"Unconfirmed Reports" is the second episode of the fifth season of the

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 ...

original series ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

''. The episode was written by

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 ...

from a story by

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 ...

& William F. Zorzi and was directed by

Ernest Dickerson Ernest Roscoe Dickerson (born June 25, 1951) is an American director, cinematographer, and screenwriter of film, television, and music videos. As a cinematographer, he is known for his frequent collaborations with Spike Lee ever since they were c ...

. It originally aired on 13 January 2008.

Plot

At a

Narcotics Anonymous Narcotics Anonymous (NA), founded in 1953, describes itself as a "nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem." Narcotics Anonymous uses a 12-step model developed for people with varied subst ...

meeting, Bubbles follows a speaker named Dee-Dee who discusses her struggle with her inner addict and personal code. Bubbles is engaging and humorous, but unable to discuss an emotional memory. Walon tries to convince him to share the tragedy of

Sherrod Sherrod is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Sherrod Brown (born 1952), United States Senator * Sherrod Martin (born 1984), American football player * Sherrod Small, American comedian * Sherrod E. ...

's death in order to move on, and persuades him to fill his time by volunteering at a

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the Hunger, hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoo ...

. 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 ...

'', Templeton plans a color piece about the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

opening game, but fails to find a suitable subject. He returns with an unverifiable story about an orphaned wheelchair user

truant Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not refe ...

ing to attend.

Gus Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan, Gustav, Gustave, Gustafson, Gustavo, Gussie). It can also be used as the adaptation into English of ...

is concerned about the piece's lack of corroboration, but is forced to print it after executive editor James Whiting gives his approval. Later, desk editor Rebecca Corbett also questions the authenticity of the story, but Gus tells her there's nothing he can do.

Marlo Marlo is a name which may refer to: People Given name or nickname Notable people with the given name or nickname include: *Marlo Dahl (born 1972), Canadian curler *Marlo Hoogstraten (also known as MaRLo), Dutch DJ * Martin "Marlo" Hyland (1969–2 ...

decides to reassert his authority and orders several murders. Partlow, Snoop, and

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 ...

watch the house of a target named June Bug, who has spread rumors that Marlo is

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

. Michael questions the necessity of the murder of an entire family for a possible insult, but is admonished by Snoop for second-guessing Marlo. Partlow and Snoop disable the street's security cameras, stage a

home invasion A home invasion, also called a hot prowl burglary, is a sub-type of burglary (or in some jurisdictions, a separately defined crime) in which an offender unlawfully enters into a building residence while the occupants are inside. The overarching ...

, and kill the three adults inside. Michael lets a child escape and is disgusted by the entire operation. Later, 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, c ...

finds a second child hiding in the home. She picks up the child and leaves the building. Marlo visits

Serge Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

in prison and finds

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, ...

waiting in his place. Avon tells Marlo that in order for him to talk to Serge, he has to give Avon's sister

Brianna ''Brianna'', ''Breanna'', ''Breanne'', ''Briana'', ''Brina'', and ''Bryanna'' are feminine given names. ''Brianna'' is a feminine English language form of the masculine Irish language name ''Brian'' as "Briana" is the original spelling. The name is ...

$100,000. Marlo agrees and convinces Serge to give him a line to

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- ...

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

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 th ...

struggles to meet

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Carcetti's crime reduction target while implementing budget cuts. He alienates

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Davis Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community * Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...

by refusing to interfere in his corruption case. Carcetti intends to run for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

despite the city's fiscal difficulties, which he accepts because he can't fix schooling and crime problems at the same time without asking for money from

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. State Delegate

Odell Watkins The following are politicians, family members, and assistants administrating the politics of Baltimore on ''The Wire''. Maryland State politicians Clay Davis * Played by: Isiah Whitlock, Jr. * Appears in: :Season one: "One Arrest"; " The Cost" ...

expresses disappointment in Carcetti's priorities. Freamon still works the Davis case, but also spends his own time watching known Stanfield meeting places.

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 ...

desperately wants to return to the Stanfield case and is increasingly frustrated in Homicide. Freamon and McNulty try to get federal support, but their proposal is shot down by the

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

. The detectives bitterly drown their sorrows with Bunk Moreland afterward. When McNulty and Bunk are assigned a probable overdose, McNulty begins drinking and deliberately stages the body and the scene to suggest that the victim was murdered. McNulty tells Bunk that he plans to create the illusion of a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

with the intent of compelling

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

to better fund the BPD in response to public pressure. Bunk wants no part of it and leaves in disgust.

Production

Guest stars

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

as Walon *

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- ...

Felicia "Snoop" Pearson Felicia "Snoop" Pearson is a semi-fictional character on the HBO series ''The Wire'', played by the actress of the same name. She is a young female soldier in Marlo Stanfield's drug dealing organization and Chris Partlow's earliest protégé. ...

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 ...

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 ...

Chris Ashworth Christopher Michael Ashworth (born March 13, 1975, in Farmville, Virginia), better known as simply Chris Ashworth, is an American actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sergei Malatov on ''The Wire''. He commonly plays characters from E ...

Sergei Malatov Sergei "Serge" Malatov (Ukrainian: Сергій Малатов) is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', played by Chris Ashworth. He acts as a driver and enforcer for The Greek. He is Ukrainian, although Americans often a ...

*Genevieve Hudson-Price as Dee-Dee *Frederick Strother as

*Benay Berger as Amanda Reese *Doug Olear as Terrence "Fitz" Fitzhugh *Joseph Urla as Maryland District US Attorney *

David Costabile David Costabile (; born January 9, 1967) is an American actor. He is best known for his television work, having appeared in supporting roles in several television series such as '' Billions'', ''Breaking Bad'', ''Damages'', ''Flight of the Conch ...

as Thomas Klebanow *

Sam Freed Sam Freed (born August 29, 1948) is an American actor who has performed on Broadway and television and in movies. His first major regular role on television was as Bob Barsky in the last three seasons of ''Kate & Allie''. In the short-lived serie ...

as James Whiting *Donald Neal as Jay Spry *Bobby J. Brown as

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

Anthony Mangano Anthony J. Mangano is an American actor. He has guest starred in a number of notable television series, including ''Diff'rent Strokes'', '' Who's the Boss?'', '' 227'', ''Charles in Charge'', '' Step by Step'', ''Murder, She Wrote'', ''Party of ...

as Kevin Infante *Kristie Dale Sanders as Nancy Porter *Gregory L. Williams as

Michael Crutchfield Michael Paul Crutchfield (born 12 December 1961) is an Australian politician. He was formerly the member for South Barwon in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Early life Crutchfield was born in Melbourne, but attended high school in the co ...

*Bruce Kirkpatrick as

Roger Twigg Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages, Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", " ...

*Thomas J. McCarthy as Tim Phelps *Kara Quick as Rebecca Corbett *Todd Scofield as Jeff Price *

Darrell Britt-Gibson Darrell Hadari Britt-Gibson (born August 4, 1986) is an American actor, known for his role as Darius "O-Dog" Hill on the HBO series ''The Wire''. He has also appeared on the Showtime series ''Californication'', the Starz series ''Power'', the ...

as O-Dog *Kwame Patterson as

Monk Metcalf Monk Metcalf is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', portrayed by Kwame Patterson. Monk is a lieutenant in the Stanfield organization, and probably the third most recognized leader of the Stanfield Organization. Monk is s ...

*Scott Shane as Scott Shane *Suzanne Wooton as Suzanne Wooton *Willa Bickham as Willa Bickham *Dan Manning as Assistant Medical Examiner *Kate Revelle as Jane *Kelley Slagle as Assistant Medical Examiner *

Brendan Walsh Brendan Walsh (born 1959) is an American chef known for southwestern cuisine. He was the original chef of Arizona 206 in New York City (from 1985 to 1988) and won the "Who's Who of Cooking in America" James Beard Foundation Award. As of 2020 he ...

as Brendan Walsh *Erica Chamblee as Pregnant Mother *Lee Everett Cox as Aaron Castor *Rachel Lynn Dinenna as unknown *Frank McPartland as Angry fan *Andrew Roth as Tim Packard *Tasha R. Rudolph as Abusive mother *Andrew Cruttenden as unknown *Ayoka Dorsey as Gus' wife *Tyson Hall as Marvin *Adrienne Meisel as Recovering addict *Patricia Penn as Sun staff member *Steve Zettler as Prison guard

Uncredited roles

* Curt Boushell as Andy, Sun copy editor * Louis Stancil as Unknown corner boy

References

External links

"Unconfirmed Reports"
at HBO.com * {{The Wire episodes The Wire (season 5) episodes 2008 American television episodes Television episodes directed by Ernest Dickerson