The Wire collaborators, David Simon and George Pelecanos, are teaming up once again for a new HBO limited series about the Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force, entitled We Own This City. Simon and Pelecanos have also worked together on other HBO dramas, Treme and The Deuce. Simon co-created all three while Pelecanos has shifted between writing, executive producing, and co-creating roles.
The notorious Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force was originally started within the Baltimore Police Department to reduce the number of guns and violent criminals on the street. However, the nine-person task force underwent a lengthy investigation which confirmed that the officers within the unit had been looting and pillaging the city’s residents for years seizing hundreds of thousands of dollars in drugs, jewelry, and cash. They did so through illegal baseless searches, robberies, and even more nefarious means. This news further weakened the reputation of the Baltimore Police Department, which has a storied history of distrust from the city’s residents, particularly from the majority Black communities who feel and have felt over-policed, harshly policed, and unfairly policed for decades. Eight officers of the task force were charged with a host of crimes involving violations of citizens’ constitutional rights and other abuses of power; six plead guilty to federal charges and two did not. All eight were convicted and sentenced to prison.
As reported by Variety, David Simon and George Pelecanos, who worked together on the critically-acclaimed HBO series, The Wire, will explore crime on the streets of Baltimore once again. The limited series, which will be titled, We Own This City, is based on a book of the same name by journalist, Justin Fenton. The Wire, which also took place in Baltimore, wasn’t considered particularly extraordinary during its original run, but is now widely held as one of the greatest series of all time. It, too, took a deeper look at crime, urban life, and the various oppressive and/or failing institutions in the city.
David Simon began as a crime reporter in Baltimore, hence all of his Baltimore-set content about the gritty crime-ruled underbellies of various institutions in American society. In addition to the aforementioned series, he also co-wrote and executive produced two other critically-acclaimed HBO miniseries: Show Me A Hero, starring Oscar Isaac, and The Plot Against America, based on the Philip Roth novel. As for Pelecanos, he has written for HBO’s war drama, The Pacific, and also remains a prolific writer, having published 20 crime detective novels.
Considering this duo’s knack for creating critically acclaimed genre-defying work with HBO, We Own This City is likely to be no exception. The intricacies of city communities, particularly those of color, and their relationships with the institutions that govern them, has been well-depicted time and time again by these intelligent minds. While other details, such as casting, release dates, and more, have not yet been revealed, fans of HBO and of Simon’s and Pelecanos’ other work, can be rest assured that they will be treated to more excellent content from these two.
Source: Variety
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