"-30-" is the series finale of the HBO original series ''

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 broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

''. With a running time of 93 minutes, this tenth and final episode of the fifth season is the longest episode of the series. The episode was written by series creator/executive producer

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 '' H ...

( teleplay/story) and co-executive producer

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 P ...

(story). It was directed by

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 also directed the pilot episode and stars on the show. It aired on March 9, 2008. The episode's writers were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.

Plot

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 To ...

and his staff learn that the "serial killer" was a hoax.

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 ...

and Freamon, unaware that their scheme has been exposed, discover that Gary DiPasquale has leaked courthouse documents to

Levy Levy, Lévy or Levies may refer to: People * Levy (surname), people with the surname Levy or Lévy * Levy Adcock (born 1988), American football player * Levy Barent Cohen (1747–1808), Dutch-born British financier and community worker * Levy ...

. When Freamon gives Pearlman the identity of the mole, she reveals her knowledge of the detectives' duplicity. Templeton calls

911 911 or 9/11 may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende * November 9 Numbers * 91 ...

, and claims there was an attempted kidnapping of an inebriated homeless man which he witnessed. When the police arrive, the man is too drunk to confirm or deny the claims, though an undercover officer at the scene confirms that Templeton made up the story. Marlo and his crew learn of Snoop's death and agree that Michael must be eliminated. Cheese posts

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

and Marlo instructs him to hunt down Michael. Freamon informs McNulty that Daniels and Pearlman know about the hoax and the illegal wiretap. Levy goes through the Stanfield arrest warrants and realizes that the police used an illegal wiretap to decipher the code beforehand. McNulty, Bunk, and

Greggs Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as bakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on ...

arrive at the scene of another homeless murder, and are distraught that McNulty's fictitious serial killer has inspired a

copycat Copycat refers to a person who copies some aspect of some thing or somebody else. Copycat may also refer to: Intellectual property rights * Copyright infringement, use of another’s ideas or words without permission * Patent infringement, a v ...

. Pearlman and

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

are told by Steintorf to quietly settle the Stanfield case out of court to keep the illegal wiretaps from being brought to light. Pearlman meets with Levy and uses a taped conversation given to her by Freamon to force him to settle. McNulty is confronted by Daniels and Rawls, who order him to quickly catch the copycat so that the press will assume he's the original killer. McNulty identifies a mentally ill homeless man as the killer and the Baltimore Police Department charge him with two of the six "murders". Carcetti holds a press conference taking credit for both the "serial killer's" capture and the Stanfield arrests, then promotes Daniels to Police Commissioner. However, after Steintorf once again requests that Daniels "juke the stats" to boost Carcetti's position on crime reduction, he refuses, and is forced to resign after Campbell threatens to expose his past wrongdoings. Cheese is killed by

Slim Charles Slim Charles is a fictional character in the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Anwan Glover. An enforcer for the Barksdale Organization and later the top lieutenant of kingpin Proposition Joe, he is portrayed as principled, loyal, and compet ...

for his role in

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 ...

's murder. McNulty locates

Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

and drives him back to

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 ...

, stopping to look over the city on the way. In a closing montage, Carcetti is elected governor while Campbell becomes mayor; Valchek replaces Daniels as Commissioner; Pearlman, now a judge,

recuse Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Applica ...

s herself from a case Daniels is arguing; Bubbles eats a meal with his sister in her kitchen; Marlo becomes a "legitimate businessman" and realizes he has lost his street cred; Spider runs his own crew on

Bodie Broadus Preston "Bodie" Broadus is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', played by actor J. D. Williams. Bodie is initially a rough, low-level drug dealer, but matures throughout the series and slowly rises through the ranks. Bodie ...

's former corner; Michael and a partner stick up Vinson, deliberately emulating

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 ...

; the remaining Co-Op members meet with Vondas and The Greek; Dukie uses the money he borrowed from Prez to feed his new drug addiction; Templeton wins a Pulitzer Prize while Gus and Alma are demoted; Kenard is arrested.

Production

Title reference

-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 ...

is a

journalistic Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

term that has been used to signify the end of a story.

Epigraph

This is seen in the lobby of the ''Baltimore Sun'', as an excerpt from a longer Mencken quote displayed on the wall when Alma talks with Gus after she has been demoted to the Carroll County bureau. The full quote reads "...as I look back over a misspent life, I find myself more and more convinced that I had more fun doing news reporting than in any other enterprise. It is really the life of kings."

Music

The Blind Boys of Alabama's version of Tom Waits' "

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 differen ...

" plays over the episode's closing montage. This version of the song had previously been used as the theme music for the show's first season. During the scene where McNulty plays Trouble with Beadie Russell's children, the song that can be heard playing in the background is " Rich Woman" by

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

and Robert Plant from their 2007 album ''

Raising Sand ''Raising Sand'' is a collaborative studio album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released in October 2007 by Rounder Records. ''Raising Sand'' won Album of the Year at the 2008 Americana Music Hon ...

''. " Body of an American" by

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse" ...

is heard during McNulty's staged "detective's wake", making it the third time the song was used in the course of the show's run. Also, " The Broad Majestic Shannon" can be heard echoing out of the bar in the scene after the "wake".

Credits

Starring cast

Although credited,

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 ...

and Isiah Whitlock, Jr. do not appear in this episode.

Guest stars

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 '' Tre ...

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 ...

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 ...

as Judge Daniel Phelan *

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 ...

as Beatrice "Beadie" Russell *

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). ...

as Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos *

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 ...

The Greek The Greek is a fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely f ...

* Delaney Williams as Jay Landsman * Marlyne Afflack as

Nerese Campbell 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" ...

* Steve Earle as Walon * Ptolemy Slocum as Business Card Homeless Man *Maria Broom as Marla Daniels *

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 Conc ...

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 seri ...

as James Whiting * Anwan Glover as

* Hassan Johnson as Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice *

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 ...

as Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff *Dion Graham as Rupert Bond * Thomas J. McCarthy as Tim Phelps *Robert Poletick as Steven Luxenberg * Michael Willis as Andy Krawczyk *Donald Neal as Jay Spry *Kara Quick as Rebecca Corbett *Brandon Young as Mike Fletcher * William F. Zorzi as Bill Zorzi *Al Brown as

Stan Valchek Stanislaus "Stan" Valchek is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Al Brown. Biography Valchek is the Polish-American commander of the Baltimore Police Department in the Southeastern district, home to many of th ...

* Ed Norris as Ed Norris *Michael Salconi as Michael Santangelo * Brian Anthony Wilson as Vernon Holley *Megan Anderson as Jen Carcetti *Benay Berger as Amanda Reese * Eisa Davis as Rae * Tootsie Duvall as Assistant Principal Marcia Donnelly * Wendy Grantham as Shardene Innes *Bobby 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 ...

*Dennis Hill as Detective Christeson *Doug Olear as Terrance "Fitz" Fitzhugh *Rick Otto as Kenneth Dozerman *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 ...

*Thuliso Dingwall as Kenard *Dave Ettlin as Dave Ettlin *Edward Green as

Spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

*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 ...

Stephen Schnetzer Stephen Paul Schnetzer (born June 11, 1948) is an American actor. Life and career Schnetzer, who is of German descent, was born in Canton, Massachusetts, the son of Thomas A. Schnetzer. His mother was a war bride from Algeria. He attended Ca ...

as Robert Ruby *Carl Schoettler as Carl Schoettler *William Joseph Brookes as Lawrence Butler *Sho "Swordsman" Brown as Phil Boy *Norris Davis as

Vinson VINSON is a family of voice encryption devices used by U.S. and allied military and law enforcement, based on the NSA's classified Suite A SAVILLE encryption algorithm and 16 kbit/s CVSD audio compression. It replaces the Vietnam War-era N ...

*Reggie A. Green as Arabber *Joey Odoms as Corner boy *Troj. Marquis Strickland as Ricardo "Fat Face Rick" Hendrix *Connor Aikin as Jack Russell *Sophia Ayoud as Cary Russell * Gary D'Addario as Gary DiPasquale *Clinton "Shorty" Buise as Clinton "Shorty" Buise *Alan V. Poulson as Developer *Dionne Audain as Social Worker *Chris Kies as Petey the drunk *Stephen Kinigopoulos as Officer *

Jeff Wincott Jeffrey Wincott (born 8 May 1956) is a Canadian actor and martial artist best known for his lead role in the television series ''Night Heat.'' Wincott was also the star of several martial arts films in the 1990s. In 1996 he was named one of the ...

as Johnny Weaver *Henry Carter as unknown *Edward C. Lewis as unknown *George Smith as unknown

Uncredited appearances

as ''Baltimore Sun'' staff member *Rebecca Corbett as ''Baltimore Sun'' staff member

Reception

Writers

and

were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for their work on the finale.

References

External links

"-30-"
at HBO.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:30 The Wire (season 5) episodes American television series finales 2008 American television episodes Television episodes written by David Simon