded for the show and is performed by five Baltimore teenagers: Ivan Ashford, Markel Steele, Cameron Brown, Tariq Al-Sabir and Avery Bargasse. Earle, who performed the fifth season version, is also a member of the cast, playing the recovering drug addict
Walon. The closing theme is "The Fall," composed by
Blake Leyh, who is also the music supervisor of the show.
During season finales, a song is played before the closing scene in a
montage
Montage may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films
* Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing
* ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film
Music
* Montage (music), or sound collage
* ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 2017 ...
showing the lives of the protagonists in the aftermath of the narrative. The first season montage is played over "Step by Step" by
Jesse Winchester
James Ridout "Jesse" Winchester Jr. (May 17, 1944 – April 11, 2014) was an American-Canadian musician and songwriter. He was born and raised in the southern United States. Opposed to the Vietnam War, he moved to Canada in 1967 to avoid b ...
, the second "I Feel Alright" by Steve Earle, the third "Fast Train" written by
Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.
As a teenager in t ...
and performed by
Solomon Burke
Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1936 or 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been ...
, the fourth "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" written by
Dr. John
Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B.
Active as a session musician from t ...
and performed by
Paul Weller
Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...
and the fifth uses an extended version of "Way Down In The Hole" by the Blind Boys of Alabama, the same version of the song used as the opening theme for the first season.
While the songs reflect the mood of the sequence, their lyrics are usually only loosely tied to the visual shots. In the commentary track to episode 37, "
Mission Accomplished", executive producer David Simon said: "I hate it when somebody purposely tries to have the lyrics match the visual. It brutalizes the visual in a way to have the lyrics dead on point. ... Yet at the same time it can't be totally off point. It has to glance at what you're trying to say."
Two soundtrack albums, called ''
The Wire: And All the Pieces Matter—Five Years of Music from The Wire'' and ''
Beyond Hamsterdam'', were released on January 8, 2008, on
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...
.
The former features music from all five seasons of the series and the latter includes local Baltimore artists exclusively.
Style
Realism
The writers strove to create a realistic vision of an American city based on their own experiences. Simon, originally a reporter for ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'', spent a year researching a Homicide Police Department for his book ''
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets'', where he met Burns. Burns served in the Baltimore Police Department for 20 years and later became a teacher in an inner-city school. The two of them spent a year researching the drug culture and poverty in Baltimore for their book ''
The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood''. Their combined experiences were used in many storylines of ''The Wire''.
Central to the show's aim for realism was the creation of truthful characters. Simon has stated that most of them are composites of real-life Baltimore figures.
For instance,
Donnie Andrews served as the main inspiration of
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', portrayed by Michael K. Williams. He is a notorious Baltimore stick-up man, who frequently robs street-level drug dealers. He is legendary around Baltimore for hi ...
.
Martin O'Malley
Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as the 61st Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007.
O'Malley ...
served as "one of the inspirations" for
Tommy Carcetti
Thomas J. "Tommy" Carcetti ( ) is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Aidan Gillen. Carcetti is an ambitious and venal Baltimore politician who begins the series with a seat on the city council.
Biography Season 3
Tom ...
. The show often cast non-professional actors in minor roles, distinguishing itself from other television series by showing the "faces and voices of the real city" it depicts.
The writing also uses contemporary slang to enhance the immersive viewing experience.
In distinguishing the police characters from other television detectives, Simon makes the point that even the best police of ''The Wire'' are motivated not by a desire to protect and serve, but by the intellectual vanity of believing they are smarter than the criminals they are chasing. While many of the police do exhibit altruistic qualities, many officers portrayed on the show are incompetent, brutal, self-aggrandizing, or hamstrung by bureaucracy and politics. The criminals are not always motivated by profit or a desire to harm others; many are trapped in their existence and all have human qualities. Even so, ''The Wire'' does not minimize or gloss over the horrific effects of their actions.
The show is realistic in depicting the processes of both police work and criminal activity. There have even been reports of real-life criminals watching the show to learn how to counter police investigation techniques.
The fifth season portrayed a working
newsroom
A newsroom is the central place where journalists—reporters, editors, and producers, associate producers, news anchors, news designers, photojournalists, videojournalists, associate editor, residence editor, visual text editor, Desk Head, s ...
at ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' and was described by Brian Lowry of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine in 2007 as the most realistic portrayal of the media in film and television.
In a December 2006 ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' article, local black students said that the show had "hit a nerve" with the black community and that they themselves knew real-life counterparts of many of the characters. The article expressed great sadness at the toll drugs and violence are taking on the black community.
Visual novel
Many important events occur off-camera and there is no artificial
exposition
Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to:
*Universal exposition or World's Fair
*Expository writing
**Exposition (narrative)
*Exposition (music)
*Trade fair
* ''Exposition'' (album), the debut album by the band Wax on Radio
*Exposi ...
in the form of
voice-over
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...
or
flashbacks, with the exceptions of two flashbacks – one at the end of
the pilot episode that replays a moment from earlier in the same episode and one at the end of the
fourth season finale that shows a short clip of a character tutoring his younger brother earlier in the season. Thus, the viewer needs to follow every conversation closely to understand the ongoing story arc and the relevance of each character to it. ''
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
'' has described the show as novelistic in structure, with a greater depth of writing and plotting than other crime shows.
Each season of ''The Wire'' consists of 10 to 13 episodes that form several multi-layered narratives. Simon chose this structure with an eye towards long story arcs that draw in viewers, resulting in a more satisfying payoff. He uses the metaphor of a visual novel in several interviews,
describing each episode as a chapter, and has also commented that this allows a fuller exploration of the show's themes in time not spent on plot development.
Social commentary
Simon described the second season as "a meditation on the death of work and the betrayal of the American working class ... it is a deliberate argument that unencumbered capitalism is not a substitute for social policy; that on its own, without a social compact,
raw capitalism is destined to serve the few at the expense of the many."
He added that season 3 "reflects on the nature of reform and reformers, and whether there is any possibility that political processes, long calcified, can mitigate against the forces currently arrayed against individuals." The third season is also an allegory that draws explicit parallels between the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
and
drug prohibition
The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances.
While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the ...
,
which in Simon's view has failed in its aims
and has become a war against America's underclass. This is portrayed by Major Colvin, imparting to Carver his view that policing has been allowed to become a war and thus will never succeed in its aims.
Writer
Ed Burns
Edward P. Burns (born January 29, 1946) is an American screenwriter, novelist, and producer. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. For HBO, they have collaborated on ''The Corner,'' ''The Wire,'' ''Generation Kill'', ''The Pl ...
, who worked as a public school teacher after retiring from the Baltimore police force shortly before going to work with Simon, has called education the theme of the fourth season. Rather than focusing solely on the school system, the fourth season looks at schools as a porous part of the community that are affected by problems outside of their boundaries. Burns states that education comes from many sources other than schools and that children can be educated by other means, including contact with the drug dealers they work for. Burns and Simon see the theme as an opportunity to explore how individuals end up like the show's criminal characters, and to dramatize the notion that hard work is not always justly rewarded.
Themes
Institutional dysfunction
Simon has identified the organizations featured in the show—the Baltimore Police Department, City Hall, the
Baltimore public school system, the
Barksdale drug trafficking operation, ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'', and the
stevedore
A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes.
After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...
s' union—as comparable institutions. All are dysfunctional in some way, and the characters are typically betrayed by the institutions that they accept in their lives.
There is also a sentiment echoed by a detective in Narcotics—"Shit rolls downhill"—which describes how superiors, especially in the higher tiers of the Police Department in the series, will attempt to use subordinates as scapegoats for any major scandals. Simon described the show as "cynical about institutions"
while taking a humanistic approach toward its characters.
A central theme developed throughout the show is the struggle between individual desires and subordination to the group's goals.
Surveillance
Central to the structure and plot of the show is the use of electronic surveillance and
wiretap
Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...
technologies by the police—hence the title ''The Wire.'' ''
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
'' described the title as a metaphor for the viewer's experience: the wiretaps provide the police with access to a secret world, just as the show does for the viewer.
Simon has discussed the use of camera shots of surveillance equipment, or shots that appear to be taken from the equipment itself, to emphasize the volume of surveillance in modern life and the characters' need to sift through this information.
Cast and characters
''The Wire'' employs a broad ensemble cast, supplemented by many recurring guest stars who populate the institutions featured in the show. The majority of the cast is black, which accurately reflects the
demographics of Baltimore.
The show's creators are also willing to kill off major characters, so that viewers cannot assume that a given character will survive simply because of a starring role or popularity among fans. In response to a question on why a certain character had to die,
David Simon
David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–08).
He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' Hom ...
said,
We are not selling hope, or audience gratification, or cheap victories with this show. ''The Wire'' is making an argument about what institutions—bureaucracies, criminal enterprises, the cultures of addiction, raw capitalism even—do to individuals. It is not designed purely as an entertainment. It is, I'm afraid, a somewhat angry show.
Main cast
![Dominic West TIFF 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Dominic_West_TIFF_2014.jpg)
The major characters of the
first season were divided between those on the side of the law and those involved in
drug-related crime
A drug-related crime is a crime to possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse (such as cocaine, heroin, morphine and amphetamines). Drugs are also related to crime as drug trafficking and drug productio ...
. The investigating detail was launched by the actions of Detective
Jimmy McNulty
James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Dominic West.
McNulty is an Irish-American detective in the Baltimore Police Department. While talented in his profession, McNulty's c ...
(
Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), t ...
), whose insubordinate tendencies and personal problems played counterpoint to his ability as a criminal investigator. The detail was led by Lieutenant
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Lance Reddick. Daniels is well regarded in the Baltimore Police Department by making his subordinates focus on decent police work and quality arrests. He occasional ...
(
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–2020) ...
) who faced challenges balancing his career aspirations with his desire to produce a good case.
Kima Greggs
Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a determined and capable police detective in the Baltimore Police Department. Openly lesbian, she often displays a hardened, cyn ...
(
Sonja Sohn
Sonja Denise Plack (' Williams; born May 9, 1964), known professionally as Sonja Sohn, is an American actress, activist and filmmaker, best known for portraying Baltimore detective Kima Greggs in the HBO drama ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). She is ...
) was a capable lead detective who faced jealousy from colleagues and worry about the dangers of her job from her domestic partner. Her investigative work was greatly helped by her
confidential informant
An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...
, a drug addict known as
Bubbles (
Andre Royo
Andre Royo (born July 18, 1968) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins on the HBO crime drama series ''The Wire'', and his appearances on ''Fringe'', ''Party Down'', ''How to Make I ...
).
Like Greggs, partners
Thomas "Herc" Hauk
Thomas "Herc" Hauk is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Domenick Lombardozzi. The series introduces Herc as a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Narcotics Unit, begrudgingly detailed to the initial Barksd ...
(
Domenick Lombardozzi
Domenico "Domenick" Lombardozzi (, ; born March 25, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Herc in ''The Wire'', and is also known for his roles in ''A Bronx Tale'' (1993), ''Entourage'', and ''The Irishman'' (2019).
Care ...
) and
Ellis Carver
Ellis Carver is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'', played by actor Seth Gilliam. Carver is a former Sergeant of the Baltimore Police Department's Western District Drug Enforcement Unit. While initially match ...
(
Seth Gilliam
Seth Gilliam (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Ellis Carver on ''The Wire'', Clayton Hughes on '' Oz'', Detective Daniels on ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2007–2008), Dr. Alan Deaton on ''T ...
) were reassigned to the detail from the narcotics unit. The duo's initially violent nature was eventually subdued as they proved useful in grunt work, and sometimes served as
comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
for the viewer.
Rounding out the temporary unit were detectives
Lester Freamon
Lester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'', played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit. He is a wise, methodical detective whose int ...
(
Clarke Peters
Peter Clarke (born April 7, 1952), known professionally as Clarke Peters, is an American-British actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freamon in the television series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) and Albert Lambrea ...
) and
Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski
Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Jim True-Frost. Pryzbylewski is a detective of Polish heritage in the Baltimore Police Department. Initially seen as incompetent and rash, he pr ...
(
Jim True-Frost
Jim True-Frost (''né'' True; July 31, 1966) is an American stage, television and screen actor. He is most known for his portrayal of Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski on all five seasons of the HBO program ''The Wire'', as James Woodrow in '' Treme ...
). Freamon, seen as a quiet "house cat", soon proved to be one of the unit's most methodical and experienced investigators, with a knack for noticing important details and a deep knowledge of public records and paper trails. Prez faced sanction early on and was forced into office duty, but this setback quickly became a boon as he demonstrated natural skill at deciphering the communication codes used by the Barksdale organization.
These investigators were overseen by two commanding officers more concerned with politics and their own careers than the case, Deputy Commissioner
Ervin Burrell
Ervin H. Burrell is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Frankie Faison. Burrell was an officer in the Baltimore Police Department who ascended from Deputy Commissioner of Operations to Commissioner over the course of the ...
(
Frankie Faison
Frankie Russel Faison (born June 10, 1949) is an American actor known for his role as Deputy Commissioner, and, later, Commissioner, Ervin Burrell in the HBO series ''The Wire'', as Barney Matthews in the ''Hannibal Lecter'' franchise, and as Suga ...
) and Major
William Rawls
William A. "Bill" Rawls is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor John Doman. Over the course of the series, Rawls ascends through the higher ranks of the Baltimore Police Department, eventually becoming Deputy Commi ...
(
John Doman
John Doman (born January 9, 1945) is an American actor best known for playing Maryland State Police Superintendent, Deputy Police Commissioner and Major William Rawls on HBO series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Colonel Edward Galson on '' Oz'' (20 ...
). Assistant state's attorney
Rhonda Pearlman
Rhonda Pearlman is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'', played by actress Deirdre Lovejoy. Pearlman has been the legal system liaison for all of Lieutenant Cedric Daniels' investigations on the show. Later in ...
(
Deirdre Lovejoy
Deirdre Lovejoy (born June 30, 1962) is an American actress.
She is best known for her role as Assistant State's Attorney Rhonda Pearlman on HBO’s ''The Wire''. She is also known for her roles as a serial killer List of Bones characters#The G ...
) acted as the legal liaison between the detail and the courthouse and also had a sexual relationship with McNulty. In the homicide division,
Bunk Moreland
William "Bunk" Moreland is a fictional character in ''The Wire'', played by Wendell Pierce. Bunk's character is based on a retired Baltimore detective named Oscar "The Bunk" Requer. He is portrayed as a generally competent, if profane and curmud ...
(
Wendell Pierce
Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1963) is an American actor and businessman. Having trained at Juilliard School, Pierce rose to prominence as a character actor portraying roles both on the stage and screen. He first gained notoriety portra ...
) was a gifted, dry-witted, hard-drinking detective partnered with McNulty under
Sergeant Jay Landsman (
Delaney Williams
Delaney Williams (born December 12, 1962) is an American character actor from Washington, D.C. He appeared on the HBO drama ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) as a recurring guest star playing homicide sergeant Jay Landsman. He also had a small role o ...
), the sarcastic, sharp-tongued squad supervisor.
Peter Gerety
Peter Gerety (born May 17, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known as Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008).
Career
Gerety is a veteran of stage, screen and television. In early 1992, he performed to critical acclaim on Broadway ...
had a recurring role as Judge Phelan, the official who started the case moving.
On the other side of the investigation was
Avon Barksdale
Avon Randolph Barksdale is a fictional character in the American television series ''The Wire'', played by Wood Harris. Barksdale is one of the most powerful drug dealers in Baltimore, Maryland, and runs the Barksdale Organization. Stringer Bell, ...
's drug empire. The driven, ruthless Barksdale (
Wood Harris
Sherwin David "Wood" Harris (born October 17, 1969) is an American actor. He has portrayed the drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama ''The Wire'', cocaine dealer Ace in '' Paid in Full'' and high school football player Julius Campbe ...
) was aided by business-minded
Stringer Bell
Russell "Stringer" Bell is a fictional character in ''The Wire'', played by Idris Elba. He is a secondary antagonist for season 1 and 2, later being the main antagonist for season 3. In the criminal world of early 2000s Baltimore, Bell serves as ...
(
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor. ). Avon's nephew
D'Angelo Barksdale
D'Angelo "Dee" Barksdale (c.1978-79 - July 21, 2003) is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Larry Gilliard Jr. D'Angelo is the nephew of Avon Barksdale and a lieutenant in his drug dealing organization which controls m ...
(
Larry Gilliard Jr.) ran some of his uncle's territory, but also possessed a guilty conscience, while loyal
Wee-Bey Brice
Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice is a fictional character in the HBO drama ''The Wire'' played by Hassan Johnson. Wee-Bey is a trusted soldier in the Barksdale Organization.
Character storyline
Wee-Bey dropped out of school in sixth grade and started deal ...
(
Hassan Johnson
Hassan "Iniko" Johnson is an American actor from Brooklyn, New York. He portrayed Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice on HBO's ''The Wire'' and also appears as Drew in '' Flatbush Misdemeanors'' on Showtime.
Career
Johnson's first acting role was in th ...
) was responsible for multiple homicides carried out on Avon's orders. Working under D'Angelo were
Poot (
Tray Chaney
Tray Chaney is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program ''The Wire'' as Poot Carr, which became his most successful acting role. He also appears in the Bounce TV soap opera Saints & Sinners as Kendrick.
Career
Chaney began his entert ...
),
Bodie
Bodie ( ) is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States. It is about southeast of Lake Tahoe, and east-southeast of Bridgeport, California, Bridgepo ...
(
J. D. Williams
J.D. Williams (born May 22, 1978) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the HBO television programs '' Oz'' as Kenny Wangler, ''The Wire'' as Bodie Broadus and ''Pootie Tang'' as Froggy, ''Surviving Family'' (2012) as Bobby, ''T ...
), and
Wallace
Wallace may refer to:
People
* Clan Wallace in Scotland
* Wallace (given name)
* Wallace (surname)
* Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back
* Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...
(
Michael B. Jordan
Michael Bakari Jordan (; born February 9, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his film roles as shooting victim Oscar Grant in the drama ''Fruitvale Station'' (2013), boxer Adonis Creed in ''Creed'' (2015), and Erik Killmonger in ''Bl ...
), all street-level drug dealers.
Wallace was an intelligent but naive youth trapped in the drug trade,
and Poot a randy young man happy to follow rather than lead.
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', portrayed by Michael K. Williams. He is a notorious Baltimore stick-up man, who frequently robs street-level drug dealers. He is legendary around Baltimore for hi ...
(
Michael K. Williams
Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame in 2002 through his critically acclaimed role as Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''. He has been described as a "singular pr ...
), a renowned Baltimore stick-up man robbing drug dealers for a living, was a frequent thorn in the side of the Barksdale clan.
The
second season introduced a new group of characters working in the
Port of Baltimore
Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facilities f ...
area, including
Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos (
Paul Ben-Victor
Paul Ben-Victor (born July 24, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Greek mobster Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', Alan Gray in ''Entourage'' (2005–2008), and Ray in '' Body Parts'' (1991).
...
),
Beadie Russell
Beatrice "Beadie" Russell is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actress Amy Ryan. She was featured prominently in the second season, after she discovered thirteen corpses in a container on the Baltimore docks.
Charac ...
(
Amy Ryan
Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski, known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress of stage and screen. A graduate of New York's High School of Performing Arts, she is an Academy Award nominee and two-time Tony Award nominee.
Ryan began her pr ...
), and
Frank Sobotka
Francis "Frank" Sobotka is a fictional character in of the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by the actor Chris Bauer.
Plot
Frank is a respected Polish-American treasurer for the International Brotherhood of Stevedores at the Baltimore docks. ...
(
Chris Bauer
Mark Christopher Bauer (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his television work in ''The Wire'', ''Third Watch'', ''True Blood'', ''Survivor's Remorse,'' '' The Deuce and'' the Apple TV+ original science fiction spac ...
). Vondas was the
underboss
Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The underbo ...
of a global smuggling operation, Russell an inexperienced
port authority
In Canada and the United States, a port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other t ...
officer and single mother thrown in at the deep end of a multiple homicide investigation, and Frank Sobotka a union leader who turned to crime to raise funds to save his union. Also joining the show in season 2 were
Nick Sobotka
Nickolas Andrew Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Pablo Schreiber. Nick is the cousin of Ziggy Sobotka, the wayward and rebellious son of Nick's uncle Frank Sobotka.
Plot details Season 2
Nick is a d ...
(
Pablo Schreiber
Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on ''The Wire'' (2003), William Lewis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2013–2014), Mad Swe ...
), Frank's nephew;
Ziggy Sobotka
Chester Karol "Ziggy" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor James Ransone. Though his father Frank Sobotka was a well-respected stevedore union leader, Ziggy's thoughtless and immature behavior gained h ...
(
James Ransone
James Finley Ransone III (born June 2, 1979) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of the drama series ''The Wire'', United States Marine Corps Cpl. Josh Ray Person in the war drama min ...
), Frank's troubled son; and "
The Greek
The Greek is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Bill Raymond. The Greek is the head of an international criminal organization involved in narcotics and human trafficking. The Greek is a mysterious figure involved ...
" (
Bill Raymond
William Joseph Raymond (born September 9, 1938) is an American actor who has appeared in film, television, theater and radio drama since the 1960s.
Career
He is featured in the second and fifth seasons of the HBO drama ''The Wire'' as "The Gree ...
), Vondas' mysterious boss. As the second season ended, the focus shifted away from the ports, leaving the new characters behind.
The
third season saw several previously recurring characters assuming larger starring roles, including Detective
Leander Sydnor
Leander Sydnor is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Corey Parker Robinson. Sydnor is a young, married Baltimore Police detective who is a member of the Barksdale detail and later works in the Major Crimes Unit. ...
(
Corey Parker Robinson
Corey Parker Robinson (born February 9, 1975) is an American actor. He has appeared on the Home Box Office, HBO program ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'' as Detective Leander Sydnor. He also appeared in ''The Wire'' creator David Simon's earlie ...
), Bodie (J.D. Williams), Omar (Michael K. Williams),
Proposition Joe
Joseph Stewart, better known as "Proposition Joe" or "Prop Joe", is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug lord who prefers a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible. H ...
(
Robert F. Chew
Robert Francell Chew (December 28, 1960 – January 17, 2013) was an American acting coach and actor. He was best known for portraying drug kingpin Proposition Joe on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''.
Early life
Chew was born on December 28, 19 ...
), and Major
Howard "Bunny" Colvin
Howard "Bunny" Colvin is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Robert Wisdom. Colvin is a wise and able police major in the Baltimore's Western District, alienated by the careerism and bureaucracy rampant in the ...
(
Robert Wisdom
Robert Ray Wisdom (born September 14, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Howard "Bunny" Colvin in ''The Wire,'' Norman "Lechero" St. John in ''Prison Break'', and Harold Conway in the 2021 Hulu movie ''Vacation Friends''.
...
). Colvin commanded the Western district where the Barksdale organization operated, and nearing retirement, he came up with a radical new method of dealing with the drug problem. Proposition Joe, the East Side's cautious drug kingpin, became more cooperative with the
Barksdale Organization
The Barksdale Organization is a fictional drug-dealing gang on the television series ''The Wire''. Many of the characters featured in season one of ''The Wire'' belong to this organization. Season 1 largely deals with the Baltimore Police Depa ...
. Sydnor, a rising young star in the Police Department in season 1, returned to the cast as part of the major crimes unit. Bodie had been seen gradually rising in the Barksdale organization since the first episode; he was born to their trade and showed a fierce aptitude for it. Omar had a vendetta against the Barksdale organization and gave them all of his lethal attention.
New additions in the third season included
Tommy Carcetti
Thomas J. "Tommy" Carcetti ( ) is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Aidan Gillen. Carcetti is an ambitious and venal Baltimore politician who begins the series with a seat on the city council.
Biography Season 3
Tom ...
(
Aidan Gillen
Aidan Murphy (born 24 April 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of three Irish Film & Television Awards and has been nominated for a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award, a ...
), an ambitious city councilman; Mayor
Clarence Royce
Clarence V. Royce is a fictional character in the HBO series ''The Wire'' played by Glynn Turman.
Season 3
Clarence V. Royce is the Mayor of Baltimore whose first appearance is at the demolition of the Franklin Terrace housing projects as a mea ...
(
Glynn Turman
Glynn Russell Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969), high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson ...
), the incumbent whom Carcetti planned to unseat;
Marlo Stanfield
Marlo Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO television drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ambitious, intelligent and ruthless gangster and head of the eponymous Stanfield Organization in the Baltimore ...
(
Jamie Hector
Jamie Hector (born October 7, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'' and as Detective Jerry Edgar in the drama series '' Bosch''.
Career
Hector began acti ...
), leader of an upstart gang seeking to challenge Avon's dominance; and
Dennis "Cutty" Wise
Dennis "Cutty" Wise is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Chad Coleman. Wise is a reformed criminal who sets up a boxing gym for neighborhood children. The name "Dennis Wise" was taken from an actual Baltimore co ...
(
Chad Coleman
Chad L. Coleman (born September 6, 1967) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Dennis "Cutty" Wise on the HBO series ''The Wire'' (2004–08), Tyreese on the AMC series '' The Walking Dead'' (2012–15), Mingo on ''Roots'' (2 ...
), a newly released convict uncertain of his future.
In the
fourth season, four young actors joined the cast:
Jermaine Crawford
Jermaine Crawford (born October 28, 1992) is an actor best known for appearing on the HBO original series ''The Wire'' as Dukie Weems. He is a second cousin to fellow ''The Wire'' cast member and actor Tristan Wilds.
Career
Crawford started p ...
as
Duquan "Dukie" Weems
Duquan "Dukie" Weems is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Jermaine Crawford. Dukie is a student at Edward Tilghman Middle School. He has a difficult home life because the adults in his home are either alcoholics or dr ...
;
Maestro Harrell
Maestro Harrell, also known as M A E S T R O (born July 29, 1991), is an American DJ, singer, rapper, actor, and record producer. He starred on the HBO original series ''The Wire'' as Randy Wagstaff (2006–08), and as Malik on the ABC comedy '' ...
as
Randy Wagstaff
Randy Wagstaff is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Maestro Harrell. Randy is an enterprising student who is dependent on social services. During season 4, he was an 8th grade pupil at Edward Tilghman Middle School and ...
; Julito McCullum as
Namond Brice
Namond Brice ( ) is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Julito McCullum. Namond is a middle school student during season 4 and is friends with Michael Lee and Randy Wagstaff. He often bullies Duquan “Dukie” W ...
; and
Tristan Wilds
Tristan Paul Mack Wilds (born July 15, 1989) is an American actor, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his roles as Michael Lee on the HBO original drama series, ''The Wire'', and as Dixon Wilson on the CW teen drama seri ...
as
Michael Lee. The characters are friends from a west Baltimore middle school. Another newcomer was
Norman Wilson (
Reg E. Cathey
Reginald Eurias Cathey (August 18, 1958 – February 9, 2018) was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles as Norman Wilson in ''The Wire'', Martin Querns in '' Oz'', the game show announcer in ''Square One Television'', Dr. ...
), Carcetti's deputy campaign manager.
The
fifth season saw several actors join the starring cast.
Gbenga Akinnagbe
Olugbenga Enitan Temitope Akinnagbe ( ; born 12 December 1978) is an American actor and writer, best known for his roles as Chris Partlow on the HBO series ''The Wire'' and as Larry Brown on the HBO series '' The Deuce''.
Early life
Akinnagbe ...
returns as the previously recurring
Chris Partlow
Christopher "Chris" Partlow is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Gbenga Akinnagbe. Chris is Marlo Stanfield's second-in-command and bodyguard in his drug dealing operation. He is a minor antagonist for season 3 a ...
, chief enforcer of the now dominant
Stanfield Organization
On the fictional television drama ''The Wire'', the Stanfield Organization is a criminal organization led by Marlo Stanfield. The Organization is introduced in Season Three of ''The Wire'' as a growing and significantly violent drug syndicate. Ma ...
.
Neal Huff
Neal Huff is an American actor from New York City. In April 2018, he performed as Willie Oban in the Broadway revival of ''The Iceman Cometh''. In December 2018, Huff began performing in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', adapted for stage by Aaron Sor ...
reprises his role as Mayoral chief of staff
Michael Steintorf, having previously appeared as a guest star at the end of the fourth season. Two other actors also joined the starring cast, having previously portrayed their corrupt characters as guest stars—
Michael Kostroff
Michael Kostroff (born May 22, 1961) is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program ''The Wire'' as defense attorney Maurice Levy. Kostroff starred in the fifth season of the series and appeared in all four earlier seasons as a guest star. ...
as defense attorney
Maurice Levy and
Isiah Whitlock Jr. as State Senator
Clay Davis
R. Clayton "Clay" Davis is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'', played by actor Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Davis is a corrupt Maryland State Senate, Maryland State Senator with a reputation for pocketing bribes. How ...
. Crew member
Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954), is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989 ...
appeared in front of the camera for the first time in the series to play
Augustus Haynes, the principled editor of the city desk of ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
''. He is joined in the newsroom by two other new stars;
Michelle Paress
Michelle Paress is an American actress. She starred in the HBO program ''The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broad ...
and
Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to:
Academia
*Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy
*Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts
*J. Thomas Mc ...
play young reporters
Alma Gutierrez
Alma M. Gutierrez is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actress Michelle Paress. Gutierrez is a dedicated and idealistic young reporter on the city desk of ''The Baltimore Sun''.
Biography
Gutierrez joins the staff of ...
and
Scott Templeton
M. Scott Templeton is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Tom McCarthy. The actor joined the starring cast as the series' fifth season began.
Biography
Templeton is a young reporter who allows his extreme ambitio ...
.
Episodes
Season 1
![Baltimore_neighborhoods_map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Baltimore_neighborhoods_map.png)
The first season introduces two major groups of characters: the Baltimore Police Department and a drug dealing organization run by the Barksdale family. The season follows the police investigation of the latter over its 13 episodes.
The investigation is triggered when, following the acquittal of
D'Angelo Barksdale
D'Angelo "Dee" Barksdale (c.1978-79 - July 21, 2003) is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Larry Gilliard Jr. D'Angelo is the nephew of Avon Barksdale and a lieutenant in his drug dealing organization which controls m ...
for murder after a key witness changes her story, Detective
Jimmy McNulty
James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Dominic West.
McNulty is an Irish-American detective in the Baltimore Police Department. While talented in his profession, McNulty's c ...
meets privately with Judge
Daniel Phelan. McNulty tells Phelan that the witness has probably been intimidated by members of a drug trafficking empire run by D'Angelo's uncle,
Avon Barksdale
Avon Randolph Barksdale is a fictional character in the American television series ''The Wire'', played by Wood Harris. Barksdale is one of the most powerful drug dealers in Baltimore, Maryland, and runs the Barksdale Organization. Stringer Bell, ...
, having recognized several faces at the trial, most notably Avon's second-in-command,
Stringer Bell
Russell "Stringer" Bell is a fictional character in ''The Wire'', played by Idris Elba. He is a secondary antagonist for season 1 and 2, later being the main antagonist for season 3. In the criminal world of early 2000s Baltimore, Bell serves as ...
. He also tells Phelan that no one is investigating Barksdale's criminal activity, which includes a significant portion of the city's drug trade and several unsolved homicides.
Phelan reacts to McNulty's report by complaining to senior Police Department figures, embarrassing them into creating a detail dedicated to investigating Barksdale. However, owing to the department's dysfunction, the investigation is intended as a façade to appease the judge. An intradepartmental struggle between the more motivated officers on the detail and their superiors spans the whole season, with interference by the higher-ups often threatening to ruin the investigation. The detail's commander,
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Lance Reddick. Daniels is well regarded in the Baltimore Police Department by making his subordinates focus on decent police work and quality arrests. He occasional ...
, acts as mediator between the two opposing groups of police.
Meanwhile, the organized and cautious Barksdale gang is explored through characters at various levels within it. The organization is continually antagonized by a stick-up crew led by
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', portrayed by Michael K. Williams. He is a notorious Baltimore stick-up man, who frequently robs street-level drug dealers. He is legendary around Baltimore for hi ...
, and the feud leads to several deaths. Throughout, D'Angelo struggles with his conscience over his life of crime and the people it affects.
The police have little success with street-level arrests or with securing informants beyond
Bubbles, a well known West Side drug addict. Eventually the investigation takes the direction of electronic surveillance, with wiretaps and pager clones to infiltrate the security measures taken by the Barksdale organization. This leads the investigation to areas the commanding officers had hoped to avoid, including political contributions.
When an associate of Avon Barksdale is arrested by
State Police
State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...
and offers to cooperate, the commanding officers order the detail to undertake a sting operation to wrap up the case. Detective
Kima Greggs
Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a determined and capable police detective in the Baltimore Police Department. Openly lesbian, she often displays a hardened, cyn ...
is seriously hurt in the operation, triggering an overzealous response from the rest of the department. This causes the detail's targets to suspect that they are under investigation.
Wallace is murdered by his childhood friends
Bodie
Bodie ( ) is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States. It is about southeast of Lake Tahoe, and east-southeast of Bridgeport, California, Bridgepo ...
and
Poot, on orders from Stringer Bell, after leaving his "secure" placement with relatives and returning to Baltimore. D'Angelo Barksdale is eventually arrested transporting a kilo of uncut heroin, and learning of Wallace's murder, is ready to turn in his uncle and Stringer. However, D'Angelo's mother convinces him to rescind the deal and take the charges for his family. The detail manages to arrest Avon on a minor charge and gets one of his soldiers,
Wee-Bey
Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice is a fictional character in the HBO drama ''The Wire'' played by Hassan Johnson. Wee-Bey is a trusted soldier in the Barksdale Organization.
Character storyline
Wee-Bey dropped out of school in sixth grade and started deal ...
, to confess to most of the murders, some of which he did not commit. Stringer escapes prosecution and is left running the Barksdale empire. For the officers, the consequences of antagonizing their superiors are severe, with Daniels passed over for promotion and McNulty assigned out of homicide and into the marine unit.
Season 2
The second season, along with its ongoing examination of the drug problem and its effect on the
urban poor, examines the plight of the
blue-collar
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
as exemplified by
dockworker
A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes.
After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...
s in the
city port, as some of them get caught up in smuggling drugs and other contraband inside the shipping containers that pass through their port.
In a season-long subplot, the Barksdale organization continues its drug trafficking despite Avon's imprisonment, with Stringer Bell assuming greater power.
McNulty harbors a grudge against his former commanders for reassigning him to the marine unit. When thirteen unidentified young women are found dead in a container at the docks, McNulty successfully makes a spiteful effort to place the murders within the jurisdiction of his former commander. Meanwhile, police Major
Stan Valchek
Stanislaus "Stan" Valchek is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'', played by actor Al Brown.
Biography
Valchek is the Polish-American commander of the Baltimore Police Department in the Southeastern district ...
gets into a feud with
Polish-American
Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Poles, Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing abou ...
Frank Sobotka
Francis "Frank" Sobotka is a fictional character in of the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by the actor Chris Bauer.
Plot
Frank is a respected Polish-American treasurer for the International Brotherhood of Stevedores at the Baltimore docks. ...
, a leader of the International Brotherhood of Stevedores, a fictional dockers'
union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
, over competing donations to their old neighborhood church. Valchek demands a detail to investigate Sobotka. A detail is assigned, but staffed with "humps".
Valcheck threatens Burrell with a disruption of Burrell's confirmation hearings and insists on Daniels.
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Lance Reddick. Daniels is well regarded in the Baltimore Police Department by making his subordinates focus on decent police work and quality arrests. He occasional ...
is interviewed, having been praised by
Prez, Major Valchek's son-in-law, and also because of his work on the Barksdale case. He is eventually selected to lead the detail assigned just to investigate Sobotka; when the investigation is concluded Daniels is assured he will move up to head a special case unit with personnel of his choosing.
Life for the blue-collar men of the port is increasingly hard and work is scarce. As union leader, Sobotka has taken it on himself to reinvigorate the port by lobbying politicians to support much-needed infrastructure improvement initiatives. Lacking the funds needed for this kind of influence, Sobotka has become involved with a smuggling ring. Around him, his son and nephew also turn to crime, as they have few other opportunities to earn money.
It becomes clear to the Sobotka detail that the dead girls are related to their investigation, as they were in a container that was supposed to be smuggled through the port. They again use wiretaps to infiltrate the crime ring and slowly work their way up the chain towards
The Greek
The Greek is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Bill Raymond. The Greek is the head of an international criminal organization involved in narcotics and human trafficking. The Greek is a mysterious figure involved ...
, the mysterious man in charge. But Valchek, upset that their focus has moved beyond Sobotka, gets the FBI involved. The Greek has a mole inside the FBI and starts severing his ties to Baltimore when he learns about the investigation.
After a dispute over stolen goods turns violent, Sobotka's wayward son
Ziggy
Ziggy is a masculine given name, often a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Zigmunt and other names. It is also a nickname. Notable people with the name include:
Nickname or hypocorism
* Ezekiel Ansah (born 1989), National Football League play ...
is charged with the murder of one of the Greek's underlings. Sobotka himself is arrested for smuggling; he agrees to work with the detail to help his son, finally seeing his actions as a mistake. The Greek learns about this through his
mole
Mole (or Molé) may refer to:
Animals
* Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America
* Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
inside the FBI and has Sobotka killed. The investigation ends with the fourteen homicides solved but the perpetrator already dead. Several drug dealers and mid-level smuggling figures tied to the Greek are arrested, but he and his second-in-command escape uncharged and unidentified. The Major is pleased that Sobotka was arrested; the case is seen as a success by the commanding officers, but is viewed as a failure by the detail.
Across town, the Barksdale organization continues its business under
Stringer
Stringer may refer to:
Structural elements
* Stringer (aircraft), or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened
* Stringer (slag), an inclusion, possibly leading to a defect, in cast metal
* Stringer (stairs), ...
while
Avon and
D'Angelo Barksdale
D'Angelo "Dee" Barksdale (c.1978-79 - July 21, 2003) is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Larry Gilliard Jr. D'Angelo is the nephew of Avon Barksdale and a lieutenant in his drug dealing organization which controls m ...
serve prison time. D'Angelo decides to cut ties to his family after his uncle organizes the deaths of several inmates and blames it on a corrupt guard to shave time from his sentence. Eventually Stringer covertly orders D'Angelo killed, with the murder staged to look like a suicide. Avon is unaware of Stringer's duplicity and mourns the loss of his nephew.
Stringer also struggles, having been cut off by Avon's drug suppliers in New York and left with increasingly poor-quality product. He again goes behind Avon's back, giving up half of Avon's most prized territory to a rival named
Proposition Joe
Joseph Stewart, better known as "Proposition Joe" or "Prop Joe", is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug lord who prefers a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible. H ...
in exchange for a share of his supply, which is revealed to be coming from the Greek. Avon, unaware of the arrangement, assumes that Joe and other dealers are moving into his territory simply because the Barksdale organization has too few enforcers. He uses his New York connections to hire a feared assassin named
Brother Mouzone
Brother Mouzone is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Michael Potts.
Character history
Brother Mouzone (from Arabic موزون ''mawzūn'', meaning "balanced,” "weighted") is a drug enforcer and hitman from ...
.
Stringer deals with this by tricking his old adversary
Omar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
into believing that Mouzone was responsible for the vicious killing of his partner in their feud in season one. Seeking revenge, Omar shoots Mouzone but, realizing Stringer has lied to him, calls
9-1-1
, usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...
. Mouzone recovers and leaves Baltimore, and Stringer (now with Avon's consent) is able to continue his arrangement with Proposition Joe.
Season 3
![Idris Elba 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Idris_Elba_2014.jpg)
In the third season, the focus returns to the street and the Barksdale organization. The scope is expanded to include the city's political scene. A new subplot is introduced to explore the potential positive effects of ''de facto'' "legalizing" the illegal drug trade, and incidentally prostitution, within the limited boundaries of a few uninhabited city blocks—referred to as ''
Hamsterdam''. The posited benefits, as in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and other European cities, are reduced street crime city-wide and increased outreach of health and social services to vulnerable people. These are continuations of stories hinted at earlier.
The demolition of the residential towers that had served as the Barksdale organization's prime territory pushes their dealers back out onto the streets of Baltimore.
Stringer Bell
Russell "Stringer" Bell is a fictional character in ''The Wire'', played by Idris Elba. He is a secondary antagonist for season 1 and 2, later being the main antagonist for season 3. In the criminal world of early 2000s Baltimore, Bell serves as ...
continues his reform of the organization by cooperating with other drug lords, sharing with one another territory, product and profits. Stringer's proposal is met with a curt refusal from
Marlo Stanfield
Marlo Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO television drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ambitious, intelligent and ruthless gangster and head of the eponymous Stanfield Organization in the Baltimore ...
, leader of a new, growing crew.
Against Stringer's advice, Avon decides to take Marlo's territory by force and the two gangs become embroiled in a bitter turf war with multiple deaths.
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', portrayed by Michael K. Williams. He is a notorious Baltimore stick-up man, who frequently robs street-level drug dealers. He is legendary around Baltimore for hi ...
continues to rob the Barksdale organization wherever possible. Working with his new boyfriend Dante and two women, he is once more a serious problem. The violence related to the drug trade makes it an obvious choice of investigation for
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Lance Reddick. Daniels is well regarded in the Baltimore Police Department by making his subordinates focus on decent police work and quality arrests. He occasional ...
' permanently established Major Crimes Unit.
Councilman
Tommy Carcetti
Thomas J. "Tommy" Carcetti ( ) is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Aidan Gillen. Carcetti is an ambitious and venal Baltimore politician who begins the series with a seat on the city council.
Biography Season 3
Tom ...
begins to prepare himself for a mayoral race. He manipulates a colleague into running against the mayor to split the black vote, secures a capable campaign manager and starts making headlines for himself.
Approaching the end of his career, Major
Howard "Bunny" Colvin
Howard "Bunny" Colvin is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Robert Wisdom. Colvin is a wise and able police major in the Baltimore's Western District, alienated by the careerism and bureaucracy rampant in the ...
of Baltimore's Western District wants to effect some real change in the troubled neighborhoods for which he has long been responsible. Without the knowledge of central command, Colvin sets up areas where police would monitor, but not punish, the drug trade. The police crack down severely on violence in these areas and also on drug trafficking elsewhere in the city.
For many weeks, Colvin's experiment works and crime is reduced in his district. Colvin' superiors, the media and city politicians eventually find out about the arrangement and the "Hamsterdam" experiment ends. With top brass outraged, Colvin is forced to cease his actions, accept a demotion and retire from the Police Department on a lower-grade pension. Tommy Carcetti uses the scandal to make a grandstanding speech at a weekly Baltimore city council meeting.
In another strand,
Dennis "Cutty" Wise
Dennis "Cutty" Wise is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Chad Coleman. Wise is a reformed criminal who sets up a boxing gym for neighborhood children. The name "Dennis Wise" was taken from an actual Baltimore co ...
, once a drug dealer's enforcer, is released from a fourteen-year prison term with a street contact from Avon. Cutty initially wishes to go straight partly to reignite his relationship with a former girlfriend. He tries to work as a manual laborer, but struggles to adapt to life as a free man. He then flirts with his former life, going to work for Avon. Finding he no longer has the heart for murder, he quits the Barksdale crew. Later, he uses funding from Avon to purchase new equipment for his nascent boxing gym.
The Major Crimes Unit learns that Stringer has been buying real estate and developing it to fulfill his dream of being a successful legitimate businessman. Believing that the bloody turf war with Marlo is poised to destroy everything the Barksdale crew had worked for, Stringer gives Major Colvin information on Avon's weapons stash.
Brother Mouzone
Brother Mouzone is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Michael Potts.
Character history
Brother Mouzone (from Arabic موزون ''mawzūn'', meaning "balanced,” "weighted") is a drug enforcer and hitman from ...
returns to Baltimore and tracks down Omar to join forces. Mouzone tells Avon that his shooting must be avenged. Avon, remembering how Stringer disregarded his order which resulted in Stringer's attempt to have Brother Mouzone killed, furious over
D'Angelo's murder to which Stringer had confessed, and fearing Mouzone's ability to harm his reputation outside of Baltimore, informs Mouzone of Stringer's upcoming visit to his construction site. Mouzone and Omar corner him and shoot him to death.
Colvin tells McNulty about Avon's hideout and armed with the information gleaned from selling the Barksdale crew pre-wiretapped disposable cell phones, the detail stages a raid, arresting Avon and most of his underlings. Barksdale's criminal empire lies in ruins and Marlo's young crew simply moves into their territory. The drug trade in West Baltimore continues.
Season 4
The fourth season concentrates on the school system and the mayoral race. It takes a closer look at
Marlo Stanfield's drug gang, which has grown to control most of western Baltimore's trafficking, and
Dukie,
Randy
Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...
,
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
, and
Namondfour boys from West Baltimoreas they enter the eighth grade.
Prez has begun a new career as a
mathematics teacher
In contemporary education, mathematics education, known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics – is the practice of teaching, learning and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge.
Although rese ...
at the same school. The cold-blooded Marlo has come to dominate the streets of the west side, using murder and intimidation to make up for his weak-quality drugs and lack of business acumen. His enforcers
Chris Partlow
Christopher "Chris" Partlow is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Gbenga Akinnagbe. Chris is Marlo Stanfield's second-in-command and bodyguard in his drug dealing operation. He is a minor antagonist for season 3 a ...
and
Snoop conceal their numerous victims in abandoned and boarded-up
row house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house (British English, UK) or townhouse (American English, US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings party ...
s where the bodies will not be readily discovered. The disappearances of so many known criminals come to mystify both the major crimes unit investigating Marlo and the homicide unit assigned to solve the presumed murders. Marlo coerces Bodie into working under him.
McNulty
McNulty (also spelled MacNulty or McAnulty) is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac an Ultaigh'' meaning "son of the Ulsterman". Usually considered a branch of the Ulaid ruling dynasty of ''Mac Duinnshléibhe'' ( MacDon ...
is a patrolman and lives with
Beadie Russell
Beatrice "Beadie" Russell is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actress Amy Ryan. She was featured prominently in the second season, after she discovered thirteen corpses in a container on the Baltimore docks.
Charac ...
. He politely refuses offers from
Daniels who is now a major and commanding the Western District. Detectives
Kima Greggs
Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a determined and capable police detective in the Baltimore Police Department. Openly lesbian, she often displays a hardened, cyn ...
and
Lester Freamon
Lester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'', played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit. He is a wise, methodical detective whose int ...
, as part of the major crimes unit, investigate
Avon Barksdale
Avon Randolph Barksdale is a fictional character in the American television series ''The Wire'', played by Wood Harris. Barksdale is one of the most powerful drug dealers in Baltimore, Maryland, and runs the Barksdale Organization. Stringer Bell, ...
's political donations and serve several key figures with subpoenas. Their work is shut down by Commissioner
Ervin Burrell
Ervin H. Burrell is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Frankie Faison. Burrell was an officer in the Baltimore Police Department who ascended from Deputy Commissioner of Operations to Commissioner over the course of the ...
at Mayor
Clarence Royce
Clarence V. Royce is a fictional character in the HBO series ''The Wire'' played by Glynn Turman.
Season 3
Clarence V. Royce is the Mayor of Baltimore whose first appearance is at the demolition of the Franklin Terrace housing projects as a mea ...
's request, and after being placed under stricter supervision within their unit, both Greggs and Freamon request and receive transfer to the homicide division.
Meanwhile, the city's mayoral primary race enters its closing weeks. Royce initially has a seemingly insurmountable lead over challengers
Tommy Carcetti
Thomas J. "Tommy" Carcetti ( ) is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Aidan Gillen. Carcetti is an ambitious and venal Baltimore politician who begins the series with a seat on the city council.
Biography Season 3
Tom ...
and
Tony Gray, with a big
war chest
A war chest is a metaphor for any collection of tools or money intended to be used in a challenging or dangerous situation. Historically, it referred to an actual chest located in the homes or barracks of soldiers or military leadership, in which ...
and major endorsements. Royce's lead begins to fray, as his own political machinations turn against him and Carcetti starts to highlight the city's crime problem. Carcetti is propelled to victory in the primary election.
Howard "Bunny" Colvin
Howard "Bunny" Colvin is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Robert Wisdom. Colvin is a wise and able police major in the Baltimore's Western District, alienated by the careerism and bureaucracy rampant in the ...
joins a research group attempting to study potential future criminals in the middle school population.
Dennis "Cutty" Wise
Dennis "Cutty" Wise is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Chad Coleman. Wise is a reformed criminal who sets up a boxing gym for neighborhood children. The name "Dennis Wise" was taken from an actual Baltimore co ...
continues to work with boys in his boxing gym, and accepts a job at the school rounding up truants. Prez has a few successes with his students, but some of them start to slip away. Disruptive Namond is removed from class and placed in the research group, where he gradually develops affection and respect for Colvin. Randy, in a moment of desperation, reveals knowledge of a murder to the assistant principal, leading to his being interrogated by police. When
Bubbles takes Sherrod, a homeless teenager, under his wing, he fails in his attempts to encourage the boy to return to school.
Proposition Joe
Joseph Stewart, better known as "Proposition Joe" or "Prop Joe", is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug lord who prefers a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible. H ...
tries to engineer conflict between
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', portrayed by Michael K. Williams. He is a notorious Baltimore stick-up man, who frequently robs street-level drug dealers. He is legendary around Baltimore for hi ...
and Marlo to convince Marlo to join the co-op. Omar robs Marlo who, in turn, frames Omar for a murder and organizes attempts to have him murdered in jail but Omar manages to beat the charge with the help of Bunk. Omar is told that Marlo set him up, so takes revenge on him by robbing the entire shipment of the co-op. Marlo is furious with Joe for allowing the shipment to be stolen. Marlo demands satisfaction, and as a result, Joe sets up a meeting between him and
Spiros Vondas
Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos (Greek: Σπύρος Βονδόπουλος) is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'' played by actor Paul Ben-Victor and the secondary antagonist in season 2.
Biography
Vondas is The Greek's second-in- ...
, who assuages Marlo's concerns. Having gotten a lead on Joe's connection to the Greeks, Marlo begins investigating them to learn more about their role in bringing narcotics into Baltimore.
Freamon discovers the bodies Chris and Snoop had hidden. Bodie offers McNulty testimony against Marlo and his crew, but is shot dead on his corner by O-Dog, a member of Marlo's crew.
Sherrod dies after snorting a poisoned vial of heroin that, unbeknownst to him, Bubbles had prepared for their tormentor. Bubbles turns himself in to the police and tries to hang himself, but he survives and is taken to a
detox
Detoxification or detoxication (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of ...
facility. Michael has now joined the ranks of Marlo's killers and runs one of his corners, with Dukie leaving high school to work there. Randy's house is firebombed by school bullies for his cooperation with the police, leaving his caring foster mother hospitalized and sending him back to a group home. Namond is taken in by Colvin, who recognized the good in him. The major crimes unit from earlier seasons is largely reunited, and they resume their investigation of Marlo Stanfield.
Season 5
The fifth season focuses on the media and
media consumption
Media consumption or media diet is the sum of information and entertainment media taken in by an individual or group. It includes activities such as interacting with new media, reading books and magazines, watching television and film, and listeni ...
.
The show features a fictional depiction of the newspaper ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'', and in fact elements of the plot are ripped-from-the-headlines events (such as the
Jayson Blair
Jayson Thomas Blair (born March 23, 1976) is an American former journalist who worked for ''The New York Times''. He resigned from the newspaper in May 2003 in the wake of the discovery of fabrication and plagiarism in his stories.
Blair publis ...
''New York Times'' scandal) and people at the ''Sun''.
[NPR interview with Simon broadcast the week of January 12, 2008] The season, according to
David Simon
David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–08).
He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' Hom ...
, deals with "what stories get told and what don't and why it is that things stay the same."
Issues such as the quest for profit, the decrease in the number of reporters, and the end of aspiration for news quality would all be addressed, alongside the theme of homelessness.
John Carroll John Carroll may refer to:
People Academia and science
*Sir John Carroll (astronomer) (1899–1974), British astronomer
*John Alexander Carroll (died 2000), American history professor
*John Bissell Carroll (1916–2003), American cognitive sci ...
of ''The Baltimore Sun'' was the model for the "craven, prize hungry" editor of the fictional newspaper.
Fifteen months after the fourth season concludes,
Mayor Carcetti's cuts in the police budget to redress the education deficit force the
Marlo Stanfield
Marlo Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO television drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ambitious, intelligent and ruthless gangster and head of the eponymous Stanfield Organization in the Baltimore ...
investigation to shut down.
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Lance Reddick. Daniels is well regarded in the Baltimore Police Department by making his subordinates focus on decent police work and quality arrests. He occasional ...
secures a detail to focus on the prosecution of
Senator Davis for corruption.
Detective McNulty returns to the Homicide unit and decides to divert resources back to the Police Department by faking evidence to make it appear that a serial killer is murdering homeless men.
''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' also faces budget cuts and the newsroom struggles to adequately cover the city, omitting many important stories.
Commissioner Burrell continues to falsify crime statistics and is fired by Carcetti, who positions Daniels to replace him.
Marlo Stanfield lures his enemy
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', portrayed by Michael K. Williams. He is a notorious Baltimore stick-up man, who frequently robs street-level drug dealers. He is legendary around Baltimore for hi ...
out of retirement by having Omar's mentor
Butchie
Butchie is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', portrayed by S. Robert Morgan. A blind man, he runs an East-Side Baltimore bar, and is Omar Little's bank and advisor. Like his character, actor S. Robert Morgan is blind; he ...
murdered.
Proposition Joe
Joseph Stewart, better known as "Proposition Joe" or "Prop Joe", is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug lord who prefers a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible. H ...
teaches Stanfield how to launder money and evade investigation. Once Joe is no longer useful to him, Stanfield has Joe killed with the help of Joe's nephew
Cheese Wagstaff
Street-level characters comprise a large part of the cast on the fictional HBO drama series ''The Wire''. Characters in this section range from homeless drug addicts up to drug king-pins in charge of entire criminal empires.
Barksdale organization ...
and usurps his position with the Greeks and the New Day Co-Op.
Michael Lee continues working as a Stanfield enforcer, providing a home for his friend
Dukie and younger brother
Bug.
Omar returns to Baltimore seeking revenge, targeting Stanfield's organization, stealing and destroying money and drugs and killing Stanfield enforcers in an attempt to force Stanfield into the open. However, he is eventually shot and killed by
Kenard
Kenard is a fictional young drug dealer on the HBO drama series ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'', portrayed by Thuliso Dingwall.
Series
Season 4
Kenard is frequently seen hanging out with Namond's circle of friends, often making fun of Duqu ...
, a young Stanfield dealer.
''
Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' reporter Scott Templeton claims to have been contacted by McNulty's fake serial killer. City Editor
Gus Haynes
Augustus "Gus" Haynes is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Clark Johnson, who is also a director for the series. Haynes is the dedicated and principled editor for ''The Baltimore Sun'' city desk.
Character depic ...
becomes suspicious, but his superiors are enamored of Templeton. McNulty backs up Templeton's claim in order to further legitimize his fabricated serial killer. The story gains momentum and Carcetti spins the resulting attention on homelessness into a key issue in his imminent campaign for Governor and restores funding to the Police Department.
Bubbles is recovering from his drug addiction while living in his sister's basement. He is befriended by ''Sun'' reporter
Mike Fletcher, who eventually writes a profile of Bubbles.
Bunk is disgusted with McNulty's serial killer scheme and tries to have
Lester Freamon
Lester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'', played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit. He is a wise, methodical detective whose int ...
reason with McNulty. Instead, Freamon helps McNulty perpetuate the lie and uses resources earmarked for the case to fund an illegal wiretap on Stanfield. Bunk resumes working the vacant house murders, leading to a murder warrant against Partlow for killing Michael's stepfather.
Freamon and
Leander Sydnor
Leander Sydnor is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Corey Parker Robinson. Sydnor is a young, married Baltimore Police detective who is a member of the Barksdale detail and later works in the Major Crimes Unit. ...
gather enough evidence to arrest Stanfield and most of his top lieutenants, seizing a large quantity of drugs. Stanfield suspects that Michael is an informant, and orders him killed. Michael realizes he is being set up and kills Snoop instead. A wanted man, he leaves Bug with an aunt and begins a career as a stick-up man. With his support system gone, Dukie lives with drug addicts.
McNulty tells
Kima Greggs
Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a determined and capable police detective in the Baltimore Police Department. Openly lesbian, she often displays a hardened, cyn ...
about his fabrications to prevent her wasting time on the case. Greggs tells Daniels, who, along with
Rhonda Pearlman
Rhonda Pearlman is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'', played by actress Deirdre Lovejoy. Pearlman has been the legal system liaison for all of Lieutenant Cedric Daniels' investigations on the show. Later in ...
, takes this news to Carcetti, who orders a cover-up because of the issue's importance to his campaign.
Davis is acquitted, but Freamon uses the threat of federal prosecution to blackmail him for information. Davis reveals
Maurice Levy has a mole in the courthouse from whom he illegally purchases copies of sealed indictments. Herc tells Levy that the Stanfield case was probably based on an illegal wiretap, something which would jeopardize the entire case. After Levy reveals this to Pearlman, she uses Levy's espionage to blackmail him into agreeing to a plea bargain for his defendants. Levy ensures Stanfield's release on the condition that he permanently retires, while his subordinates will have to accept long sentences. Stanfield sells the connection to The Greeks back to the Co-Op and plans to become a businessman, although he appears unable or unwilling to stay off the corner.
As the cover-up begins, a
copy-cat killing occurs, but McNulty quickly identifies and arrests the culprit. Pearlman tells McNulty and Freamon that they can no longer be allowed to do investigative work and warns of criminal charges if the scandal becomes public. They opt to retire. Haynes attempts to expose Templeton but the managing editors ignore the fabrications and demote anyone critical of their star reporter. Carcetti pressures Daniels to falsify crime statistics to aid his campaign. Daniels refuses and then quietly resigns rather than have his FBI file leaked.
In a final montage, McNulty gazes over the city; Freamon enjoys retirement; Templeton wins a Pulitzer; Carcetti becomes Governor; Haynes is sidelined to the copy desk and replaced by Fletcher; Campbell appoints Valchek as commissioner; Carcetti appoints Rawls as Superintendent of the
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
State Police
State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...
;
Dukie continues to use heroin; Pearlman becomes a judge and Daniels a defense attorney; Bubbles is allowed upstairs where he enjoys a family dinner; Chris serves his life sentence alongside
Wee-Bey
Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice is a fictional character in the HBO drama ''The Wire'' played by Hassan Johnson. Wee-Bey is a trusted soldier in the Barksdale Organization.
Character storyline
Wee-Bey dropped out of school in sixth grade and started deal ...
; the drug trade continues; and the people of Baltimore go on with their lives.
Prequel shorts
During the fifth season, HBO produced three shorts depicting moments in the history of characters in ''The Wire''. The three prequels depict the first meeting between McNulty and Bunk; Proposition Joe as a slick business kid; and young Omar. The shorts are available on the complete series DVD set.
Reception and legacy
Critical response
All seasons of ''The Wire'' have received positive reviews from major television critics, with seasons two through five in particular receiving near universal acclaim, with several naming it the best contemporary show and one of the best drama series of all time. The first season received mainly positive reviews from critics, some even calling it superior to HBO's better-known "
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
" drama series such as ''
The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
'' and ''
Six Feet Under''. On the
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the first season scored 79 out of 100 based on 22 reviews.
[ One reviewer pointed to the retread of some themes from HBO and ]David Simon
David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–08).
He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' Hom ...
's earlier works, but still found it valuable viewing and particularly resonant because it parallels the war on terror through the chronicling of the war on drugs. Another review postulated that the series might suffer because of its reliance on profanity and slowly drawn-out plot, but was largely positive about the show's characters and intrigue.
Despite the critical acclaim, ''The Wire'' received poor Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, which Simon attributed to the complexity of the plot; a poor time slot; heavy use of esoteric slang, particularly among the gangster characters; and a predominantly black cast. Critics felt the show was testing the attention span of its audience and that it was mistimed in the wake of the launch of the successful crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
''The Shield
''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt poli ...
'' on FX. However, anticipation for a release of the first season on DVD was high at ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''.
After the first two episodes of season two, Jim Shelley in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' called ''The Wire'' the best show on TV, praising the second season for its ability to detach from its former foundations in the first season. Jon Garelick with the ''Boston Phoenix
''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' and ...
'' was of the opinion that the subculture of the docks (second season) was not as absorbing as that of the housing projects (first season), but he went on to praise the writers for creating a realistic world and populating it with an array of interesting characters.
The critical response to the third season remained positive. ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' named ''The Wire'' the best show of 2004, describing it as "the smartest, deepest and most resonant drama on TV." They credited the complexity of the show for its poor ratings. The ''Baltimore City Paper
''Baltimore City Paper'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. The most recent owner was the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which purchased the paper in 2014 from Ti ...
'' was so concerned that the show might be cancelled that it published a list of ten reasons to keep it on the air, including strong characterization, Omar Little, and an unabashedly honest representation of real world problems. It also worried that the loss of the show would have a negative impact on Baltimore's economy.
At the close of the third season, ''The Wire'' was still struggling to maintain its ratings and the show faced possible cancellation. Creator David Simon blamed the show's low ratings in part on its competition against ''Desperate Housewives
''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
'' and worried that expectations for HBO dramas had changed following the success of ''The Sopranos''.
As the fourth season was about to begin, almost two years after the previous season's end, Tim Goodman of the ''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' wrote that ''The Wire'' "has tackled the drug war in this country as it simultaneously explores race, poverty and 'the death of the American working class,' the failure of political systems to help the people they serve, and the tyranny of lost hope. Few series in the history of television have explored the plight of inner-city African Americans and none—not one—has done it as well." Brian Lowry of ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote at the time, "When television history is written, little else will rival 'The Wire.'" ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called the fourth season of ''The Wire'' "its best season yet."
Doug Elfman of the ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' was more reserved in his praise, calling it the "most ambitious" show on television, but faulting it for its complexity and the slow development of the plotline. The ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' took the rare step of devoting an editorial to the show, stating that "even in what is generally acknowledged to be something of a golden era for thoughtful and entertaining dramas—both on cable channels and on network TV—''The Wire'' stands out." ''Time'' magazine especially praised the fourth season, stating that "no other TV show has ever loved a city so well, damned it so passionately, or sung it so searingly."
On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, seasons three and four received a weighted average score of 98, the tenth and eleventh highest scores respectively for any television season in the site's history. Andrew Johnston of ''Time Out New York
''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide.
In 2012, the London edition becam ...
'' named ''The Wire'' the best TV series of 2006, and wrote, "The first three seasons of David Simon's epic meditations on urban America established ''The Wire'' as one of the best series of the decade, and with season four--centered on the heart-breaking tale of four eighth-graders whose prospects are limited by public-school bureaucracy--it officially became one for the ages."
Several reviewers called it the best show on television, including ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'', ''Entertainment Weekly'', the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', ''Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'', the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', the ''Philadelphia Daily News
''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''.
The ''Dail ...
'' and the British newspaper ''The Guardian'', which ran a week-by-week blog following every episode, also collected in a book, ''The Wire Re-up''. Charlie Brooker
Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...
, a columnist for ''The Guardian'', has been particularly enthusiastic in his praise of the show, both in his "Screen Burn" column and in his BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 television series '' Screenwipe'', calling it possibly the greatest show of the last 20 years.
In 2007, ''Time'' listed it among the one hundred best television series of all-time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers:
* The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO
* The Writers Guil ...
ranked ''The Wire'' as the ninth best written TV series. In 2013, ''TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' ranked ''The Wire'' as the fifth greatest drama and the sixth greatest show of all time. In 2013, ''Entertainment Weekly'' listed the show at No. 6 in their list of the "26 Best Cult TV Shows Ever," describing it as "one of the most highly praised series in HBO history" and praising Michael K. Williams's acting as Omar Little. ''Entertainment Weekly'' also named it the number one TV show of all-time in a special issue in 2013.
In 2016, ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' ranked it second on its list of the 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and ranked it fourth in 2022. In September 2019, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', which ranked the show #2 on its list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century, described it as "polemical, panoramic, funny, tragic or all of those things at once", saying it was "beautifully written and performed" and was both "TV as high art and TV wrenched from the soul" and "an exemplar of a certain brand of intelligent, ambitious and uncompromising television". In 2021, ''Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' ranked ''The Wire'' at number four on their list of The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
Critics have often described the show in literary terms: the ''New York Times'' calls it "literary television;" ''TV Guide'' calls it "TV as great modern literature;" the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' says the series "must be considered alongside the best literature and filmmaking in the modern era;" and the ''Chicago Tribune'' says the show delivers "rewards not unlike those won by readers who conquer Joyce, Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...
or Henry James
Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
." 'The Wire Files', an online collection of articles published in ''darkmatter Journal'', critically analyzes ''The Wire'' racialized politics and aesthetics of representation. ''Entertainment Weekly'' put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "The deft writing—which used the cop-genre format to give shape to creator David Simon's scathing social critiques—was matched by one of the deepest benches of acting talent in TV history."
Former President of the United States Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
has said that ''The Wire'' is his favorite television series. The 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
Laureate, Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...
, wrote a very positive critical review of the series in the Spanish newspaper ''El País
''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.
It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
''. The comedian turned mayor of Reykjavík
Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
, Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, Jón Gnarr
Jón Gnarr (; born 2 January 1967)This is an Icelandic name. ''Kristinsson'' is the patronymic, but he is properly referred to as ''Jón Gnarr'' as he had it legally removed. is an Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who served as the Ma ...
, has gone so far as to say that he would not enter a coalition government with anyone who has not watched the series.
Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman (; born November 30, 1978)Löchel, Ingo"The Walking Dead: Die Comic-Serie – Robert Kirkman" Zauberspiegel. Retrieved February 17, 2013. is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer. He is best known ...
, creator of '' The Walking Dead'', is a strong follower of ''The Wire''; he has tried to cast as many actors from it into the television series of the same name as possible, so far having cast Chad Coleman
Chad L. Coleman (born September 6, 1967) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Dennis "Cutty" Wise on the HBO series ''The Wire'' (2004–08), Tyreese on the AMC series '' The Walking Dead'' (2012–15), Mingo on ''Roots'' (2 ...
, Lawrence Gilliard Jr.
Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (born September 22, 1971) is an American actor who has appeared in films, television series, and theatre. He portrayed D'Angelo Barksdale on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', a role which earned him critical acclaim. He is ...
, Seth Gilliam
Seth Gilliam (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Ellis Carver on ''The Wire'', Clayton Hughes on '' Oz'', Detective Daniels on ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2007–2008), Dr. Alan Deaton on ''T ...
, and Merritt Wever
Merritt Carmen Wever (born August 11, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for starring as a perennially upbeat young nurse in ''Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015), an intrepid widow in the Netflix period miniseries '' Godless'' (2017), and a de ...
.
Awards
''The Wire'' was nominated for and won a wide variety of awards, including nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was first awarded at the 7th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, held in 1955 and it is given in ...
for " Middle Ground" (2005) and "–30–
-30- has been traditionally used by journalists in North America to indicate the end of a story or article that is submitted for editing and typesetting. It is commonly employed when writing on deadline and sending bits of the story at a time, v ...
" (2008), NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Drama Series This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Drama Series. Originally entitled Outstanding Drama Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie, the award was first given in 1991, before being retitled to its curre ...
for each of its five seasons, Television Critics Association Awards
The TCA Awards are awards presented by the Television Critics Association in recognition of excellence in television. There are eleven categories, which are presented every summer towards the end of the organization's summer press tour.
Due to ...
(TCA), and Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.
Eligibility
Th ...
s (WGA).
Most of the awards the series won were for season 4 and season 5. These included the Directors Guild of America Award
The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards.
Catego ...
and TCA Heritage Award The TCA Heritage Award is an award given by the Television Critics Association.
Winners and nominees
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tca Award For Outstanding New Program
Heritage
Heritage may refer to:
History an ...
for season 5, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series for season 4, plus the Crime Thriller Award, Eddie Award
Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...
, Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
, and Irish Film & Television Academy Award. The series also won the ASCAP Award
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
, Artios Award
The Casting Society, formerly known as Casting Society of America (CSA), was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1982 as a professional society of about 1,200 casting directors and associate casting directors for film, television, theatre, and ...
, and Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
for season 2.
The series won the ''Broadcasting & Cable
''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcast ...
'' Critics' Poll Award for Best Drama (season 4) and won ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' critics choice for top television show for season 1 and season 3.
Despite the above mentioned awards and unanimous critical approval, ''The Wire'' never won a single Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
nor received any major nominations, except for two writing nominations in 2005 and 2008. Several critics recognized its lack of recognition by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...
. According to a report by ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', anonymous Emmy voters cited reasons such as the series' dense and multilayered plot, the grim subject matter, and the series' lack of connection with California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, as it is set and filmed in Baltimore.
Academia
In the years following the end of the series' run, several colleges and universities such as Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...
, Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, and Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
have offered classes on ''The Wire'' in disciplines ranging from law to sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
to film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies.
...
. Phillips Academy
("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness
, address = 180 Main Street
, city = Andover
, state = Ma ...
, a boarding high school in Massachusetts, offers a similar course as well. University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a public research university in San Antonio, Texas. With over 34,000 students across its four campuses spanning 758 acres, UTSA is the largest university in San Antonio and the eighth-largest by ...
offers a course where the series is taught as a work of literary fiction
Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction or serious fiction is a label that, in the book trade, refers to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre (see genre fiction); or, otherwise, refers to novels that are ch ...
.
In an article published in ''The Washington Post'', Anmol Chaddha and William Julius Wilson
William Julius Wilson (born December 20, 1935) is an American sociologist. He is a professor at Harvard University and author of works on urban sociology, race and class issues. Laureate of the National Medal of Science, he served as the 80th P ...
explain why Harvard chose ''The Wire'' as curriculum material for their course on urban inequality: "Though scholars know that deindustrialization, crime and prison, and the education system are deeply intertwined, they must often give focused attention to just one subject in relative isolation, at the expense of others. With the freedom of artistic expression, ''The Wire'' can be more creative. It can weave together the range of forces that shape the lives of the urban poor."
University of York
, mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £8.0 million
, budget = £403.6 million
, chancellor = Heather Melville
, vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery
, students ...
's Head of Sociology, Roger Burrows, said in ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' that the show "makes a fantastic contribution to their understanding of contemporary urbanism", and is "a contrast to dry, dull, hugely expensive studies that people carry out on the same issues". The series is also studied as part of a Master seminar series at the Paris West University Nanterre La Défense
Paris Nanterre University (French: ''Université Paris Nanterre''), formerly Paris-X and commonly referred to as Nanterre, is a public research university based in Nanterre, Paris, France. It is one of the most prestigious French universities, ma ...
. In February 2012, Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New Y ...
gave a lecture at Birkbeck, University of London
, mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck.
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £4.3 m (2014)
, budget = £10 ...
titled ''The Wire or the clash of civilisations in one country''. In April 2012, Norwegian academic Erlend Lavik posted online a 36-minute video essay called "Style in ''The Wire''" which analyzes the various visual techniques used by the show's directors over the course of its five seasons.
''The Wire'' has also been the subject of growing numbers of academic articles by, amongst others, Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson (born April 14, 1934) is an American literary critic, philosopher and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends, particularly his analysis of postmodernity and capitalism. James ...
(who praised the series' ability to weave utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
n thinking into its realist representation of society); and Leigh Claire La Berge, who argues that although the less realistic character of season five was received negatively by critics, it gives the series a platform not only for representing reality, but for representing how realism is itself a construct of social forces like the media; both commentators see in ''The Wire'' an impulse for progressive political change rare in mass media productions. While most academics have used ''The Wire'' as a cultural object or case study, Benjamin Leclair-Paquet has instead argued that the "creative methods behind HBO's ''The Wire'' evoke original ways to experiment with speculative work that reveal the merit of the imaginary as a pragmatic research device." This author posits that the methods behind ''The Wire'' are particularly relevant for contentious urban and architectural projects.
Broadcasters
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
aired the five seasons of the show in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2008. New episodes were shown once a week, occasionally skipping one or two weeks in favor of other programming. Starting with the fourth season, subscribers to the HBO On Demand
On-demand or on demand may refer to:
Manufacturing
* Build-on-demand
* Just-in-time manufacturing, a methodology for production
* Print on demand, printing technology and business process in which new copies of a document are not printed until an ...
service were able to see each episode of the season six days earlier. American basic cable network BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
also aired the show. BET adds commercial breaks, blurs some nudity, and mutes some profanity. Much of the waterfront storyline from the second season is edited out from the BET broadcasts.
The series was remastered in 16:9 high-definition in late 2014. As the series was shot with a 16:9- safe area, the remastered series is an open matte
Open matte is a filming technique that involves matting out the top and bottom of the film frame in the movie projector (known as a ''soft matte'') for the widescreen theatrical release and then scanning the film without a matte (at Academy rat ...
of the original 4:3 framing. Creator David Simon
David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–08).
He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' Hom ...
approved the new version, and worked with HBO to remove film equipment and crew members, and solve actor sync problems in the widened frame. The remastered series debuted on HBO Signature, airing the entire series consecutively, and on HBO GO
HBO Go is a partly-inactive authenticated video on demand of the pay television service HBO. The service allowed subscribers to HBO via television providers to access its programming on-demand via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital media p ...
on December 26, 2014.
In the United Kingdom, the show has been broadcast on FX until 2009 when the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
bought terrestrial television rights to ''The Wire'' in 2008, when it was broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, although controversially it was broadcast at 11:20 pm and catchup was not available on BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...
. In a world first, British newspaper ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' made the first episode of the first season available to stream on its website for a brief period and all episodes were aired in Ireland on the public service channel TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known ...
approximately six months after the original air dates on HBO.
The series became available in Canada in a remastered 16:9 HD format on streaming service CraveTV
Crave (initially named CraveTV) is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily American-based se ...
in late 2014.
Home media
Every season was released on DVD, and were favorably received, though some critics have faulted them for a lack of special features.
The remastered version is on iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
, and was released as a complete series Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
box set on June 2, 2015.
DVD releases
See also
* Crime in Baltimore
The American city of Baltimore, Maryland, is notorious for its crime rate, which ranks well above the national average. Violent crime spiked in 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray on April 19, 2015, which touched off riots and an increase in mu ...
References
Further reading
* Ryan Twomey, Examining ''The Wire'' Authenticity and Curated Realism. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020,
* Peter L. Beilenson & Patrick A. McGuire, Tapping Into the Wire: The Real Urban Crisis, Johns Hopkins University Press 2013,
* Sherryl Vint, The Wire. Wayne State University Press 2013,
* Tiffany Potter (ed.), C. W. Marshall (ed.): ''The Wire: Urban Decay and American Television''. Continuum international Publishing Group 2009,
* Rafael Alvarez: ''The Wire: Truth Be Told''. Simon & Schuster 2004,
* Brian G. Rose: ''The Wire''. In: Gary Richard Edgerton (ed.), Jeffrey P. Jones (ed.): ''The Essential HBO Reader''. University of Kentucky Press 2008, , pp. 82–91 ()
* Peter Dreier, John Atlas: ''The Wire – Bush-Era Fable about America's Urban Poor?''. City & Community Volume 8, Issue 3, pp. 329–340, September 2009
online copy
* Helena Sheehan, Sheamus Sweeney: ''The Wire and the World: Narrative and Metanarrative''. Jump Cut, 51 (Spring 2009),
online copy
nbsp;– Exclusive interviews with David Simon and cast members.
Ten Thousand Bullets
nbsp;– An interview with George Pelecanos
George P. Pelecanos (born February 18, 1957) is an American author. Many of his 20 books are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writ ...
.
George Pelecanos on ''The Wire'' and D.C. pulp fiction
nbsp;– A supplement to "Ten Thousand Bullets."
"The Rhetoric of ''The Wire''"
Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism, No.1, 2010
nbsp;– Ed Burns
Edward P. Burns (born January 29, 1946) is an American screenwriter, novelist, and producer. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. For HBO, they have collaborated on ''The Corner,'' ''The Wire,'' ''Generation Kill'', ''The Pl ...
discusses some of the investigations and individuals which inspired ''The Wire''.
A collection of interviews with ''Wire'' cast members
nbsp;– Interviews include Michael K. Williams
Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame in 2002 through his critically acclaimed role as Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''. He has been described as a "singular pr ...
, Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–2020) ...
, Robert Wisdom
Robert Ray Wisdom (born September 14, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Howard "Bunny" Colvin in ''The Wire,'' Norman "Lechero" St. John in ''Prison Break'', and Harold Conway in the 2021 Hulu movie ''Vacation Friends''.
...
, Gbenga Akinnagbe
Olugbenga Enitan Temitope Akinnagbe ( ; born 12 December 1978) is an American actor and writer, best known for his roles as Chris Partlow on the HBO series ''The Wire'' and as Larry Brown on the HBO series '' The Deuce''.
Early life
Akinnagbe ...
, Isiah Whitlock Jr. and more.
Reason Magazine Interview with Ed Burns
nbsp;– ''The Wire'' co-creator talks about how Baltimore inspires and informs ''The Wire'', and opinions on the "War on Drugs" from his and other co-creators' experiences.
''The New Yorker'' Profiles David Simon
nbsp;– A long profile article about David Simon
David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–08).
He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' Hom ...
with info about season five as well as his next project.
''Maxim'' Interrogates the Makers and Stars of ''The Wire''
nbsp;– A large 2012 interview with David Simon, Ed Burns, other crew, and most of the principal cast members.
* Bill Moyers Journal
''Bill Moyers Journal'' was an American television current affairs program that covered an array of current affairs and human issues, including economics, history, literature, religion, philosophy, science, and most frequently politics. Bill Mo ...
: ''David Simon'' (on ''The Wire'') ,
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wire
2000s American crime drama television series
2000s American LGBT-related drama television series
2000s American police procedural television series
2000s American political television series
2002 American television series debuts
2008 American television series endings
African-American culture
American detective television series
Articles containing video clips
Crime thriller television series
English-language television shows
Fictional portrayals of the Baltimore Police Department
HBO original programming
Montgomery County, Maryland in fiction
Peabody Award-winning television programs
Racism in television
Serial drama television series
Television series by Home Box Office
Television series about illegal drug trade
Television series about organized crime
Television series created by David Simon
Television shows filmed in Maryland
Television shows set in Baltimore
Works about African-American organized crime