The Wire (2002–2008)

Baltimore drug scene, seen through the eyes of drug dealers, and law enforcement.

Creator:

David Simon

Stars:

Dominic West, John Doman, Deirdre Lovejoy

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 12 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Dominic West	...	Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
John Doman	...	Dep. Comm. for Operations William A. Rawls (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Deirdre Lovejoy	...	Asst. State's Atty. Rhonda Pearlman (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Wendell Pierce	...	Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Lance Reddick	...	Lt. Cedric Daniels (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Sonja Sohn	...	Det. Shakima 'Kima' Greggs (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Seth Gilliam	...	Sgt. Ellis Carver (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	Det. Thomas 'Herc' Hauk (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Clarke Peters	...	Det. Lester Freamon (59 episodes, 2002-2008)
Andre Royo	...	Reginald 'Bubbles' Cousins (52 episodes, 2002-2008)
Jim True-Frost	...	Det. Roland 'Prez' Pryzbylewski (50 episodes, 2002-2008)
Michael Kenneth Williams	...	Omar Little (50 episodes, 2002-2008)
Frankie Faison	...	Acting Commissioner Ervin H. Burrell (47 episodes, 2002-2008)
Corey Parker Robinson	...	Det. Leander Sydnor (45 episodes, 2002-2008)
Delaney Williams	...	Sgt. Jay Landsman (44 episodes, 2002-2008)
J.D. Williams	...	Preston 'Bodie' Broadus (42 episodes, 2002-2006)
Wood Harris	...	Avon Barksdale (38 episodes, 2002-2008)
Idris Elba	...	Russell 'Stringer' Bell (37 episodes, 2002-2004)
Aidan Gillen	...	Councilman Thomas 'Tommy' Carcetti (35 episodes, 2004-2008)
Jamie Hector	...	Marlo Stanfield (32 episodes, 2004-2008)
Robert Wisdom	...	Howard 'Bunny' Colvin (27 episodes, 2003-2008)
Gbenga Akinnagbe	...	Chris Partlow (27 episodes, 2004-2008)
Chad L. Coleman	...	Dennis 'Cutty' Wise (26 episodes, 2004-2008)
Anwan Glover	...	Slim Charles (26 episodes, 2004-2008)
Michael Kostroff	...	Maurice 'Maury' Levy (25 episodes, 2002-2008)

Storyline

Set in Baltimore, this show centers around the city's inner-city drug scene. It starts as mid-level drug dealer, D'Angelo Barksdale beats a murder rap. After a conversation with a judge, Det. James McNulty has been assigned to lead a joint homicide and narcotics team, in order to bring down drug kingpin Avon Barksdale. Avon Barksdale, accompanied by his right-hand man Stringer Bell, enforcer Wee-Bey and many lieutenants (including his own nephew, D'Angelo Barksdale), has to deal with law enforcement, informants in his own camp, and competition with a local rival, Omar, who's been robbing Barksdale's dealers and reselling the drugs. The supervisor of the investigation, Lt. Cedric Daniels, has to deal with his own problems, such as a corrupt bureaucracy, some of his detectives beating suspects, hard-headed but determined Det. McNulty, and a blackmailing deputy. The show depicts the lives of every part of the drug "food chain", from junkies to dealers, and from cops to politicians.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | male camaraderie | surveillance | homosexuality | lesbian cop | 

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Taglines:

A new case begins... (second season)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

HBO [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Greek Mandarin Spanish

Release Date:

2 June 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Escuta

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blown Deadline Productions, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Dominic West first auditioned on videotape from his London home, he tried to have his girlfriend read the lines for the other characters in the scene. But her English accent kept throwing him off and he kept laughing. So West performed the scene himself by leaving pauses where the other character's lines were supposed to be. West admits to imitating Robert De Niro for his audition. At first, the producers found the audition tape "weird" and "comic" but they reconsidered when they concentrated on West's performance. When West was offered the role, he became reluctant because the contract was for five seasons. But his agent convinced him that the show would not last more than one. It ended up lasting five seasons.

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Goofs

Throughout the series some Officers are shown on both the day, evening and Night shifts in a short period of time, some even within the same day. The Baltimore police department rarely gives shift changes until the next fiscal year.

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Quotes

Avon Barksdale: Fucked up, man. Ay... y'all ask me y'all ugly ass niggas shouldn't be in here fuckin' around with all these guns and shit...

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Crazy Credits

In every episode, after the opening credits a quote appears on the screen that will be spoken by a character in that episode.

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Connections

Referenced in Portlandia: Missionaries (2013)

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Soundtracks

"The Fall"
Composed by Blake Leyh
(closing theme)

User Reviews

Like a great novel

Season 3 of The Wire ended like a great novel, in a series of great novels, about crime, politics, "po-lice" and personalities in the City of Baltimore. The Wire truly has no equivalent on American TV, more akin to something like the British miniseries Traffik, or Robert Altman's Short Cuts, but really in a class by itself. The show also doesn't fetch the ratings of HBO's other blockbuster series, like The Sopranos or Deadwood, but so far the network has stood behind what is indisputably a creative / artistic success. Viewers accustomed to having a Tony Soprano or an Al Swearingen to latch onto may be daunted by The Wire's 2-dozen or so "main" characters, all given equal importance within multiple story lines. The concurrent tales all buoy one another, and as the season draws to a close, they begin to merge and compliment each other in unexpected ways. No detail is too small to not be done with great care, and no significant threads are left to hang, which also speaks to the brilliance of the writers.

The Wire is no less than a dramatic triumph, and I can't wait for a new season.