otheruses
The Wire is an
American television drama series set in
Baltimore,
Maryland, where it was also produced. Created,
produced, and primarily written by author and former police reporter
David Simon, the series was broadcast by the
premium cable network HBO in the United States.
The Wire premiered on June 2, 2002 and ended on March 9, 2008, with
60 episodes airing over the course of its five seasons.
Each season of
The Wire focuses on a different facet of the city of Baltimore. They are, in order: the
drug trade, the port, the city government and bureaucracy, the school system, and the print news media. The large cast consists mainly of
character actors who are little known for their other roles. Simon has said that despite its presentation 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, and how whether you're a cop, a
longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge or a lawyer, you are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution you've committed to."
Despite never seeing large commercial success or winning any major television awards,
has frequently been described by critics as the greatest
television series of all time.
The show is recognized for its realistic portrayal of
urban life, artistic ambitions, and uncommonly deep exploration of
sociopolitical themes.
Production
Conception
[
], creator of
The Wire]]
Simon has stated that he originally set out to create a police drama loosely based on the experiences of his writing partner
Ed Burns, a former homicide detective. Burns, when working on protracted investigations of violent drug dealers using
surveillance technology, had often faced frustration with the bureaucracy of the police department, which Simon related to his own ordeals as a police reporter for
The Baltimore Sun.
Simon chose to set the show in Baltimore because of his familiarity with the city. He approached the
mayor of Baltimore to get approval to portray it bleakly and was welcomed to work there again. During his time as a writer and producer for the
NBC program
Homicide: Life on the Street, which was based on his non-fiction book
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, Simon had come into conflict with network executives over the show's pessimism, and wanted to avoid a repeat of these arguments. He chose to take
The Wire to HBO because of their existing working relationship from the 2000
miniseries The Corner. Owing to its reputation for exploring new areas, HBO was initially dubious about including a police drama in its lineup, but eventually agreed to produce the
pilot episode.
Simon hoped that the show would change the opinions of some viewers but said that it was unlikely to have an impact on the issues it portrays.
Casting
The casting of the show has been praised for avoiding big-name stars and providing 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.
The initial cast was assembled through a process of auditions and readings.
Lance Reddick received the role of
Cedric Daniels after auditioning for several other parts.
got the part of
Omar Little after only a single audition.
Several prominent real-life Baltimore figures, including former Maryland Governor
Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Rev. Frank M. Reid III, former police chief, convicted felon, radio personality
Ed Norris, Virginia Delegate
Rob Bell, and former mayor
Kurt Schmoke have appeared in minor roles despite not being professional actors.
, a Baltimore drug lord arrested in the 1980s by an investigation that Ed Burns had been part of, had a recurring role as a deacon beginning in the third season.
Jay Landsman, a longtime police officer who inspired
the character of the same name,
played
Lieutenant Dennis Mello.
Baltimore police commander
Gary D'Addario served as the series technical advisor for the first two seasons
and has 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,
Seth Gilliam,
Lance Reddick, and
Reg E. Cathey were featured in very prominent roles in
Oz, while a number of other notable stars of
The Wire, including
Wood Harris,
Frankie Faison,
John Doman,
Clarke Peters,
Domenick Lombardozzi,
Michael Hyatt and
Method Man appeared in at least one episode of
Oz.
Cast members
Clark Johnson,
Callie Thorne and
Peter Gerety also appeared on
Homicide: Life on the Street.
[Clark Johnson filmography retrieved 2009-11-11][Callie Thorne filmography retrieved 2009-11-11][Peter Gerety filmography retrieved 2009-11-11]
Crew
Alongside Simon, the show's creator,
head writer,
show runner and
executive producer, much of the creative team behind
The Wire are alumni of
Homicide and
Emmy-winning miniseries
The Corner.
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 for 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 joined him on the production staff.
A third producer on
The Corner Nina Kostroff Noble 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
Ed Burns, a former Baltimore homicide detective and public school teacher who had worked with Simon on other projects including
The Corner. Burns also became a producer on
The Wire in the show's fourth season.
Other writers for
The Wire include three acclaimed crime fiction writers from outside of Baltimore:
George P. Pelecanos from Washington,
Richard Price from
the Bronx and
Dennis Lehane 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 penned several episodes' scripts, as well as the series guidebook
The Wire: Truth Be Told. Alvarez is a colleague of Simon's from
The Sun and a Baltimore native with working experience in the port area.
Another city native and independent filmmaker,
Joy Lusco Kecken, also wrote for the show in each of its first three seasons.
[Alvarez 10.] Baltimore Sun writer and political journalist
William F. Zorzi 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 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.
Emmy-award 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,
who directed several acclaimed episodes of
The Shield,
; and
Tim Van Patten, an Emmy winner who has worked on every season of
The Sopranos. The directing has been praised for its uncomplicated and subtle style.
Following the death of Colesberry, director
Joe Chappelle joined the production staff as a co-executive producer and continued to regularly direct episodes.
Episode structure
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, using clips from previous episodes. Each episode begins with a
cold open that seldom contains a dramatic juncture. The screen then fades 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 (a technique rarely used in the show itself). The opening credits are
superimposed 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 is shown on-screen that is spoken by a character during the episode. The two exceptions were the fourth season's finale which uses words written on boarded up vacant homes attributed to "Baltimore, traditional" and the series finale, which started with a quote from
H.L. Mencken that is shown on a wall at
The Baltimore Sun 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, and normally close with a fade to black and the closing music fading in.
Music
Audio samples of The Wire (
media help)
sample box end
