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The Wire (season 5)
Encyclopedia
The fifth season of the television series The Wire
commenced airing in the United States on January 6, 2008, and concluded on March 9, 2008; it contained 10 episodes. The series continued to examine the Baltimore police department, the Stanfield organization and city hall while introducing a fictionalized version of the Baltimore Sun newsroom.
on December 1, 2006, David Simon said that Season 5 would be about the media
and media consumption. A major focus would be journalism
, which would be dramatized through a newspaper modeled after The Baltimore Sun
. The theme, according to Simon, would deal with "what stories get told and what don't and why it is that things stay the same." Issues such as the quest for profit, the decrease in the number of reporters, and the end of aspiration for news quality would all be addressed, alongside the theme of homelessness. In the same interview, Simon indicated that no other theme seemed substantial enough to warrant a sixth season, except possibly the large influx of Latino
s into Baltimore. He noted, however, that since no writer on the show spoke Spanish or had any intimate knowledge of the city's Latino population, the field work would be too cumbersome.
At the Night at the Wire event on June 9, 2007, Simon stated that Detective Sydnor is the only character who remains morally clean by the end of the show, but not perfectly since "after all, this is The Wire." He also hinted that Mayor Carcetti might make a run for governor.
The series continued the show's examination of the devaluing of human life and institutional dysfunction. The increased scope of the season to include the media allowed this theme to be explored through an examination of "the people who are supposed to be monitoring all this and sounding the alarm — the journalists." In particular Simon has spoken about the devaluing of the reporter in terms of downsizing a newspaper staff and the management expecting to do "more with less" when he asserts that in reality, you can only do "less with less."
The series realism has been reported as being maintained particularly through the accurate dialogue and use of contemporary slang. Series creator David Simon
further expanded on the thematic content of season five in an interview with Fancast/Inside TV. Critic David Zurawik saw the unifying theme of the season as "public and private lies," particularly those perpetuated by the media and told by Jimmy McNulty
in protest against cutbacks in the police department. TV Guide writer Matt Roush also saw the central theme as lies and characterised it as "deeply and darkly ironic."
. HBO sent critics the first seven episodes on DVD in December 2007.
HBO's On Demand and multiplatform marketing division approached creator David Simon about producing exclusive on demand content and three short prequel clips were produced that take place prior to the linear storyline of the show. The clips were made available via Amazon.com from December 5 and through HBO's on demand service from December 15. The first video takes place in 1962 and focuses on the school days of drug kingpin Proposition Joe
; the second is set in 1985 and focuses on Omar Little making an early robbery; the third video is set in 2000 and shows the first meeting of Jimmy McNulty
(played by Dominic West
) and Bunk Moreland
(Wendell Pierce
). The clips aired after Season 5 episodes as they premiered starting January 6, 2008.
The actual Washington Post newsroom was also featured, as one reporter visits for an interview. The Wire is the first production to be allowed to film at the location; even the film All the President's Men
about the paper's role in breaking the Watergate scandal
had to build a set to represent the paper.
It was rumored in August 2007 that Homicide: Life on the Street
stars Richard Belzer
and Clark Johnson
would guest star in the fifth season. Johnson was later confirmed as joining the starring cast to play Gus Haynes, "a city editor who tries to hold the line against dwindling coverage, buyouts, and pseudo-news." The New Yorker described an early scene from the season where Haynes rants about a reporter inserting a charred doll into scenes of fires to eke more sympathy from his readers. Johnson also directed the final episode of the show. In the episode "Took," Belzer made a cameo appearance as John Munch
, the police detective he has portrayed since 1993 on Homicide (1993–1999) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
(1999–present).
The majority of the starring cast from the fourth season returned. On the police front, Dominic West
returned as Jimmy McNulty
with a larger storyline than the fourth season; John Doman
as Deputy Commissioner William Rawls
; Seth Gilliam
as Western district Sergeant Ellis Carver
; Corey Parker Robinson
as Major Case Unit detective Leander Sydnor
; Deirdre Lovejoy
as prosecutor Rhonda Pearlman
; Clarke Peters
as veteran Detective Lester Freamon
; Wendell Pierce
as veteran homicide Detective Bunk Moreland
; Lance Reddick
as Colonel Cedric Daniels
; and Sonja Sohn as Detective Kima Greggs
.
In the political storyline, Aidan Gillen
returned as ambitious Mayor Tommy Carcetti
; as well as Reg E. Cathey
as political aide Norman Wilson; and Domenick Lombardozzi
as troubled defense investigator Thomas "Herc" Hauk.
In the street, Jamie Hector
returned as West-side drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield
. Also returning for the street storyline were Andre Royo
as heroin addict Bubbles
; and Michael K. Williams
as underworld legend Omar Little
.
Former recurring characters who joined the main cast were Tristan Wilds
as Michael Lee
, Gbenga Akinnagbe
as Chris Partlow
, Jermaine Crawford
as Duquan "Dukie" Weems, Isiah Whitlock, Jr.
as corrupt State Senator Clay Davis
, Michael Kostroff
as defense attorney Maurice Levy
, and Neal Huff
Mayoral chief of staff Michael Steintorf.
In addition to Johnson, joining the main cast in the journalism story line were Thomas McCarthy
as morally challenged reporter Scott Templeton
and Michelle Paress
as reporter Alma Gutierrez
.
Season 4 main cast members Frankie Faison
, Jim True-Frost
, Robert Wisdom
, and Chad L. Coleman, who played Ervin Burrell
, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski, Howard "Bunny" Colvin and Dennis "Cutty" Wise, respectively, had recurring but not starring roles in the season.
Other returning guest stars included Steve Earle
as drug counsellor Walon; Anwan Glover
as Slim Charles; Robert F. Chew
as drug kingpin Proposition Joe
; Method Man
as drug lieutenant Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff; Felicia Pearson
as the eponymous criminal enforcer Felicia "Snoop" Pearson; Chris Ashworth
as former enforcer for the Greeks Sergei "Serge" Malatov; Wood Harris
as fallen kingpin Avon Barksdale
; Marlyne Afflack
as city council president Nerese Campbell;; and Amy Ryan
as McNulty's domestic partner Beadie Russell
. The return of guest stars from past seasons was described in reviews as a reward to loyal viewers.
New recurring guest stars included David Costabile
, Sam Freed
, Bruce Kirkpatrick, Todd Scofield, Kara Quick, and Donald Neal.
Continuing the show's trend of using non-professional actors and real-life Baltimore figures, several ex-Baltimore Sun reporters appeared in recurring roles. Rebecca Corbett, who was Simon's former editor at the Baltimore Sun and now works at the New York Times, had a recurring role. Writer and former political reporter William F. Zorzi
gained further screen time after his season 1 cameo. Steve Luxenberg, the editor responsible for hiring Simon at The Sun, also had a role. Simon's wife Laura Lippman
also appeared as a reporter in an early scene alongside Michael Olesker
, another former Sun reporter. Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy appeared as a lawyer for corrupt Senator Clay Davis
, and former senator and current radio host Larry Young conducted a fictional interview with the character. Former police commissioner Ed Norris returned in his recurring role as a homicide detective with the same name.
once again served as the show's other executive producer. Joe Chappelle
reprised his co-executive producer role and continued to direct episodes. Ed Burns
once again served as a writer and joined Chappelle as a co-executive producer. Karen L. Thorson
returned as a producer. George Pelecanos
produced the sixth episode of the series only - his first production work since the third season.
Political journalist William F. Zorzi
continued to write for the show and guide the political storylines. Acclaimed crime fiction novelist Pelecanos returned as a writer and contributed his seventh episode to the series. Pelecanos's fellow crime novellists Richard Price
and Dennis Lehane
also returned as writers. Chris Collins
returned as a staff writer and contributed his first script. David Mills
contributed an episode, completing the writing team.
New star Clark Johnson also helmed the final episode after previously directing the pilot. Other returning directors for the fifth season included Ernest Dickerson
, Anthony Hemingway
, Agnieszka Holland
, Dan Attias
, and Seith Mann
. Series star Dominic West
made his directorial debut. Husband and wife directing team Scott and Joy Kecken were also first time directors on the fifth season.
. In reviewing the first seven episodes of the fifth season David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun said that while "there is greatness in the seven episodes," the major newspaper storyline "contain[s] nothing that matches the emotional power and sociological insight of the show at its best." Matt Roush of TV Guide
favourably reviewed the series calling it "brilliantly bleak" and a "landmark series." Brian Lowry of Variety
characterised the series' look at the media as the most realistic portrayal of a newsroom in film and television history.
.
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The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
commenced airing in the United States on January 6, 2008, and concluded on March 9, 2008; it contained 10 episodes. The series continued to examine the Baltimore police department, the Stanfield organization and city hall while introducing a fictionalized version of the Baltimore Sun newsroom.
Production
HBO announced on September 12, 2006 that it commissioned a fifth and final season consisting of 13 episodes, which was later reduced to ten. On April 30, 2007, production for Season 5 officially began. Filming wrapped early in the morning of September 1, 2007 and the first episode aired on January 6, 2008.Themes
In an interview with SlateSlate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
on December 1, 2006, David Simon said that Season 5 would be about the media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
and media consumption. A major focus would be journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, which would be dramatized through a newspaper modeled after The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
. The theme, according to Simon, would deal with "what stories get told and what don't and why it is that things stay the same." Issues such as the quest for profit, the decrease in the number of reporters, and the end of aspiration for news quality would all be addressed, alongside the theme of homelessness. In the same interview, Simon indicated that no other theme seemed substantial enough to warrant a sixth season, except possibly the large influx of Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
s into Baltimore. He noted, however, that since no writer on the show spoke Spanish or had any intimate knowledge of the city's Latino population, the field work would be too cumbersome.
At the Night at the Wire event on June 9, 2007, Simon stated that Detective Sydnor is the only character who remains morally clean by the end of the show, but not perfectly since "after all, this is The Wire." He also hinted that Mayor Carcetti might make a run for governor.
The series continued the show's examination of the devaluing of human life and institutional dysfunction. The increased scope of the season to include the media allowed this theme to be explored through an examination of "the people who are supposed to be monitoring all this and sounding the alarm — the journalists." In particular Simon has spoken about the devaluing of the reporter in terms of downsizing a newspaper staff and the management expecting to do "more with less" when he asserts that in reality, you can only do "less with less."
The series realism has been reported as being maintained particularly through the accurate dialogue and use of contemporary slang. Series creator David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
further expanded on the thematic content of season five in an interview with Fancast/Inside TV. Critic David Zurawik saw the unifying theme of the season as "public and private lies," particularly those perpetuated by the media and told by Jimmy McNulty
Jimmy McNulty
Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department...
in protest against cutbacks in the police department. TV Guide writer Matt Roush also saw the central theme as lies and characterised it as "deeply and darkly ironic."
Promotion
A preview for Season 5 of The Wire aired on HBO on October 28, 2007 and was later made available on YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. HBO sent critics the first seven episodes on DVD in December 2007.
HBO's On Demand and multiplatform marketing division approached creator David Simon about producing exclusive on demand content and three short prequel clips were produced that take place prior to the linear storyline of the show. The clips were made available via Amazon.com from December 5 and through HBO's on demand service from December 15. The first video takes place in 1962 and focuses on the school days of drug kingpin Proposition Joe
Proposition Joe
Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug kingpin who preferred a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible...
; the second is set in 1985 and focuses on Omar Little making an early robbery; the third video is set in 2000 and shows the first meeting of Jimmy McNulty
Jimmy McNulty
Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department...
(played by Dominic West
Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Fe West is an English actor best known for his role as Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series The Wire.-Film and TV:...
) and Bunk Moreland
Bunk Moreland
William "Bunk" Moreland is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Wendell Pierce. Bunk's character is based on a retired Baltimore City Police Detective named Rick Requer and nicknamed "the Bunk", an officer who joined the force in 1964 as a Western District patrolman who...
(Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce is an American actor, best known for his work in HBO dramas, including his portrayal of Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme.-Life and career:...
). The clips aired after Season 5 episodes as they premiered starting January 6, 2008.
Locations
At that Night at the Wire event, fans were allowed to tour the Baltimore Sun newsroom constructed for the show. The real newspaper allowed the show to use their name but stipulated that no current employees could appear in the series. The newsroom was an entirely built set constructed at the show's out-of-town soundstage.The actual Washington Post newsroom was also featured, as one reporter visits for an interview. The Wire is the first production to be allowed to film at the location; even the film All the President's Men
All the President's Men (film)
All the President's Men is a 1976 Academy Award-winning political thriller film based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post...
about the paper's role in breaking the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
had to build a set to represent the paper.
Cast
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
stars Richard Belzer
Richard Belzer
Richard Jay Belzer is an American stand-up comedian, author, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as John Munch, which he has portrayed as a regular cast member on the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as in guest...
and Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson , sometimes credited as Clark 'Slappy' Jackson, Clarque Johnson, and J. Clark Johnson, is an American actor and director who has worked in both television and film.-Early years:...
would guest star in the fifth season. Johnson was later confirmed as joining the starring cast to play Gus Haynes, "a city editor who tries to hold the line against dwindling coverage, buyouts, and pseudo-news." The New Yorker described an early scene from the season where Haynes rants about a reporter inserting a charred doll into scenes of fires to eke more sympathy from his readers. Johnson also directed the final episode of the show. In the episode "Took," Belzer made a cameo appearance as John Munch
John Munch
Sergeant John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. Upon that series' cancellation, the character was transplanted to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the first spin-off of the Law & Order franchise...
, the police detective he has portrayed since 1993 on Homicide (1993–1999) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
(1999–present).
The majority of the starring cast from the fourth season returned. On the police front, Dominic West
Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Fe West is an English actor best known for his role as Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series The Wire.-Film and TV:...
returned as Jimmy McNulty
Jimmy McNulty
Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department...
with a larger storyline than the fourth season; John Doman
John Doman
John Doman is an American actor best known for playing Deputy Police Commissioner William Rawls on HBO series The Wire from 2002 to 2008 and Colonel Edward Galson on Oz in 2001....
as Deputy Commissioner William Rawls
William Rawls
William A. "Bill" Rawls is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor John Doman. Over the course of the series he ascends to the rank of Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.-Season 1:...
; Seth Gilliam
Seth Gilliam
Seth Gilliam is an American actor. He is known for his HBO television roles, first as corrections officer-turned-prisoner Clayton Hughes on Oz, and later as Baltimore police detective promoted to sergeant Ellis Carver on The Wire. On both of these series, he co-starred with Lance Reddick and J.D....
as Western district Sergeant Ellis Carver
Ellis Carver
Ellis Carver is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Seth Gilliam. Carver is an African American lieutenant and formerly in command of the Baltimore Police Department's Western District Drug Enforcement Unit...
; Corey Parker Robinson
Corey Parker Robinson
Corey Parker Robinson is an American actor. He may be best known for appearing on the HBO program The Wire as Detective Leander Sydnor. He also appeared in Wire creator David Simon's earlier The Corner as R.C., a young drug dealer and in ER in episode 19 of Season 5 as student Antoine Bell...
as Major Case Unit detective Leander Sydnor
Leander Sydnor
Leander Sydnor is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Corey Parker Robinson. Sydnor is a young, married Baltimore Police detective who was a member of the Barksdale detail and later worked in the Major Crimes Unit.-Season 1:...
; Deirdre Lovejoy
Deirdre Lovejoy
Deirdre Lovejoy is an American actress. She is most notable for her role on the HBO television series The Wire as Rhonda Pearlman. She graduated from the University of Evansville with an undergraduate degree in theatre....
as prosecutor Rhonda Pearlman
Rhonda Pearlman
Rhonda Pearlman is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Deirdre Lovejoy. Pearlman has been the legal system liaison for all of Lieutenant Cedric Daniels' investigations on the show...
; Clarke Peters
Clarke Peters
Clarke Peters is an American actor, singer, writer and director best known for his role as Detective Lester Freamon on the HBO drama The Wire.-Early life:...
as veteran Detective Lester Freamon
Lester Freamon
Lester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit...
; Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce is an American actor, best known for his work in HBO dramas, including his portrayal of Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme.-Life and career:...
as veteran homicide Detective Bunk Moreland
Bunk Moreland
William "Bunk" Moreland is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Wendell Pierce. Bunk's character is based on a retired Baltimore City Police Detective named Rick Requer and nicknamed "the Bunk", an officer who joined the force in 1964 as a Western District patrolman who...
; Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick is an American theater, film and TV actor and musician born in Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in The Wire as Cedric Daniels, appeared in Oz as Detective Johnny Basil and appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Lost. He now has a prominent role in Fringe...
as Colonel Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Lance Reddick. He is a well regarded officer in the department whose focus is on good police work and quality arrests...
; and Sonja Sohn as Detective Kima Greggs
Kima Greggs
Detective Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a police detective in the Baltimore Police Department who is a dedicated officer and capable detective with some off-the-job issues. Openly lesbian, she has had problems...
.
In the political storyline, Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen is an Irish stage and screen actor and television presenter. He is known in Ireland for his role in Love/Hate, in the UK for his role in Queer as Folk and in the US for his role in HBO's television series The Wire in which he plays Tommy Carcetti and for his role in Game of Thrones as...
returned as ambitious Mayor Tommy Carcetti
Tommy Carcetti
Thomas J. "Tommy" Carcetti is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Irish actor Aidan Gillen. Carcetti is an ambitious Baltimore politician who rises from a seat on the city council to the office of the Mayor of Baltimore, and to the office of the Governor of Maryland by the...
; as well as Reg E. Cathey
Reg E. Cathey
Reginald "Reg" E. Cathey is an American stage, film and television actor.Cathey is a native of Huntsville, Alabama and a graduate of J.O. Johnson High School. He spent his childhood in West Germany. His favourite band is Blur....
as political aide Norman Wilson; and Domenick Lombardozzi
Domenick Lombardozzi
Domenico "Domenick" Lombardozzi is an American actor best known for his role as Thomas "Herc" Hauk on The Wire. Lombardozzi was inspired to act by the film State of Grace.-Filmography:...
as troubled defense investigator Thomas "Herc" Hauk.
In the street, Jamie Hector
Jamie Hector
Jamie Hector is an Haitian-American actor who is known for his portrayal of Marlo Stanfield on the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire.- Biography :...
returned as West-side drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield
Marlo Stanfield
Marlo "Black" Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ruthless and ambitious player in the Baltimore drug trade who gains control of West Baltimore and is the head of his own drug crew.-Character background and plot...
. Also returning for the street storyline were Andre Royo
Andre Royo
Andre Royo is an American actor. He is best known for his role as "Bubbles" in The Wire , and has had guest starring appearances in Fringe, Party Down, and How To Make It In America.-Career:...
as heroin addict Bubbles
Bubbles (The Wire)
Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Andre Royo. Bubbles is a recovering heroin addict. His real name is not revealed until a fourth-season episode when he is called "Mr. Cousins" and in the fifth-season premiere when he is called "Reginald"...
; and Michael K. Williams
Michael K. Williams
Michael Kenneth Williams is an American actor known for his portrayal of Omar Little on the HBO drama series The Wire, and of Albert "Chalky" White on HBO's Boardwalk Empire.-Early life and career:...
as underworld legend Omar Little
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, portrayed by Michael K. Williams. Omar is a renowned stick-up man who lives by a strict moral code and never deviates from his rules, foremost of which is that he never robs or menaces people who are not involved in "the game"....
.
Former recurring characters who joined the main cast were Tristan Wilds
Tristan Wilds
Tristan Paul Mack Wilds is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Michael Lee on the HBO original drama series The Wire and as Dixon Wilson on the CW drama series 90210.-Life and career:...
as Michael Lee
Michael Lee (The Wire)
Michael Lee is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Tristan Wilds. He is a middle school pupil and is friends with Namond Brice, Randy Wagstaff and Duquan "Dukie" Weems. He is more soft-spoken than his friends, and appears to have a leadership role among his peers...
, Gbenga Akinnagbe
Gbenga Akinnagbe
Gbenga Akinnagbe is an American actor, best known for his role as Chris Partlow on the HBO original series The Wire.-Early life:...
as Chris Partlow
Chris Partlow
Chris Partlow is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Gbenga Akinnagbe. Partlow is Marlo Stanfield's best friend, bodyguard, and second-in-command in his drug dealing operation. Despite his quiet demeanor, Partlow commits more on- and off-screen murders than any other...
, Jermaine Crawford
Jermaine Crawford
Jermaine Crawford is an actor best known for appearing on the HBO original series The Wire as Duquan "Dukie" Weems. He is a cousin to fellow Wire castmember and actor Tristan Wilds....
as Duquan "Dukie" Weems, Isiah Whitlock, Jr.
Isiah Whitlock, Jr.
Isiah Whitlock Jr. is an American actor.He is most famous for his role on the HBO television series, The Wire as corrupt state senator Clay Davis. He also is notable for appearing in Spike Lee films She Hate Me and 25th Hour as Agent Amos Flood...
as corrupt State Senator Clay Davis
Clay Davis
State Senator R. Clayton "Clay" Davis is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Davis is a corrupt Maryland State Senator with a reputation for pocketing bribes...
, Michael Kostroff
Michael Kostroff
Michael Kostroff is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program The Wire as defense attorney Maurice Levy. Kostroff starred in the fifth season of the series and appeared in all four earlier seasons as a guest star.- Biography :...
as defense attorney Maurice Levy
Maurice Levy (The Wire)
Maurice "Maury" Levy is a fictional lawyer on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Michael Kostroff. He is a skilled defense attorney and was kept on retainer by the drug-trafficking Barksdale Organization, representing the organization's members at trials and advising Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell...
, and Neal Huff
Neal Huff
Neal Huff is an American actor. He received his MFA from the Graduate Acting Program at New York University. He has appeared on Broadway in revivals of The Tempest and The Lion in Winter and the Tony Award-winning Take Me Out...
Mayoral chief of staff Michael Steintorf.
In addition to Johnson, joining the main cast in the journalism story line were Thomas McCarthy
Thomas McCarthy (actor)
Thomas Joseph McCarthy is an American actor, writer, and film director who has appeared in several movies, including Meet the Parents and Good Night, and Good Luck, and television shows such as The Wire, Boston Public, Law & Order, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Saint Maybe...
as morally challenged reporter Scott Templeton
Scott Templeton
M. Scott Templeton is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Thomas McCarthy. The actor joined the starring cast as the series' fifth season began.-Biography:...
and Michelle Paress
Michelle Paress
Michelle Paress is an American actress. She starred in the HBO program The Wire as reporter Alma Gutierrez. Paress joined the cast in the show's fifth season. She is married to a former star of the show, actor Larry Gilliard Jr.-External links:...
as reporter Alma Gutierrez
Alma Gutierrez
Alma M. Gutierrez is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Michelle Paress. Gutierrez is a dedicated and idealistic young reporter on the city desk of The Baltimore Sun.-Biography:...
.
Season 4 main cast members Frankie Faison
Frankie Faison
Frankie Russel Faison , often credited as Frankie R. Faison, is an American actor.-Personal life:Faison was born in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Carmena and Edgar Faison. He studied drama at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, where he joined Theta Chi Fraternity...
, Jim True-Frost
Jim True-Frost
Jim True-Frost, born Jim True, is an American stage, television and screen actor. He is most known for his portrayal of Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski on all five seasons of the HBO program The Wire.-Biography:...
, Robert Wisdom
Robert Wisdom
Robert Wisdom is an American actor. He is a graduate of Columbia University.-Biography:Wisdom was born in Washington, D.C. to Jamaican parents. He appeared in four of the five seasons of HBO program The Wire as Howard "Bunny" Colvin...
, and Chad L. Coleman, who played Ervin Burrell
Ervin Burrell
Ervin Burrell is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Frankie Faison. Burrell was an officer in the Baltimore Police Department who ascended from Deputy Commissioner of Operations to Commissioner over the course of the show...
, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski, Howard "Bunny" Colvin and Dennis "Cutty" Wise, respectively, had recurring but not starring roles in the season.
Other returning guest stars included Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
as drug counsellor Walon; Anwan Glover
Anwan Glover
Ralph Anwan Glover is an American actor and musician. He is one of the founding members of the Backyard Band, a go-go band, as well as appearing as gang member Slim Charles in the HBO series The Wire. He has also appeared in music videos, such as Boyz n da Hood's "Dem Boyz" among others, and has a...
as Slim Charles; Robert F. Chew
Robert F. Chew
Robert F. Chew is an American actor from Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in the HBO television drama series The Wire as manipulative drug kingpin Proposition Joe on all five seasons of the show...
as drug kingpin Proposition Joe
Proposition Joe
Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug kingpin who preferred a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible...
; Method Man
Method Man
Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
as drug lieutenant Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff; Felicia Pearson
Felicia Pearson
Felicia Pearson is an American actress, author, and rapper. She is best known for playing a character of the same name, Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, on The Wire. She wrote a memoir titled Grace After Midnight.-Biography:Pearson was born to two incarcerated drug addicts and raised in an East Baltimore...
as the eponymous criminal enforcer Felicia "Snoop" Pearson; Chris Ashworth
Chris Ashworth
Christopher Michael Ashworth , better known as simply Chris Ashworth, is an American actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sergei Malatov on The Wire...
as former enforcer for the Greeks Sergei "Serge" Malatov; Wood Harris
Wood Harris
Sherwin David "Wood" Harris is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO television drama The Wire, and as high-school football player Julius Campbell in the 2000 motion picture Remember the Titans.-Life and career:Harris was born in...
as fallen kingpin Avon Barksdale
Avon Barksdale
Avon Randolph Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire portrayed by actor Wood Harris. Avon is the dominant drug dealer of Baltimore's West Side, running the Barksdale Organization...
; Marlyne Afflack
Marlyne Afflack
Marlyne Nayokah Afflack is an American actress best known her role as Nerese Campbell on The Wire. She also played an attorney in the FX drama Damages and Thomasina, the efficient palace secretary and aide-de-camp, on the NBC series Kings...
as city council president Nerese Campbell;; and Amy Ryan
Amy Ryan
Amy Ryan is an American actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Gone Baby Gone and is also known for her roles in the HBO series The Wire, playing Port Authority Officer Beadie Russell; In Treatment, playing psychiatrist Adele Brousse; and The...
as McNulty's domestic partner Beadie Russell
Beadie Russell
Beatrice "Beadie" Russell is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Amy Ryan. She was featured prominently in the second season, after she discovered thirteen corpses in a container on the Baltimore docks....
. The return of guest stars from past seasons was described in reviews as a reward to loyal viewers.
New recurring guest stars included David Costabile
David Costabile
David Costabile is an American actor. Born in Washington, D.C. He is best known for his recurring television roles on The Wire , Flight of the Conchords , Damages , and Breaking Bad...
, Sam Freed
Sam Freed
Sam Freed is an American actor who has performed on Broadway, television and in movies. His first major regular role on television was as Bob Barsky in the last three seasons of Kate & Allie. In the short-lived series Ferris Bueller, he played Bill Bueller, the father of the title character. He...
, Bruce Kirkpatrick, Todd Scofield, Kara Quick, and Donald Neal.
Continuing the show's trend of using non-professional actors and real-life Baltimore figures, several ex-Baltimore Sun reporters appeared in recurring roles. Rebecca Corbett, who was Simon's former editor at the Baltimore Sun and now works at the New York Times, had a recurring role. Writer and former political reporter William F. Zorzi
William F. Zorzi
William F. Zorzi is an American journalist and screenwriter. He worked at The Baltimore Sun for almost twenty years and covered politics for the majority of his career. He has also written for the HBO television series The Wire.-Journalism:...
gained further screen time after his season 1 cameo. Steve Luxenberg, the editor responsible for hiring Simon at The Sun, also had a role. Simon's wife Laura Lippman
Laura Lippman
Laura Lippman is an American author of detective fiction.-Biography:Lippmann was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the daughter of Theo Lippman Jr., a well known and respected writer at the Baltimore Sun, and Madeline Lippman, a retired school librarian for the...
also appeared as a reporter in an early scene alongside Michael Olesker
Michael Olesker
Michael Olesker was a columnist for the Baltimore Sun newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland. He resigned on January 4, 2006, after it was alleged that his columns contained passages plagiarized from articles at other newspapers. Olesker is known for his liberal viewpoints and for his criticism of the...
, another former Sun reporter. Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy appeared as a lawyer for corrupt Senator Clay Davis
Clay Davis
State Senator R. Clayton "Clay" Davis is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Davis is a corrupt Maryland State Senator with a reputation for pocketing bribes...
, and former senator and current radio host Larry Young conducted a fictional interview with the character. Former police commissioner Ed Norris returned in his recurring role as a homicide detective with the same name.
Crew
Creator David Simon continued to act as the show's executive producer and show runner. Nina Kostroff NobleNina Kostroff Noble
Nina Kostroff Noble, aka Nina K. Noble, is an American television producer.Before entering television she worked extensively in film. Initially she was a production assistant and then became a second assistant director after joining the Directors Guild of America in 1984...
once again served as the show's other executive producer. Joe Chappelle
Joe Chappelle
Joe Chappelle is an American film and television director and producer. Chappelle was a Co-executive producer and regular Director for the HBO crime drama The Wire...
reprised his co-executive producer role and continued to direct episodes. Ed Burns
Ed Burns
Ed Burns is a producer, screenwriter, and novelist. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. They have collaborated on The Corner and The Wire . Burns is a former Baltimore police detective for the Homicide and Narcotics divisions, and a public school teacher...
once again served as a writer and joined Chappelle as a co-executive producer. Karen L. Thorson
Karen L. Thorson
Karen L. Thorson is an award-winning American television producer. Thorson was married to fellow producer Robert F. Colesberry until his death in 2004. She worked on all five seasons of The Wire...
returned as a producer. George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos
George P. Pelecanos is a Greek-American author. Many of his works are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writer...
produced the sixth episode of the series only - his first production work since the third season.
Political journalist William F. Zorzi
William F. Zorzi
William F. Zorzi is an American journalist and screenwriter. He worked at The Baltimore Sun for almost twenty years and covered politics for the majority of his career. He has also written for the HBO television series The Wire.-Journalism:...
continued to write for the show and guide the political storylines. Acclaimed crime fiction novelist Pelecanos returned as a writer and contributed his seventh episode to the series. Pelecanos's fellow crime novellists Richard Price
Richard Price (writer)
Richard Price is an American novelist and screenwriter, known for the books The Wanderers and Clockers.-Early life:...
and Dennis Lehane
Dennis Lehane
Dennis Lehane is an American author. He has written several award-winning novels, including A Drink Before the War and the New York Times bestseller Mystic River, which was later made into an Academy Award-winning film. Another novel, Gone, Baby, Gone, was also adapted into an Academy...
also returned as writers. Chris Collins
Chris Collins (writer)
Chris Collins is an American television writer and producer. He has worked on the HBO dramas The Sopranos and The Wire. He was an executive story editor for the Starz drama series Crash. He is a producer and writer for the FX series Sons of Anarchy.-Biography:Collins joined the crew of The Wire in...
returned as a staff writer and contributed his first script. David Mills
David Mills (writer)
David Eugene Mills was an American journalist, writer and producer of television programs. He was an executive producer and writer of the HBO miniseries The Corner, for which he won two Emmy Awards, and the creator, executive producer, and writer of the NBC miniseries Kingpin.-Early life:Mills was...
contributed an episode, completing the writing team.
New star Clark Johnson also helmed the final episode after previously directing the pilot. Other returning directors for the fifth season included Ernest Dickerson
Ernest Dickerson
Ernest Roscoe Dickerson A.S.C. is an American film and television director and cinematographer. He directed generally urban films sometimes with supernatural stories like Juice, Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight, Bones and Never Die Alone...
, Anthony Hemingway
Anthony Hemingway
Anthony Hemingway is an American film and television director. He has directed episodes of The Wire, CSI: NY, and Treme. Before becoming a director he worked extensively as an assistant director in television and film....
, Agnieszka Holland
Agnieszka Holland
Agnieszka Holland is a Polish film and TV director and screenwriter. Best recognized for her highly political contributions to Polish cinema, Holland is one of Poland's most prominent filmmakers.-Personal life:...
, Dan Attias
Dan Attias
Daniel Attias is an American television director and producer. Attias' career has spanned three decades and during this time he has directed a significant number of popular primetime television programs, including Miami Vice and Beverly Hills, 90210...
, and Seith Mann
Seith Mann
Seith Mann is an American Film and Television Director. He directed the award-winning Five Deep Breaths and has gone on to direct for The Wire, Grey's Anatomy, and Fringe.-Biography:...
. Series star Dominic West
Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Fe West is an English actor best known for his role as Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series The Wire.-Film and TV:...
made his directorial debut. Husband and wife directing team Scott and Joy Kecken were also first time directors on the fifth season.
Reception
The fifth season received universal acclaim from critics, scoring 89 out of 100 based on 24 reviews on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. In reviewing the first seven episodes of the fifth season David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun said that while "there is greatness in the seven episodes," the major newspaper storyline "contain[s] nothing that matches the emotional power and sociological insight of the show at its best." Matt Roush of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
favourably reviewed the series calling it "brilliantly bleak" and a "landmark series." Brian Lowry of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
characterised the series' look at the media as the most realistic portrayal of a newsroom in film and television history.
Episodes
"Series #" refers to the episode's number in the overall series, whereas "Season #" refers to the episode's number in this particular season. All episodes except "–30–" were made available by HBO six days earlier than their broadcast date, via On DemandVideo on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
.
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