"The Wire" Celebrates 20 Years: Why All the Pieces Still Matter

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2 жыл бұрын

Salon talks to cast and creators of “The Wire,” 20 years after the series made its HBO television debut on June 2, 2002. Creator David Simon opens up to Salon's D. Watkins about why "The Wire" broke new ground in TV storytelling and reflects on its legacy today. The cast shared stories about creating and inhabiting those memorable characters in Baltimore for five seasons. Interviews include:
DAVID SIMON, Creator
ANDRE ROYO, Played Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins
SONJA SOHN, Played Det. Shakima “Kima” Greggs
TRAY CHANEY, Played Malik “Poot” Carr
MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS, Played Omar Little
DELANEY WILLIAMS, Played Sgt. Jay Landsman
DAJUAN PRINCE, Set Costumer
CHRIS CLANTON, Played Savino Bratton
JULITO MCCULLUM, Played Namond Brice
NATHAN CORBETT, Played Donut
DEIRDRE LOVEJOY, Played Asst. State's Atty. Rhonda Pearlman
Read more of Salon's coverage of "The Wire" at 20 by D. Watkins here:
www.salon.com/2022/06/02/all-...
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Пікірлер: 124

@leonhall856 2 жыл бұрын

Hands down the greatest tv series ever made. Absolutely flawless

@nickcaesar7650 2 жыл бұрын

Better than The Sopranos?

@alexanderpink1267 2 жыл бұрын

Sopranos is slightly better but they are both far ahead of any other tv show

@cyrusgill1594 2 жыл бұрын

Fucking thank you 🙏🏿 finally someone who fucking comprehends what crime drama television is supposed to be. Salute 🫡 to you for knowing what authentic television is. We should kick it

@cyrusgill1594 2 жыл бұрын

U have sense

@jaysilver9925 2 жыл бұрын

100%%%%

@kevinwheesysouthward9295 2 жыл бұрын

It’s funny. The Wire was my favorite show ever, while I was watching it. As the years went by, other shows (Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Ect.) would take its place as my #1. The funny part is, that those shows only surpassed it for a short time. I can honestly say that The Wire passes the test of time, as the highest quality of television ever.

@jackbedient Жыл бұрын

Very well put…

@raymondsims7042 Жыл бұрын

⁠@@jackbedientwhat’s your top ten? Mine is 1. The wire 2. Game of thrones 3. Mr robot 4. Dark 5. The boys 6. Breaking bad 7. Succession 8. Stranger things 9 sopranos 10. Mad men

@timiam9800 2 жыл бұрын

The Wire will still be worth remembering in another 20. Thanks for keeping it real!

@danpreston564 2 жыл бұрын

I watch the Wire start to finish once a year. Usually in the winter when you don’t want to go out. It’s like listening to a favourite piece of music. I know what’s going to happen, I know what people are going to say but it still hits me in the feels. I laugh. I genuinely cry, especially with Bubbles, whom I love with all my heart, more than most real people in my life. The dialogue is beautiful. Once you tune in to the slang in the projects it’s like understanding a lyrical foreign language. Nothing else comes close.

@jemelwoseley9381 Жыл бұрын

Facts… I watch once a year also

@thijs673 Жыл бұрын

Same here mate. As soon as I’m done with season 5 I already start again. Best show ever.

@getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 2 жыл бұрын

Julito Mccullum (Namond Brice) made such a good point about how much of the audience perceived namond, while Namond was really just a 14 year old kid. "Namond was a bitch" "Namond didn't deserve to be the one to make it" Literally talking about a child.

@taylorscrews2284 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah………..but he was a bitch tho.

@conorreynolds9739 Ай бұрын

People are really odd. The only emotion I felt about Namond was pity, for the mother he had and the expectations he was under. Maybe because I was an annoying and insecure shit as a kid, so I could relate. I wanted all four to be ok, and what happened to Randy and Duquan was so sad, but damn, I’m glad a couple of them made it (if you count Michael being the new Omar).

@acforsale5802 2 жыл бұрын

The only tv show with no main hero or villain. This is deep story telling played in a show.

@vegan4life660 2 жыл бұрын

The system is the villain..

@Gesuselsaviour Жыл бұрын

And Baltimore is the main character

@Craigers8637 25 күн бұрын

I get your points but if I had to pick a person, Marlo is in the conversation at least in the later seasons, he's stone cold n has no issues having anyone killed

@KelticTim 2 жыл бұрын

Namand had crazy heart to step out of the projects and try to make it in a whole new world. F that. Being soft would’ve meant staying there and trying to be his daddy.

@raineyj560 2 жыл бұрын

Is he the one w the ponytail? I am just watching "The Wire" everyone said Season 4 was the best so I started there. Going to get some liquor this weekend and truly binge.

@KelticTim 2 жыл бұрын

@@raineyj560 Lmao, yup. They don’t shut up about it either

@SuperCosty2010 2 жыл бұрын

Bubs: "The hardest part was the 5th season where I had to be clean" 😁 Andre, you were just beautiful, as all other actors too of course, but you especially

@analisekeating4838 2 жыл бұрын

Keyma is right that is what makes the Wire the best show on television!! A judge change the way he sentence people!! Wow amazing.

@slithermayne2218 Жыл бұрын

Damn, homie that played Landsman dropped some WEIGHT. Dude is damn near unrecognizable, good for him

@EvanMcLaren Жыл бұрын

I enjoyed Breaking Bad and Mad Men, but it grinds me a little that those two shows got way more shine than a much deeper and more superior show, The Wire.

@raymondsims7042 Жыл бұрын

Mad men and breaking bad are definitely excellent shows neither is anywhere close to the wire. So yeah I’m with you lad. What’s your top ten? Mine would be 1. The wire 2. Game of thrones 3. Mr robot 4. Dark 5. The boys 6. Breaking bad 7. Succession 8. Stranger things 9. Sopranos 10. Mad men

@plingploong 4 ай бұрын

I never got into Breaking Bad - I couldn't get myself to carry on watching. I loved The Sopranos when it was on, and 6 feet under. Mad Men was amazing, but none of those iconic shows (and others) were ones I could watch over and over again, or all the way through. Remember these shows were episodic and broadcast once a week - watching all the episodes together, the way we watch shows now, can change the way you view the material. I can't do that with Mad Men. It's too much. The Wire is one of only a few shows that I'm happy to watch again and again, and I can watch it all the way through without breaks. It's that well-paced and just that good.

@user-ne3rg1zl8s Жыл бұрын

Best thing put on TV in decades. A definite teaching moment from start to finish with the good, the bad, and the ugly not being the way you expect them to be. What touched me more than anything was the young kids, pushed into a world because they had nowhere else to go - no family, no future and no hope. It answers a lot of questions about why people do what they do and, hopefully, teaches us how to fix and repair society.

@Saturdayz_In_The_Fall Жыл бұрын

Season 4 of The Wire will forever be the greatest season television will ever see in all of humanity. Because it focuses on how it all begins, hence the focus on abandoned homes, and how the generational curse will continue on… hence the circular imagery in the Season 4 intro. Just a cycle repeating itself.

@raymondsims7042 Жыл бұрын

Agreed

@reginaldallen7648 2 жыл бұрын

I Love my City. Baltimore. Eastside I was raised different Love

@brandonroyal1255 2 жыл бұрын

Man Slim Charles was my favorite character

@bananaempijama 2 жыл бұрын

Greatest show ever. No contest.

@lazybum9732 Жыл бұрын

I can't pick between this and BB .. both goats of tv shows . BCS comes close as well .

@raymondsims7042 Жыл бұрын

@@lazybum9732breaking bad is great but not even close

@cassry2073 2 жыл бұрын

“The Wire” is the best crime drama series ever made. For a fictional tv series, you couldn’t get any closer to reality in portraying the city of Baltimore. The streets being brutal & unforgiving, the fall of the unions at the harbor, how poor the city became and how the school system and the kids suffered more then anyone else, the political divide between the black and white demographics, and the battle within the police system. It’s poor, rough, and a battle within all level of the system, regardless of who you were. A+

@woppotaco9350 Жыл бұрын

This show had so many layers, so many different perspectives Ive had to rewatch it. I’m on season 5 and they brought fentanyl when talking about homeless murder plot, shit floored me. I was telling a friend of mine that the show especially season 4 & 5 explains the plot of America RIGHT NOW!!!!!

@cyrusgill1594 2 жыл бұрын

Nothing compares (now & then)

@azareloropeza3261 2 жыл бұрын

I am SO GLAD I WAS ONE OF THOSE GENERATIONS that got to see Yhe Wire on BET late nights , man I remember seeing Omarnin the commercial , that infamous line ok f his " The Game is Out there , it's either play or get played " such nostalgia

@marshallposey7842 2 жыл бұрын

Fantastic series! The acting was superb.

@paulfletcher3998 2 жыл бұрын

Namand had heart.

@davidarmitage289 4 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for this … this show was a masterpiece. Very grateful

@neilifill4819 2 ай бұрын

Such a great show! I’ve watched it twice. So deep and wide, and so complex, yet very simple.

@jaeo9555 Ай бұрын

*Poot, you're the man for this hour's interview*

@ChrisGrande 2 жыл бұрын

Great show. I can rewatch clips ad nauseum

@Gliz2427 2 жыл бұрын

The only Villain in this show is the system.

@cyrusgill1594 2 жыл бұрын

Because it was REAL. THANKS FOR THIS

@PRAYIMAKET Жыл бұрын

The best tv show. Ever even how they scripted it and all the actors were very good.

@raymondsims7042 Жыл бұрын

No question about it

@tippylosojos Жыл бұрын

Definetly the best series ever.

@molasorrosalom4846 2 жыл бұрын

People hated the Naymond character? Thought he had one of tbe greatest arcs of the show.

@Airi_Iwin 2 жыл бұрын

He got the life Randy and Duquan deserved he was a good kid don’t get me wrong but he got to be lucky.

@St3phenking13 2 жыл бұрын

He was a clown lol. Mike had to humble him and put him in his place but he learned his lesson in the end so he got his stuff together in the end.

@jasminehill6312 Жыл бұрын

Best show ever!!!

@raymondsims7042 Жыл бұрын

Without question

@swampduck2609 2 жыл бұрын

I wonder if Andre realized the metaphor about the people sweeping up after seeing it.

@rickshaw3645 Жыл бұрын

Greggs 😍

@BandannaLew Жыл бұрын

I love some of Mrs.Shirley’s scrambled eggs

@shaneikaj.8711 2 жыл бұрын

Did we pay that “dog” that barked every damn episode 😂😂😂

@swampduck2609 2 жыл бұрын

It’s details like that, that made the wire so realistic.

@thijs673 Жыл бұрын

I wish I never watched the wire. Don’t watch this show. Because afterwards no cop show will be good. I started with Power for example, but I rather watch the Wire again for the 50th time. When I’m finally arrive at the 5th season I get a smile at my face by thinking of McNulty as a serial killer😂

@chillbest14 Жыл бұрын

Donut my favorite

@ChooseCompassion 5 ай бұрын

Masterpiece with a capital M!

@mrsteel9026 Жыл бұрын

If a show gets bad ratings that's usually a sure sign it's good.

@skellvarnsen23 2 жыл бұрын

aint no thang

@bo71588 Жыл бұрын

THE WIRE DESTROYED HBO; YOU CAN'T GO ANY HIGHER

@scottyg5403 2 жыл бұрын

I remember watching the Wire and in all honesty it's because it was a cop show. I soon realized it was much more than that. The thing is I couldn't seem to find others who were watching ,and this includes both black and white. Then all of a sudden people caught on. But alas no Emmys for this show! Total BS in that regard!

@adamtheagent3978 Жыл бұрын

as good as sopranos is, the wire blows it away.

@raymondsims7042 Жыл бұрын

Agreed not even close

@TsunamiBrook 2 жыл бұрын

ever-relevant. PANDEMIC!

@Clarence_Oddbody 10 ай бұрын

Sonia wearing Shardene’s glasses.😅😅😅😅

@JayyJay92 Жыл бұрын

When does poot cry? I think poot was like wtf when did I miss my cousin? Lol when does that happen.

@sandrahunter5904 2 жыл бұрын

This is a true fall of a great American city.

@PinealPlayground Жыл бұрын

These big networks crack me TF up. As important n big as The Wire was and IS, STILL...there's nothing more than a podcast to commemorate this epic series?! Lol cheap as mf's. EXACTLY what Kanye was talkin about.

@cashnelson2306 Жыл бұрын

I'm sorry "namond was soft" is such an absurdly stupid thing to say lol, how do you miss the point of the show that hard

@wwbuirkle 5 ай бұрын

Baltimore is even worse now

@Flowergurl2000 2 жыл бұрын

The final season was about schools, and it might as well have been a Chrystal ball.

@shahidafridiboomboom 2 жыл бұрын

The final Season was about journalism. The fourth Season was about schools.

@jpmnky 2 жыл бұрын

If only that was the last season. The last season was unfortunate. The one about journalists and that goofy fake serial killer storyline.

@dbutta2496 2 жыл бұрын

@@jpmnky yeah that was bad smh

@olubukonla7352 2 жыл бұрын

No, there should have been a 6th season about criminalizing immigration, as David Simon intended.

@andrebrown8969 2 жыл бұрын

@@jpmnky I did like the journalism part, how you get your information is deeply important, but the serial killer story is potentially questionable. What would you suggest they should have done instead?

@RunstarHomer Жыл бұрын

Whoever made this video. By comparing the message of the wire to the modern day BLM/antifa garbage, you showed that you missed the point of the show by a hundred miles.

@privateuser7 2 жыл бұрын

Look at what democrat leadership did to Baltimore still to this day

@micperez819 2 жыл бұрын

🤡

@woahblackbettybamalam Жыл бұрын

All political parties dance to the tune of the federal reserve. The game is rigged

@KelticTim 2 жыл бұрын

So gross to here Kimmies actress say she wishes she could go back and play the character like an activist. That’s now, that’s was not then, and really that’s not even now. Cops are cops, they see the truth, they don’t worry about emotional triggers in a neighborhood, they worry about real ones.

@flogginmama 2 жыл бұрын

Tell me you completely missed the point of the wire, why dontcha....