Everyone with a television is, of course, familar with David Simon’s The Wire — HBO’s Idris Elba and Dominic West-starring 2000s show that dug into institutional corruption in Baltimore as part of a wide-reaching response to America’s war on drugs. Well rejoice, because Simon is back in the Baltimore game, reuniting with The Wire and The Deuce collaborator George Pelecanos for new six-part HBO limited crime series *We Own This City”. Check out the first teaser trailer here.
Based on Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton’s same-named non-fiction book, We Own This City will see Simon and Pelecanos once again digging deep into the world of crime, cops, and corruption as they chronicle the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force. Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) stars as Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, the kind of bent copper Line Of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar would have a field day with, who finds himself at the centre of the federal corruption case the series will be exploring. Loki’s Wunmi Mosaku and Ozark’s McKinley Belcher III head up an ensemble that boasts several Wire alumni: Jamie Hector, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Delaney Williams and Tray Chaney to name but a few.
With King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green aboard to helm several episodes, this incredibly timely series, confronting the consequences when mass arrest and drug prohibition practises come before actual policework, looks set to be another whose name we will all soon remember.
We Own This City premieres on HBO Max on April, 25th. Its UK release date is as of yet unconfirmed.