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)
Michael Kenneth Williams	...	Omar Little (51 episodes, 2002-2008)
Jim True-Frost	...	Det. Roland 'Prez' Pryzbylewski (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 (45 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)
Gbenga Akinnagbe	...	Chris Partlow (30 episodes, 2002-2008)
Robert Wisdom	...	Howard 'Bunny' Colvin (27 episodes, 2003-2008)
Anwan Glover	...	Slim Charles (27 episodes, 2004-2008)
Felicia Pearson	...	Felicia 'Snoop' Pearson (27 episodes, 2004-2008)
Chad L. Coleman	...	Dennis 'Cutty' Wise (26 episodes, 2004-2008)
Tray Chaney	...	Malik 'Poot' Carr (26 episodes, 2002-2008)
Michael Kostroff	...	Maurice 'Maury' Levy (25 episodes, 2002-2008)
Isiah Whitlock Jr.	...	State Sen. R. Clayton 'Clay' Davis (25 episodes, 2002-2008)
Michael Salconi	...	Off. Michael 'Sanny' Santangelo (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

Reg E. Cathey auditioned for the roles of Cedric Daniels and Lester Freamon. He was later cast in the show's fourth season as Norman Wilson.

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Goofs

Throughout the last two seasons, Carcetti repeatedly refers to a possible gubernatorial challenge in 2008, after serving two years as Baltimore mayor. But Maryland holds gubernatorial elections in off years - 2006, 2010, etc. The new governor would have been elected the same year that Carcetti was elected mayor - 2006 - and up for re-election in four years, not two.

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Quotes

Dennis 'Cutty' Wise: The game done changed...
Slim Charles: Game's the same, just got more fierce.

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Crazy Credits

The opening song is the same, but every season a new version is used with different artists performing in different genres (blues, soul, etc.).

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Connections

Referenced in Community: English as a Second Language (2010)
Mentioned by Abed

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Soundtracks

"Way Down in the Hole"
Written by Tom Waits
Performed by DoMaJe
(season 4)

User Reviews

Fantastic

I don't subscribe to HBO. A couple of weeks ago I heard an interview with a young actor from this series on NPR. It was described as a "gritty crime drama" with many Baltimore locals portraying variations on themselves. The interview made it sound interesting enough that I decided to check out the first season on DVD.

After the first few episodes I became seriously hooked and devoted 36 hours of the next ten days to the show.

Having now watched the first 3 seasons, I believe it to be the best television series I have seen.

I do not understand why this show hasn't generated the buzz or the awards of HBO's other series, such as the Sopranos or Deadwood. It is more gripping, faster paced, and more intelligent. The other shows can be a bit plodding, with plot lines that go nowhere, and a few characters I don't much care about. That wasn't the case here.

The show is a cross between the Sopranos and the old NBC show Homicide: Life on the Street. The crime/sopranos side and the law/Homicide side run in parallel. Individually, the parallel plot lines are compelling. In tandem, they are complimentary and brilliant.

There is no way to avoid having "the best show ever" tag sound like anything but silly hype--regardless, what makes this show substantially better than any other realistic and compelling crime or police drama is the fact it is... searching. It doesn't just delve into the individual psychologies motivating these people (ala the Sopranos) or the complex interactions amongst the members of a community (ala Deadwood) it asks "what the hell can be done for all of these people" and points out the problems with any and all of the answers.

It's truly brilliant. If you like intelligent television, I envy the enjoyment you will have watching this for the first time.