The Wire

Network: HBO
Episodes: 60 (hour)
Seasons: Five

TV show dates: June 2, 2002 — March 9, 2008
Series status: Cancelled/ended

Performers include: Dominic West, John Doman, Wendell Pierce, Lance Reddick, Deirdre Lovejoy, Sonja Sohn, Seth Gilliam, Domenick Lombardozzi, Clarke Peters, Andre Royo, Michael K. Williams, Jim True-Frost, Frankie Faison, Corey Parker Robinson, Delaney William, J.D. Williams, Wood Harris, Idris Elba, Aidan Gillen, Jamie Hector, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Robert Wisdom, Chad Coleman, Anwan Glover, Michael Kostroff, Michael Salconi, Tray Chaney, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Felicia Pearson, Robert F. Chew, Reg E. Cathey, Jermaine Crawford, Tristan Wilds, Glynn Turman, Edward T. Norris, Amy Ryan, Hassan Johnson, Gregory L. Williams, Al Brown, Larry Gilliard Jr., Brian Anthony Wilson, Benjamin Busch, Jay Landsman, Paul Ben-Victor, Maria Broom, Frederick Strother, Kwame Patterson, Thuliso Dingwall, Richard Burton, Ryan Sands, Peter Gerety, Richard DeAngelis, Melanie Nicholls-King, Cleo Reginald Pizana, Brandy Burre, Leo Fitzpatrick, Maestro Harrell, Julito McCullum, Rick Otto, Michael Willis, Michael B. Jordan, Doug Olear, Method Man, Megan Anderson, Pablo Schreiber, Chris Bauer, Neal Huff, Dravon James, Shamyl Brown, Susan Duvall, Callie Thorne, Christopher Mann, Michael Hyatt, James Ransone, Charley Scalies, Jeffrey Pratt Gordon, Thomas W. Stewart, Wendy Grantham, Edward Green, Dan DeLuca, Chris Ashworth, Melvin Williams, Jeffrey Lorenzo, Clark Johnson, Thomas McCarthy, Michelle Paress, David Costabile, Marlyne Afflack, Bobby J. Brown, Keenon Brice, Bill Raymond, S. Robert Morgan, Luray Cooper, Kelli R. Brown, Robert F. Colesberry, Jennifer Rouse, Art Hall, and Sam Freed.

TV show description:
This gritty inner-city drama initially focuses on the war between the Baltimore police and a drug cartel and then expands to encompass the impact of drugs on various parts of the community.

On the side of the law are Lieutenant Cedric Daniels (Lance Reddick) and detectives like troubled Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), lesbian Kima Greggs (Sonja Sohn), brutal Thomas “Herc” Hauk (Domenick Lombardozzi), loyal Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam), older Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters), and inept Roland “Prez” Pryzbylewski (Jim True-Frost).

On the drug dealer side are Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) and members of his empire like business-minded Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), nephew D’Angelo Barksdale (Larry Gilliard Jr.), loyal killer Wee-Bey Brice (Hassan Johnson), and street dealers like Poot (Tray Chaney), Bodie (J.D. Williams), and Wallace (Michael B. Jordan).

As the series goes on, many characters are eliminated and the large cast is expanded even further. The Wire was created by writer/producer and former Baltimore Sun police reporter David Simon.

•	The series finale was completed early in the morning on September 1, 2007.
•	Despite critical acclaim, The Wire has not been a big success in the ratings. Simon attributes this to the complex plots, heavy use of esoteric slang, and to the cast being predominantly African American.
•	Both The Wire and NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street are based on David Simon books. When Homicide ended, Detective John Munch (played by Richard Belzer) went on to become a regular on another NBC series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He has made appearances on several other shows, including the finale season of The Wire.