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:

All in the game. (fifth 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

The writers/producers briefly considered doing a sixth season about the influx of Latinos into Baltimore. But none of them knew enough about Baltimore's Latino population to write about it so the idea was dropped.

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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

Dep. Comm.: What's this Sobotka to you?
Maj. Stanislaus 'Stan' Valchek: He's an asshole.

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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 Better with You: Better Without a Job (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Way Down in the Hole"
Written and Performed by Tom Waits
(season 2)

User Reviews

Ahead of its time

HBO's "The Wire", another ground breaking TV crime series from David Simon who grandfathered "Homicide: Life on the Street", raises the bar for crime dramas by dedicating a whole season (13 episodes) to a single story with unparalleled realism. Telling of a motley bunch of detectives who set about to bring down a Baltimore drug ring which supplies a black innercity housing project, the gritty 12 hour first year series slowly develops a broad range of characters from street punks to senators in a world where the blacks and whites of good and evil are reduced to shades of gray and everyone is connected by their humanity for better or for worse. Not the usual cops vs bad guys fare with episodic ups and downs, "The Wire" is one long drama about people which happens in a law enforcement and crime setting. For realists only, this series will require some viewer patience while the complexities of the plot and the characters are developed. One of a kind...so far. (A)