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The Wire on HBO

[2002, TV Show]

The Wire: TV Guide News

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A complex, impeccably acted crime drama set in Baltimore that follows the thread of a single police investigation, from the perspectives of both law-enforcement officials and the criminals they're pursuing. The Peabody-winning series was created by David Simon (`The Corner'), whose richly layered plotlines focused on the city's illegal drug trade in the first season before expanding in scope for the second to include corruption on the waterfront.

The Wire and Other Announced Releases | DVD News and Reviews | 4/2/2008
New releases announced today, April 2:Birds of Prey - The Complete Series will be coming out July 15 Freakazoid! - Season 1 will be coming out July 29 Shaggy & Scooby-Doo: Get a Clue! - Volume 2 will be coming out July 8 Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Volume 1 will be coming out July 29 The Wire - The Complete 5th Season will be coming out August 12 The X-Files - Revelations will be coming out July 1 Visit TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete stories on these and other news items. read more
Ask Matt | 3/14/2008
Q: What did you think of the series finale of The Wire? Honestly, I was let down. Carcetti seemed like such an ass to me. All the things he prided himself on not doing to get into the mayor's seat, he ended up wanting to do for the governor's seat. I also loathed what the writers did to Dukie. He was one of the smartest young characters on the show, and I fell in love with him in Season 4. I refuse to believe that there wasn't anything else they could have done with the character. I had hopes... read more
Episode Recap: "-30-" | The Wire Show Blog | 3/10/2008
"-30-" indicates the end of a newspaper article, in the early stages of production. And this was the end of The Wire, with both bangs and whimpers and the lives of the characters mostly just going on... with not a few surprising and unsurprising twists.Jimmy McNulty and Lester Freamon are made aware that their jig is up... their bosses at all but the immediate supervisory levels know about the fraud that they've been running on the department. Freamon learns just as he's reporting the last bit... read more
Cheers: The Wire Wraps It All Up | Cheers & Jeers | 3/10/2008
Cheers to The Wire for giving its fans what The Sopranos refused to provide: closure. The HBO drama's finale tied up an impressive number of loose ends: Two major criminal investigations (the serial killer and "vacants" cases) were closed, three cops (McNulty, Freamon and Daniels) left the department, and the mayor was elected governor. Still, it wasn't all good news: Drug lord Marlo Stanfield and dishonest journalist Scotty Templeton both got off scot-free — the latter with a Pulitzer, no... read more
Finale Watch: The Wire, Breaking Bad | Roush Dispatch | 3/7/2008
Its final season may have been built around a number of Big Lies, but here's the honest truth: HBO's The Wire is TV for the ages. Though it spent much of its acclaimed existence under the pop-culture radar, despite annual appearances on critics' best-of-year lists, this heartbreaking and searing masterpiece of urban decay and corruption will live on as all great literature does. Any self-respecting DVD library would want to include the five seasons of The Wire. It's that good, and that... read more
Ask Matt | 3/7/2008
Q: I've always appreciated your continued advocacy for The Wire, given that it is truly one of the most spectacular achievements in television, as far as I'm concerned. I'm writing in response to your assertion that it will be difficult for the actors to be acknowledged by the Emmys, given that their names are mostly unknown. I don't refute this claim; rather, I'm writing to lament that you're probably right. Here is yet another problem they face: They are all so incredibly good that none of... read more
Episode Recap: "Late Editions" | The Wire Show Blog | 3/3/2008
With only one episode left in the series, all the chips are coming home to roost, all the chickens are falling where they may, and the opera is very nearly over. George Pelecanos, the current dean of DC-based crime fiction (particularly since the death last week of Stephen Marlowe) wrote this one, from a treatment David Simon and he put together, and it's another episode that, while packed, allows us a little time to feel the import of these late moves, as we approach (to indulge in another... read more
Getting to the End of The Wire with Tristan Wilds | TV Guide Interviews & Features | 3/3/2008
The best program that ever aired on HBO ? and the best drama currently on television ? is coming to a close this week. It's not Deadwood. It's not The Sopranos. It's The Wire (Sundays at 8 pm/ET), and we talked to star Tristan Wilds about the series' upcoming finale. Wilds, whose Michael Lee has become an integral part of the show since his memorable entrance with three other school kids at the beginning of Season 4, opened up about the tough decisions Michael has had to make, The Wire's ... read more
Ask Matt | 2/29/2008
Q: Considering all the useless television we are being bombarded with at this time, your silence on The Wire has been frustrating. What gives? (Spoiler alert) We've seen two great characters fall recently in Proposition Joe and Omar. I figured you would have at least had a write-up on them. Both deaths really stung, but man! The fact that Omar was taken out without being allowed a "blaze of glory shootout" makes it all the more effective. Coincidentally, he was taken out by Kenard, who we first... read more
Ask Matt | 2/29/2008
Q: Given the dearth of shows on the air due to the writers' strike, how possible is it that The Wire will go unheralded by Emmy voters yet again this year? This has consistently been among the finest television shows out there the last five years, and in my opinion it is the best urban drama ever. The writing, the acting (especially from the young actors; the goodbye scene between Michael and Duquan was one of the most moving scenes I've ever seen between two young actors) and the casting are... read more
Finale Will Come Down to The Wire for All Fans | Today's News: Our Take | 2/28/2008
Are you one of those impatient sorts who like to "read ahead" and cue up your The Wire episodes before the rest of the class? If so, I have a bit of frustrating news. HBO wants you to know that the series finale, airing March 9, will not be made available via HBO On Demand the previous Monday, as has been the practice throughout the season. In other words, it all comes to an end on March 9, at 9 pm/ET — for everybody. read more
Cheers: The Wire's Latest Shocker | Cheers & Jeers | 2/25/2008
Cheers to The Wire for aptly dispatching Omar (the Emmy-worthy Michael K. Williams) with a bang. The seemingly indestructible stick-up artist was suddenly gunned down by a child assassin during an otherwise mundane scene at a grocery store. It’s the kind of stunning dramatic moment that made HBO’s sprawling urban tableau TV's finest drama during its soon-to-conclude five-season run. May Omar — and The Wire — rest in peace.• Read and react to Bruce's opinions on Oscars... read more
Episode Recap: "Clarifications" | The Wire Show Blog | 2/25/2008
This episode, with a script by Dennis Lehane from a treatment he co-wrote, is all about exposure, and what one has to do to cover over that exposure. Omar, particularly, could tell you a thing or two about overextending one's self, and leaving one's self excessively exposed, when one of cockiest of the youngsters working Marlo's corners manages to shoot the crusader in the head, just after he raids another of the drug sales units. Suddenly snuffed out, he goes from being the scourge of the... read more
Episode Recap: "Took" | The Wire Show Blog | 2/18/2008
In an episode more given over to relatively leisurely setpieces than usual this season (and marking the return of scriptwriter Richard Price to the series, and a cameo by Richard Belzer as Munch, another reference back to Homicide: Life on the Streets), this one was all about the misallocation of resources. Of course, every episode of The Wire deals with that, but rarely so completely.For example, McNulty and Freamon fake up a call from their fictional serial murderer to Templeton, the... read more
The Wire's Dominic West Directs Big Thrills | TV Guide Interviews & Features | 2/15/2008
Apparently playing one of TV's most challenging characters ? The Wire's hard-drinking, corner-cutting Baltimore detective Jimmy McNulty ? wasn't challenge enough for Dominic West. "I've been dying to direct," the British actor says. "HBO, thank goodness, took a chance on me." The gamble was worth it: West's episode, "Took," in which McNulty's plot to secure funds for the police department by concocting a serial killer of homeless men spins out of control, debuts this Sunday, Feb. 17 (9 pm/ET,... read more
Is Gone Baby Gone's Amy Ryan Poised for an Oscar? | TV Guide Interviews & Features | 2/12/2008
Tony-nominated actor Amy Ryan's first love may be the theater, but she's reached a bigger audience ? and gained wider acclaim, including a richly deserved Oscar nomination ? for her role as the grieving mother of a child who's been kidnapped in the 2007 film Gone Baby Gone. Among numerous TV roles, she's also impressed as The Wire's "Beadie" Russell, an iron-willed Port of Baltimore police officer who was the woman to finally put a leash on notorious tomcat Jimmy McNulty ? until the current ... read more
Has McNulty Gone McNutty? | Heller Hath No Fury | 2/11/2008
The Wire's beloved man-child Det. Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) has always been a lovable troublemaker — mouthing off to superiors, drinking on the job, hookin' up with Russian prostitutes while working undercover… you know, the usual boyish shenanigans. But last night's episode "The Dickensian Aspect" proves that this season, McNulty has lost his McMarbles — not to mention his moral integrity. Season 5's phony serial-killer storyline is inane and totally improbable, but most of... read more
Episode Recap: "The Dickensian Aspect" | The Wire Show Blog | 2/11/2008
Catastrophic success is the upshot of nearly everyone's gambits on this episode of The Wire.McNulty and Freamon's fraudulent case of serial killing of homeless men in Baltimore get ever more attention, and ever more promises of support, from the mayor on down the hierarchy...but no more actually humanpower or technological resources, leaving them slightly hobbled in their real investigation, into the activities of Marlo's gang. Lester brings his Major Crimes underling into the conspiracy, and... read more
The Wire's Cast Celebrates a New CD! Plus: A Hero in the Midst? | TV Guide Interviews & Features | 2/8/2008
Fans of the fiery final season of The Wire (Sunday at 9 pm/ET on HBO) know that drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield (Jamie Hector) is an ice-cold killer who, after one particularly dastardly murder two weeks ago, is hiding out from revenge-seeking stickup artist Omar (Michael K. Williams). Recently, though, Marlo's portrayer, Jamie Hector, did surface... for a signing of the new Wire soundtrack at the HBO store in Midtown Manhattan. At the signing, Hector told TVGuide.com that he'll be moving from ... read more
Episode Recap: "React Quotes" | The Wire Show Blog | 2/5/2008
Parallel lines run throughout this episode, as people push themselves down similar paths for similar reasons, even if their circumstances are rather different.Marlo meets with the primary Greek importer, who shows him, as it turns out, how to send email with his mobile phone...we discover that's what he's doing only at the end of the episode, as Lester discovers the same thing, after all the travails and blatant fraud to get a "wire up" on Marlo's new phone. But that's not the only new trick... read more
Cheers: Lost Finds Lance Reddick | Cheers & Jeers | 2/1/2008
Cheers to Lance Reddick for making himself omnipresent on TV. The quietly compelling actor lights up both The Wire (as Baltimore top cop Cedric Daniels) and Lost (as an Oceanic Airlines attorney — or is he? — who visits Hurley in a mental hospital). Plus, Reddick's landed a role as a Homeland Security chief in J.J. Abrams' X-Files-ish Fox pilot Fringe, and he's joined Kate Walsh and Sofia Vergara in Cadillac's sleek new ad campaign. He's certainly come a long way from playing a crack... read more
Ask Matt | 2/1/2008
I just read your Dispatch about the 2008 SAG Awards (I didn't watch) and wonder if the powers that be of these awards shows will ever lavish the cast and crew of The Wire with anything resembling the worship showered upon The Sopranos? While I understand that the subject matter of the former is a mirror that most Americans don't want to gaze into (hence the lackluster ratings), the work being done there is at a minimum as good as what we've enjoyed from the latter. The thing that perplexes me... read more
Episode Recap: "Transitions" | The Wire Show Blog | 1/28/2008
You can feel the series winding up toward some serious payoff, with this episode if not before...there are only six episodes left, after all. And Prop Joe will not be returning. Nor, presumably, will be several key veterans at the Baltimore Sun...but their exits were less final.McNulty and Freamon, in their efforts to fake up a single serial killer focused on homeless men, enlist the aid of Freamon's old partner, an ex-homicide detective busted down to uniform duty, and spending most of night... read more
Michael Kenneth Williams Shares The Wire's "American Story" | TV Guide Interviews & Features | 1/25/2008
Call it karma, coincidence or a casting coup, but as Omar, The Wire's stickup artist extraordinaire, Michael Kenneth Williams steals every scene he's in. We got our first glimpse this year of the gay, gun-toting gangster in his island exile last week, but tonight (9 pm/ET, HBO) he's back in Baltimore ? and looking for revenge. TV Guide: Omar may be the most interesting TV villain since Deadwood's Al Swearengen. Michael Kenneth Williams: I still don't fully understand him. I think I can ... read more
Ask Ausiello | 1/23/2008
I need some Wire scoop. Please tell me that Marlo and his two demonic sidekicks will get theirs by the end of this season, particularly at the hands of Omar. Watching them doing all this killing without any retribution is getting very tiring. read more
Episode Recap: 'Not for Attribution" | The Wire Show Blog | 1/20/2008
Schemes, and how they don't always quite work out, on this week's installment.McNulty, having tampered with a corpse at the end of the last episode to make it look like the result of murder, researches similar deaths in the Homicide files and eventually plants evidence on the tampered-with corpse, in the form of a red ribbon tied around its arm, to bolster his attempt to drum up interest in investigating a potential serial killer. In purchasing the ribbon to plant at a convenience store, he... read more
Cheers: Clark Johnson's High Wire Act | Cheers & Jeers | 1/14/2008
Cheers to The Wire for putting Clark Johnson back in front of the camera. The gruffly charming Homicide: Life on the Street vet has spent the past few years directing episodes of The Wire and The Shield as well as movies like S.W.A.T. HBO's brilliant urban drama gives Johnson the best role of his career as embattled Baltimore newspaperman Gus Haynes. That's good news.• Read and react to Bruce's opinions on CSI, Project Runway and more!• Share your own raves and rants about other... read more
Ask Matt | 1/14/2008
I always intended to watch The Wire but never got around to it, until now: I decided to watch Season 5. Obviously I'm a bit confused, but what else is new. So I watched a few shorts, sort of have an idea of the people/institutions involved and intend to watch Season 4 On Demand to acquaint myself. Question: Must I watch Seasons 1 through 3 in order to fully understand the show, or can I just jump in ($160 for the first three seasons on DVD is a bit steep)? read more
Episode Recap: "Unconfirmed Reports" | The Wire Show Blog | 1/13/2008
An episode about cutting corners, figuratively and almost literally, to get what one wants.We begin in a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, wherein Bubbles (Andre Royo) is encouraged by his sponsor (Steve Earle) to testify; he can't bring himself to do so, beyond a few jokes about the old days before sobriety. The Major Crimes Unit, now down to two detectives, keeps up their assigned duty of working the case against State Senator Clay Davis (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.), although Lester Freamon (Clarke... read more
The Wire Preview: "The Game Goes On" as the Series Comes to an End | TV Guide Interviews & Features | 1/11/2008
During its first four seasons, HBO's The Wire (Sundays, 9 pm/ET, HBO) has tackled some major issues: inner-city crime, labor conflicts, political corruption, the failing public-school system. And as it launches its final 10-week run, the sprawling drama clearly still has a lot of big questions on its mind. In a jaw-dropping twist at the end of this season's second episode, Baltimore detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) resorts to desperate measures in an attempt to restart a hard-fought ... read more
Episode Recap: "More with Less" | The Wire Show Blog | 1/7/2008
The Wire's back, and as sharp and real and densely packed as ever. Most nights, it's the best television drama on now, and this episode does nothing to lower that average. This fifth season will, sadly, be the last...and in ten episodes, another major player is taken on as a partial focus, the press, most notably creator/producer/writer David Simon's old stamping ground, The Baltimore Sun, and other local news outlets (such as also-real upstart competitor The Daily Record)...along with the... read more
The Wire's Lester Freamon Is Still Following the Money | TV Guide Interviews & Features | 1/4/2008
McNulty has his ladies, Bunk his booze, but The Wire's (Sundays, 9 pm/ET, HBO) Lester Freamon is all about the cash money ? the cash money laundered by Baltimore's drug kingpins and corrupt politicians, that is. He may be the master of The Wire's namesake operation ? the wiretapping op that listens in on Baltimore's corner drug scene ? but Det. Freamon is still ambitious enough to dig deeper, right into the drug dealers' account books and the local politicians' very well-lined pockets. ... read more
HBO's The Wire: Why You Should Tap into It | TVGuide.com's Strike Recovery Guide | 1/3/2008
The when: Sundays at 9 pm/ET, with the fifth (and final) season premiering Jan. 6.What's what: A complex and panoramic portrait of American society's waste of human potential and betrayal of its own stated ideals, as demonstrated by the lives of Baltimore drug dealers, the police who attempt to break up their operations, and the regular citizens affected by their activities.Who's who: Probably the largest cast of any U.S. open-ended television series, with a constantly shifting group of current... read more
My News Year Resolutions 2: Bruno Vs. Carrie Ann | TV Matt'rs | 1/2/2008
A day late and perhaps a dollar short on top of that. But nonetheless, I would be remiss if I did not share my resolutions for 2008. Such as:• The consensus is deafening and I cannot ignore it any longer. Though I have never seen a single episode, nor do I have the opportunity to "catch up" with previous-season DVD sets, I resolve to watch The Wire when it returns this week.• Provided that the strike ends... someday... and we start getting new How I Met Your Mothers, I resolve... read more
Cheers: 2007 Comes Down to The Wire | Cheers & Jeers | 12/21/2007
Cheers to you for helping me launch the "Cheers & Jeers" blog this year. I appreciate all of your feedback — even when you disagree with me! — and read every one of your comments. I won't be Cheering & Jeering again till Jan. 2 (although I will continue to post the Reader's Cheer or Jeer of the Week) because between the holidays and the writers' strike, there's nothing new to write about. But I'll see you back here next year. Here's a sneak preview: I've already watched the... read more
Urban Renewal for L&O and The Wire | Roush Review | 12/19/2007
The system is broke, literally, in Baltimore. The court dockets are full in Manhattan. Bad news for the big cities, but great news for viewers, as a new year brings fresh seasons of two landmark series about urban crime, law and disorder. In its fifth and final season, HBO's brilliant and bleak The Wire may have saved the best for last. Portraying the worst of times for Baltimore's civic institutions (including the local Baltimore Sun newspaper), this 10-episode arc is audaciously plotted, ... read more
Ask Ausiello | 12/12/2007
Any scoop on the upcoming season of The Wire (aka the best show on TV)? read more
Star Trek, Gilmore, The Wire...It's a Very Merry Holiday DVD Gift Guide! | The Joy of Sets | 12/5/2007
On the first day of my Christmas gift guide, My true love of TV DVDsIs what I want to share with thee.So hark your heralds and deck your halls later, people. We’ve got more box sets than all those maids a’milkling and drummers drummin’ combined to cover this month. And nothing makes the season brighter than a shiny pile of TV shows, no matter who’s on your gift list.For your sci-fi friend…Star Trek: The Next Generation Holy Starship! The complete series in one... read more
On the Police Beat: The Wire Returns... in Prequels! | Today's News: Our Take | 12/5/2007
Three flashback mini-movies produced by David Simon, the creator of the acclaimed HBO series, have been released via Amazon.com as free streams available on the page for the complete fourth-season DVD set. On Jan. 15, the flicklets will also be made available via HBO On Demand, HBO.com, podcasts and related portals. In other words, there will be virtually no missing the backstories about Prop Joe and Omar as kids or McNulty's first day on the job.... In other cop-show news, Law & Order:... read more
A Winter of TV Discontent? | Roush Dispatch | 12/4/2007
Just a thought: If the strike lasts much longer, do you think CBS' Big Brother house has room for all of us? I joke, of course, but I also fear that if things don't get resolved soon, it's going to be a long, cold winter indeed for fans of good old everyday regular non-reality TV.In the last few days, we’ve seen cliff-hanger episodes of Desperate Housewives and Heroes that felt like season finales, and for all we know, that’s what they might be, if production doesn’t resume early... read more
The Wire's Andre Royo Previews the Fifth and Final Season | TV Guide Interviews & Features | 12/4/2007
Andre Royo is not worried about the future. As a child he was drawn to the craft of acting when he noticed how television got his father to show emotion. Starting out he landed roles on Law & Order but his big break took him to the streets of Baltimore and he is now best known for playing the heroin addict and police informant Bubbles on HBO's crime drama The Wire. The show's fifth and final season is slated to premiere Jan. 6, but the 39-year-old Bronx native who plays this junkie so well has... read more
On a Busy Sunday, Praising Brotherhood | Roush Dispatch | 12/3/2007
This Sunday, it sure didn't feel as if the sweeps month had already ended. Major pivotal episodes of ABC's hit series, a movie special on CBS (one of the better Hallmark Hall of Fames to air in a while) and, somewhat lost in the shuffle, a season finale of one of TV's more underappreciated dramas. That's a lot to digest.First off, the watercooler show of the night was unquestionably Desperate Housewives, capping an above-par season with the long-awaited arrival of a devastating twister. The... read more
Ask Matt | 11/19/2007
I wrote you a few years ago about Monk's second season, which was fairly awful, but the show has been incredible ever since. (I'm thinking my complaint made the difference). Now I'm writing because I'm a huge TV fan, and I know a good show when I see it ? and Life is it. I DVR everything, and when I have the time, I start with the best shows and go from there. Life has become my first watch. For the other TV fans out there, some of my old faves are NYPD Blue, Boomtown, Third Watch and The Wire.... read more
Ask Matt | 11/19/2007
I was excited to see that HBO's The Wire has completed production and is still set to air this season, despite the strike. Do you think the fact that it may be one of only a few shows on the air next year will mean that it finally gets the award recognition it deserves? read more
Ask Matt | 11/19/2007
I never watched the CW before this year, but suddenly I'm finding myself watching shows that have been running for a while. Some of them I didn't know I was missing (Everybody Hates Chris, Beauty and the Geek and Supernatural), while others have only just started (Reaper, Gossip Girl and Aliens in America, definitely the funniest new show of the year). Am I a statistically insignificant anomaly, or do the ratings indicate that this will be the breakout year for the CW (or would have been if not... read more
Ask Matt | 11/16/2007
I am going to preface my question by trying to establish a little street cred. My favorite shows include Veronica Mars, Friday Night Lights, Battlestar Galactica, The Sopranos and The Wire. While I have enjoyed new shows like Dirty Sexy Money and Chuck, there has been one show, to my big surprise, that has become my favorite: Moonlight. I know, the pilot was horrible. I originally checked it out to see alums from Veronica Mars and Alias, but I have stayed because of Alex O'Loughlin. I think he... read more
Ask Matt | 10/19/2007
Recently you've been letting the world know how great a show Dexter is. I think Hugh Laurie is incredible in House, but if Michael C. Hall doesn't win an Emmy for dramatic male performance, I have to believe that Emmy voters have never themselves acted. The man is a revelation. What I want to talk about, though, is Brotherhood, the show that follows Dexter. No one ever talks about it, even though it is better than 98 percent of all other television shows, from Annabeth Gish's powerful ... read more
The Wire, Third Watch and More DVD Dates | Today's News: Our Take | 10/10/2007
The Wire: The Complete Fourth Season has been set for a Dec. 4 DVD release date. Other sets to keep an eye out for: One Tree Hill: The Complete Fourth Season (streeting Dec. 18); The New Adventures of Old Christine: The Complete First Season (Jan. 15, 2008); and Third Watch: The Complete First Season (Feb. 5). read more
Emmys: Bravo to Winners, Boo to Show | Roush Dispatch | 9/17/2007
And some people worried that getting Ryan Seacrest to host this year’s Emmy telecast was going to be the producers’ worst idea. That’s before we got a look at the set, an unwieldy and unappealing theater-in-the-round setup that looked more suitable for the new American Gladiators revival than for an awards show. The nominees, half of whom saw only the backs of the various presenters and performers, had a deer-in-the-headlights look every time Seacrest approached them or the... read more
Ask Matt | 9/14/2007
Love your columns, and I wanted your insight on something. In the next year, The Shield, The Wire and Battlestar Galactica all begin their final seasons. As three of the greatest television series of all time come to an end around the same time, which do you think will pack the biggest punch in its last episodes? read more
Ask Matt | 9/3/2007
Love your column, I've been reading it for years. I wanted to offer one more take on the profanity-on-TV debate. In a recent column, Karen L. wrote: "I don't believe in censorship, but I do believe in editing. Using any adjective over a dozen times in one or two minutes is sloppy writing, and that applies to swear words as well." Well, I can't help but think of a scene from The Wire that proves how occasionally, on an amazing show, the exact opposite can be true. Remember the classic, ... read more
Exclusive: Lost Recruits Wire Star | Ausiello Report | 8/22/2007
Lost has found more new blood.Sources confirm that The Wire's Lance Reddick has been cast in the recurring role of Arthur Stevens, the intimidating corporate-recruiter character I first told you about in last week's Ask Ausiello. Reddick also had a lengthy arc on HBO's Oz, where he starred opposite returning Lostie Harold Perrineau. This comes on the heels of another key piece of Lost casting: the addition of Sopranos scene-stealer Ken Leung. However, the specifics of his character remain... read more
John from Nowhere: Good Riddance | Roush Dispatch | 8/13/2007
Made sense that in the last moments of HBO's misbegotten John from Cincinnati, Ed O’Neill was finally reunited with his AWOL avian friend Zippy. If ever there was a show that was for the birds, it was this birdbrained mishmash of half-baked, foulmouthed, anti-dramatic allegorical nonsense.Over the last week, I attempted to catch up with last month’s episodes, hoping against hope that I’d at last see what I was supposed to be seeing in this smugly opaque world of cryptic... read more
Ask Matt | 7/27/2007
I'm a little disappointed that you didn't make a bigger deal of the travesty of Emmy ignoring The Wire for yet another year. I suppose you're beginning to feel like you're banging your head against a wall with this topic. Do you think one of the problems with a show like The Wire is that it takes a commitment from the viewer in order to understand the brilliance of its intricate story and nuanced performances? Is it because the subject matter is just a little too hard to swallow for an industry... read more
Ask Matt | 7/27/2007
Love your column, but at times your bias shows itself: Someone needs to come to the defense of Boston Legal after the drubbing it has earned over the past week. It's unduly harsh, and everyone (including you) needs to understand that people have different tastes. It seems that this show is being attacked because it took a spot over Friday Night Lights and Lost. But over the last three seasons, Boston Legal has been appointment television for me. Sure, it's not on par with Picket Fences or The... read more
Ask Matt | 7/23/2007
Like most television fans, I was disappointed that Friday Night Lights, Battlestar Galactica, The Shield, Lost and The W read more
TCA Awards: Correcting the Emmys | Roush Dispatch | 7/22/2007
No awards system is perfect, and the TCA Awards is no exception. But arriving two days after the often-inexplicable results of the Emmy nominations, Saturday night's low-key, good-time TCA Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton was a welcome course correction to several especially egregious Emmy oversights. (And, lo and behold, nary a mention of Boston Legal anywhere.)First up: Michael C. Hall, ignored by the Emmys but cited by the TCA for “Individual Achievement in Drama,” for his... read more
Ask Matt | 7/20/2007
I like to think I'm an educated TV viewer. I live for smart shows like The Wire, Lost, Battlestar Galactica and The Shie read more
Ask Matt | 7/16/2007
I wanted to respond to Matthew T.'s recent question about why people are distressed when TV shows end. I think your answ read more
Little Britain and a Lotta Sex on Tap at HBO | Today's News: Our Take | 7/14/2007
HBO's development slate, as spelled out at the TCA summer press tour, includes the following:• From American Idol creator Simon Fuller, an American adaptation of the hit BBC comedy Little Britain.• Season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm premieres Sunday, Sept. 9, at 10 pm/ET.• Leading into Curb is Tell Me You Love Me, a racy drama that has come under fire for seemingly — seemingly — depicting actual sex among its actors. (Responds the series' creator, "They are actors first... read more
Friday Night Lights on Emmy Short List? | Roush Dispatch | 7/2/2007
Well, this is good news to come home to. (Thanks, by the way, to all the well-wishers who e-mailed gracious greetings during my time off. Can't recommend Paris highly enough, even during an unseasonably chilly rainy spell.)If the reporting on TheEnvelope.com site is accurate, the top-10 drama finalists at this intermediate stage of the Emmy nominations includes eternal NBC underdog Friday Night Lights—which could use some good news, seeing as how NBC yanked its summer repeats for now.... read more
Ask Ausiello | 6/20/2007
I have been reading your column for a while now and you have not mentioned HBO's The Wire once. read more
Ask Matt | 6/4/2007
With the sudden downturn in quality for 24, as well as the fair-weather audience erosion experienced by Lost despite its read more
Ask Matt | 5/4/2007
I, too, am a huge fan of The Wire. Past interviews with David Simon had him saying the fifth season would focus on the m read more
Ask Matt | 4/27/2007
The Wire is my favorite show on television, and I think this past season may have been its best! Do you know if there is read more
Coming Soon: Posh Spice Pushes Reality's Envelope | Today's News: Our Take | 2/28/2007
• As her soccer star hubby does his thing for the L.A. Galaxy, Brit beauty Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham will while away her time fronting a half-hour unscripted series for NBC. Exec-produced by American Idol's Simon Fuller, slated for a summer bow and revolving around Beckham's transition to life in Los Angeles, the show "will cross all genres, and hopefully surprise a few people," Fuller tells Variety. Beckham herself touts the venture as "really something different.... It's pushing the... read more
Keeping the (Friday Night) Lights On | Roush Dispatch | 2/8/2007
I usually save these things for the Ask Matt Q&A, but I opened the following e-mail from Bill C shortly before watching this week’s episode of Friday Night Lights, and it haunted me (and, frankly, annoyed me) throughout the episode, which I found to be one of the most accessibly and endearingly entertaining of the entire season.Here’s what Bill wrote: “Would it be a real tragedy if Friday Night Lights got canceled? It’s not like we’re talking about a show that,... read more
Ask Ausiello | 1/10/2007
How could you not cite The Wire among the shows that were dissed by the Golden Globes? It is the best series of this yea read more
Acting Up on the Awards Circuit | Roush Dispatch | 1/4/2007
I guess actors don’t watch The Wire, either. Today’s announcement of the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations were a bit, well, “SAG”-gy with usual suspects (not to beat up on a woman whose talk show just got mercifully canceled, but one last nod for Megan Mullally for Will & Grace seems like such ancient history). The most aggravating snub, as it has been in the list of Producers Guild and Writers Guild nominations, is a complete shut-out for HBO’s The Wire. Tied... read more
Ask Matt | 12/22/2006
It's OK that I can't get my friends, who like really complex and smartly written television, to watch The Wire. And I ca read more
Ask Matt | 12/22/2006
I'm amazed that the Writers Guild Awards didn't recognize The Wire as the best-written show on TV. Isn't the WGA suppose read more
Ask Matt | 12/18/2006
After watching the season finale of The Wire, I am shocked and a little sad. I found Bodie's arc particularly compelling read more
Ask Matt | 12/15/2006
I just finished the season finale of The Wire and was blown away. This show keeps getting better every year. (If it does read more
Globes-Trotting: Following the Buzz | Roush Dispatch | 12/14/2006
The best thing you can say about the Golden Globes nominations is that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association isn't afraid about welcoming new kids to the party, especially if they've made a little noise along the way.On the plus side, that means shining some love on deserving candidates like America Ferrera and Ugly Betty, a show and a performance that would seem tailor-made to the Foreign Press's presumed concerns about diversity in entertainment. Likewise Masi Oka, who gives one of the most... read more
Roush Review | 12/13/2006
1) 24 My pulse races just thinking about this Fox hit's fifth and finest season, with its scarily high body count (Presi read more
Ask Matt | 12/4/2006
Can you offer a logical explanation as to why, year after year, The Wire is constantly shut out of most awards shows? It read more
Sunday, Monday...Happy Days | Hein Sight | 11/18/2006
Thanksgiving is upon us, which means it's time to update my nightly viewing schedule. I record plenty of stuff, but these are the shows that I try to watch live.MONDAYS:8 pm/ET Deal or No Deal (NBC)As a student of Jeopardy! and The Price is Right, every logical fiber of my being tells me I should be repulsed by this brainless show. Yet I cannot stop watching, and actually look forward to it. Well done, Howie and crew.9 pm/ET Heroes (NBC)The only thing I'm tired of hearing is "Save the... read more
Housewives and Sisters: Good Neighbors | Roush Dispatch | 11/6/2006
While some of us still miss Grey's Anatomy on Sundays, a perfectly entertaining bit of escapism to charge our batteries for the week ahead, ABC's new Brothers & Sisters has been growing on me. Week by week, culminating in this Sunday's most enjoyable episode yet, the show has become both lighter in tone and more emotionally compelling, proving to be a suitably compatible companion piece to Desperate Housewives — which, by sweeps coincidence or not, also enjoyed on Sunday its finest... read more
Ask Matt | 10/20/2006
As I enjoy The Wire and Weeds, I have noticed that dramas on cable have overtaken dramas on network TV in terms of quali read more
Ask Matt | 10/16/2006
From comments I read by TV critics before The Wire premiered, I got the sense that HBO sent the entire fourth season to read more
Short Cuts: Elvis, The Wire and More! | Today's News: Our Take | 10/6/2006
Elvis Presley's three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show are chronicled in a three-disc DVD set due for release on Nov. 21.... BET is in talks to air syndicated episodes of HBO's The Wire, starting with Season 1 and unspooling perhaps as soon as 1Q 2007.... Dane Cook — my current fave to play Fletch on the big screen (see related blog entry), and Jessica Simpson's apparent fave to play footsie (per the New York Post) — is taking his Tourgasm act to Las Vegas on Nov. 17.... Fox News... read more
Ask Ausiello | 10/4/2006
Why isn't there any scoop on The Wire? It is one of the best shows on TV right now. read more
A Little Unnecessary Nudeness | Is It Just Me? | 9/25/2006
Normally I applaud the authenticity of HBO?s The Wire. Clearly, that show?s writers do their homework. But when Herc walked in on Mayor Royce and his chicken-heading assistant at the start of last week?s episode there was a graphic, split-second flash of what I can only hope was faux frontal nudity. It was a naughty bit. And it was totally uncalled for. But this is HBO. So, you know, I was willing to let it go.But then last night, they did it again. At the beginning of the episode, Omar climbs... read more
Down to The Wire: HBO OKs Final Season | Today's News: Our Take | 9/13/2006
Just one episode into the new season of The Wire ? and despite a 21 percent dip in total viewers (versus those who tuned in for the previous opener) ? HBO has picked up the crime drama for a fifth and final round. "I had no question in my mind about the quality of the show, but you never know," HBO entertainment prez Carolyn Strauss tells the Hollywood Reporter. "The show is extraordinary and breathtaking." Though the network's options on the cast have expired, Strauss expects the core ensemble... read more
Ask Matt | 9/11/2006
This summer, we watched a number of series on DVD and agreed that it is a wonderful way to watch series that are more li read more
Ask Matt | 9/8/2006
Question: Season 4 of The Wire is starting (the first episode is excellent, by the way), but I get that sa read more
Ask Matt | 8/18/2006
Question: With a new season of The Wire about to start in a few weeks, is there anything we can do to get read more
Ask Ausiello | 8/16/2006
I'm so excited for The Wire to start I can barely stand it. I'd cancel my own wedding if it conflicted. Any sco read more
Ask Matt | 8/11/2006
I saw a promo on HBO last night, and it looks like they're planning to move their movie night to Sunday. Have any idea w read more
Soaps Q&A | 8/1/2006
It was such a downer to see I Wanna Be a Soap Star's judges eliminate Shamika Cotton last week. Their sket read more
Ask Matt | 7/21/2006
Is this the end of the HBO dynasty? I mean, HBO really set the standard of cable programming by having a small lineup of read more
TV Guide Interviews & Features | 6/28/2006
Producer/writer read more
TV Guide Interviews & Features | 6/9/2006
Real-life has been just as exciting as reel life for read more
Ask Matt | 5/8/2006
I have to say I share read more
Ask Matt | 2/20/2006
When I was posted overseas, I found myself an avid watcher of a Brazilian telenovela called Terra Nostra. read more
Today's News: My Take | 1/3/2006
Patrick Cranshaw ? the 86-year-old whose performance as Blue in Old School made him a hero to frat bo read more
Ask Matt | 12/16/2005
Since Prison Break is on hiatus for a few months and 24 read more
Ask Matt | 11/4/2005
I haven't seen any questions to you about Rome, and I don't see mu read more
Ask Ausiello | 10/19/2005
When will The Wire return?I'm hearing mid-2006 at the earliest. Production got underway at the end of September read more
Ask Matt | 9/19/2005
I love the new HBO series Rome and I know you like it also. I just read more
Ask Matt | 8/29/2005
You've often said that you have many shows you watch every week and others that you just tune into occasionally. So what read more
Ask Matt | 6/17/2005
Question: In your reply about Six Feet Under, you call it overrated. That's exactly how I feel about The Sopranos. I did read more
Ask Matt | 6/17/2005
Question: HBO seems to be in a rut, with boring series and carbon-copies of past work. Entourage is a rip-off of Sex and read more
Ask Ausiello | 6/15/2005
Question: Do you have any new dish on The Wire? Is Dominic West (aka Detective McNulty) returning? — Shannon Ausiell read more
Ask Matt | 6/10/2005
Question: There's been talk in the column recently about the Emmy prospects of Deadwood, but I wonder why no one is talk read more
Ask Ausiello | 5/11/2005
Question: So now that the best show ever (The Wire) is coming back, what about Dominic West? I heard he's trying to bail read more
Ask Matt | 5/9/2005
Question: First of all, I've got to say I love your column. It's refreshing to read the thoughts and opinions of people read more
The Watercooler | 4/4/2005
Arrested Development "Michael, what are you doing tomorrow?" asks Lucille. "Having my day ruined with whatever you're a read more
The Watercooler | 4/4/2005
Arrested Development "Michael, what are you doing tomorrow?" asks Lucille. "Having my day ruined with whatever you're a read more
Ask Matt | 3/25/2005
Question: HBO's cool cult series Carnivàle is having a really great run these days and has some amazing acting and m read more
Ask Ausiello | 3/23/2005
Question: Has there been a decision as to whether Carnivàle will be coming back for a third season? This season has read more
Today's News: My Take | 3/17/2005
It was touch-and-go there for a while, but sources confirm that HBO has renewed its acclaimed police drama The Wire for read more
Ask Ausiello | 3/2/2005
Question: Any new info on the fourth season of The Wire? — M Ausiello: HBO tells me a decision is expected within a read more
Ask Ausiello | 2/9/2005
Question: Any word whether the oh-so-talented David Simon will enthrall us with another season of The Wire? — Andrew read more
Ask Matt | 1/24/2005
Question: Please tell me The Wire will be back for another season. Thanks! — TimMatt:I wish I could. When HBO's prog read more
Today's News: My Take | 1/20/2005
Not surprisingly, Ray nabbed a field-best seven nominations for the 36th NAACP Image Awards, including acting nods for s read more
Today's News: My Take | 1/14/2005
A decision on The Wire is coming down to the, um, well, you know. At the Television Critics Association winter press tou read more
Televisionary | 1/4/2005
Question: Who plays the role of Omar on The Wire? — Bunche, New York, N.Y. Televisionary: That's Brooklyn native Mic read more
Televisionary | 12/28/2004
Question: Who plays the role of Omar on The Wire? — Bunche, New York, N.Y. Televisionary: That's Brooklyn native Mic read more
Ask Ausiello | 12/22/2004
Question: What about The Wire? — Aaron Ausiello: If I actually watched it: probably tied with The Sopranos at No. 1 read more
The Watercooler | 12/20/2004
SUNDAY Extreme Makeover: Home Edition There's no arguing with the fact that the Pope family getting a whole new hous read more
Ask Matt | 12/20/2004
Question: The Wire just killed off one if its biggest characters in the Dec. 12 episode. What are your thoughts on this read more
The Watercooler | 11/15/2004
SUNDAY American Music Awards Red Carpet Coverage My colleagues at the TV Guide Channel are paid to be nice to the ce read more
The Watercooler | 11/1/2004
SUNDAY 60 Minutes I'll leave the story about the lack of armored vehicles and other equipment in Iraq alone, since t read more
The Watercooler | 10/4/2004
SUNDAY Desperate Housewives It would go without saying that Mary Alice Young, having blown her own brains out, is th read more
Ask Matt | 9/27/2004
Question: My question is about next year's Emmys. With some long-running shows off the air now and The Sopranos looking read more
Ask Matt | 9/27/2004
Question: Why, oh, why doesn't The Wire get any respect? I know you and your fellow critics love it, but what's the Emmy read more
The Watercooler | 9/20/2004
SUNDAY Live from the Red Carpet: The Emmy Awards Remember all those Joan Rivers failings — getting names and det read more
Ask Matt | 9/20/2004
Question: I recently saw a press release promoting The Wire's new season and noticed that Amy Ryan (who played Beatrice read more
Roush Review | 9/13/2004
In the opening moments of the third season of The Wire, a drug-plagued housing project is demolished. Which doesn't fix read more
Roush Dispatch | 8/10/2004
When is a miniseries not a miniseries? When it's a backdoor pilot, which is clearly what USA Network's six-hour experime read more
Ask Matt | 8/9/2004
Question: I have two questions. With the death of Robert Colesberry, will The Wire be affected much? Shorter season, dif read more
Ask Matt | 8/2/2004
Question: I was just wondering why television networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and UPN can air shows every season, but f read more
Ask Matt | 7/26/2004
Question: I do not know if you are a fan, but I enjoy The Wire and hoped the show or the actors would receive Emmy nomin read more
Soaps Q&A | 7/8/2004
Dear Soaps,I've been watching All My Children for about a year now, and I've been trying to place where I've seen the ki read more
Ask Matt | 6/28/2004
Question: Will the HBO series The Wire return this summer? If so, what date and time? — Jesse B.Matt:Not this summer read more
Ask Matt | 6/28/2004
Question: Have you been able to preview any of the USA miniseries The 4400? I think it looks and sounds intriguing, but read more
Ask Matt | 6/21/2004
Question: I am a big fan of your column and normally think you get it exactly right. However, your lack of respect for D read more
Ask Matt | 6/21/2004
Question: I am a big fan of your column and normally think you get it exactly right. However, your lack of respect for D read more
TV Guide Interviews & Features | 6/1/2004
Although nominations for the 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards won't be announced until July 15, one thing is certain (a read more
Televisionary | 4/27/2004
Question: I was wondering if you have heard any buzz about when the HBO show The Wire is returning for Season 3. Have th read more
Today's News: My Take | 3/31/2004
The winners of the 63rd Annual Peabody Awards were announced today and BBC's acclaimed comedy The Office, HBO's cop dram read more
Ask Matt | 3/29/2004
Question: I have a comment and a question for you. I strongly disagree with Chip from last week's column. The Sopranos b read more
Ask Matt | 3/8/2004
Question: As the new Sopranos season starts, I wanted to know your opinion on the writing of David Chase and Co. for the read more
Ask Matt | 1/12/2004
Question: I read with interest the letters in your last column complaining about the lack of critical/media attention gi read more
Ask Matt | 1/12/2004
Question: Great to have you back: missed your comments, love to read you. Was just wondering if you've heard anything on read more
Ask Matt | 1/5/2004
Question: I am a big fan of HBO's The Wire and I would like to know when will the show return for its third season? I th read more
Ask Matt | 12/22/2003
Question: After watching the first episode of ABC's Line of Fire, I cared more about the characters on it than on most e read more
Today's News: My Take | 12/15/2003
The American Film Institute also gave props to the small screen, naming Alias, Angels in America, Arrested Development, read more
Ask Matt | 12/15/2003
Question: I watched the Line of Fire premiere, and I'll definitely tune in again (ABC willing), but I wasn't as impresse read more
Ask Matt | 10/20/2003
Question: Since HBO is having trouble with its Sunday-night lineup, I think they should try to acquire Boomtown. I think read more
Ask Matt | 10/6/2003
Question: I absolutely adore watching Carnivale each week on HBO. I love that while it does have creepy, supernatural oc read more
Ask Matt | 9/29/2003
Question: I am a big fan of HBO's The Wire. Can you please tell me when The Wire is coming back? I don't think I can tak read more
Ask Matt | 9/15/2003
Question: Is it just me, or is there a strong physical and behavioral similarity between Nip/Tuck's Julian McMahon and B read more
Ask Matt | 8/18/2003
Question: You make a lot of great points about the reasons that quality shows are ignored come Emmy time, but isn't The read more
Ask Matt | 8/18/2003
Question: I am a big fan of Boomtown and an even bigger fan of The Wire. I think the reason for it is the show's similar read more
Today's News: My Take | 8/15/2003
Despite drawing only modest ratings, HBO has renewed its critically acclaimed drama The Wire for a third season. The se read more
Roush Review | 8/4/2003
It may sound a bit self-serving to pat my colleagues in the critical community on the back. But it was awfully gratify read more
Ask Matt | 8/4/2003
Question: I haven't watched the Emmy Awards in many years and find I agree more with TV critics such as you than with th read more
Ask Matt | 7/28/2003
Question: Since you seem to disagree with the Emmy nods as noted in your column, what would your noms be for the big cat read more
Ask Matt | 7/28/2003
Question: Why was HBO's The Wire completely excluded from the Emmy nomination list? — Richard L.Matt:Beats me. The b read more
Ask Matt | 7/21/2003
Question: What's the better gritty TV-cop drama: The Shield or The Wire? — Jack B.Matt:There's no simple answer to t read more
Ask Matt | 7/14/2003
Question: Is there a better show on television right now than The Wire? If so, please let me know because I would love t read more
Ask Matt | 7/14/2003
Question: Do you think the Emmys will ever be updated to the point of making them truly interesting again? To my knowled read more
Ask Matt | 7/14/2003
Question: What do you think of all these crime dramas coming on to television ever since CSI became a huge hit? Don't ge read more
Soaps Q&A | 7/8/2003
Move over Denzel, there's a new hottie in town. Michael B. Jordan is heating up the daytime screen as street-smart teen read more
Roush Review | 6/2/2003
The appeal of the new wave of crime shows lies in their brisk (and possibly miraculous) habit of tying things up in a ti read more
Ask Matt | 6/2/2003
Question: What are you excited to watch on TV during this summer? Unsurprisingly, I see the networks will be filling the read more
Ask Matt | 4/21/2003
Question: Ever since it premiered last summer, I have fallen in love with HBO's The Wire. The level of realism, maturity read more
Ask Matt | 4/21/2003
Question: I just read your April 11 Dispatch and couldn't agree with you more about two of my personal favorites on TV t read more
Ask Matt | 3/24/2003
Question: Which cop show would you recommend more, HBO's The Wire or The Shield on FX? — MikeyMatt:They're so differ read more
Ask Matt | 2/17/2003
Question: I totally agree with you that HBO's The Wire was riveting. Are there any plans to rebroadcast the show or some read more
Ask Matt | 1/13/2003
Question: How do you feel about a second season of HBO's The Wire? I really enjoyed the first season and thought most of read more
Today's News: My Take | 1/8/2003
After six years of foreplay, Sex and the City is about to climax. HBO announced Tuesday that the Emmy-winning comedy's u read more
TV Guide Interviews & Features | 10/23/2002
Biopics are fertile ground for Denzel Washington, whose Hurricane, Malcolm X and Remember the Titans all were well recei read more
Ask Matt | 10/14/2002
Question: Is HBO going to bring back The Wire? All of my friends (law enforcement officers) loved the whole series. It w read more
Today's News: My Take | 6/5/2002
Sex and the City will kick off its fifth season on July 21, HBO confirms... Speaking of HBO, Sunday's premiere of The Wi read more
Roush Review | 5/27/2002
Simply put, The Wire is the most intriguing and filling dramatic appetizer HBO has yet provided during our long national read more

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Episode 60

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Episode 58

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Cast & Details

Premiered: June 02, 2002, on HBO

Rating: TV-MA

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Premise: A complex, impeccably acted crime drama set in Baltimore that follows the thread of a single police investigation, from the perspectives of both law-enforcement officials and the criminals they're pursuing. The Peabody-winning series was created by David Simon (`The Corner'), whose richly layered plotlines focused on the city's illegal drug trade in the first season before expanding in scope for the second to include corruption on the waterfront.

Cast