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

Jermaine Crawford auditioned for the role of Michael Lee before being cast as Dukie Weems.

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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

DA Pearlman: What's the worst thing on a woman? A drunken Irishman.

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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 Bob's Burgers: Nude Beach (2013)
Mentioned in dialogue

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

The best thing on TV today

Possibly the best thing written for television ever; certainly the best to come out in the last 25 or so years.

"The Wire" escapes the melodramatic pitfalls of shows like "the West Wing," "Six Feet Under" and even "The Sopranos" (which are all smartly written--or rather have had their moments of greatness).

Here is a show which over the course of 37 hours weaves together scores of very tautly detailed characters. It's not easy to watch--and its certainly challenging. But it is surely worth it.

The story unfolds in Baltimore and is a study on the effect of institutions on its members: police, politicians, criminals, addicts.

Some may find the show didactic. This is understandable because its creators make heavy usage of allegory (for instance, seasons three's not-so-subtle criticism of the situation in Iraq).

Didactic or not, the show forces its viewers to think about and hopefully start a larger discussion of the issues it touches upon: the failure of the drug war, the gradual extinction of the American worker and the dangers of a presumptive, preemptive war.

Hats off to creators David Simon and Ed Burns (a retired BPD detective) for creating one of the most interesting, daring shows in the history of television.

Let's hope HBO renews it for another 26 episodes.