Bunny’s back!! But no Beadie Russell!!
“The Wire” changes every season, and season four? No exception. Learn now what awaits Jimmy McNulty, Kima Greggs, Lt. Daniels, Bunk Moreland, Bunny Colvin, Rhonda Pearlman, Lester Freamon, Herc Hauk, Ellis Carver, Prez Pryzbylewski, Tommy Carcetti, Marlo Stanfield, Cutty Wise, Commander Burrell, Deputy Commander Rawls, Bubbles, State Senator Clay Davis, Bodie Broadus, Mayor Royce, Leandor Sydnor and Omar Little.
And it looks like the great novelist-screenwriter Richard Price (“Sea of Love,” “Mad Dog and Glory,” “Kiss of Death,” “Clockers,” “Ransom,” “Shaft,” “Freedomland”) is back to help things along.
For Immediate Release
Aug. 3, 2006
ACCLAIMED PEABODY-WINNING DRAMA SERIES THE WIRE
KICKS OFF FOURTH SEASON SEPT. 10, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO
The Peabody Award-winning drama series THE WIRE kicks off its 13-episode fourth season SUNDAY, SEPT. 10 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
Season four of THE WIRE centers on the lives of four young boys as they traverse adolescence in the drug-saturated streets of West Baltimore. The new episodes of the series examine their world through the theme of education, asking viewers to consider the world that awaits these boys, and to consider further the American commitment to equal opportunity.
"The American obsession with police procedural and crime drama usually only allows for villains - in large part, black and brown - who exist as foils, to be pursued and destroyed by cop heroes," says series creator and executive producer David Simon. "We're addressing ourselves to where the 'villains' actually come from, and whether we have any right to regard them as somehow less human than the rest of us."
This season of THE WIRE is based in large part on the experiences of writer and producer Edward Burns, who taught social studies for seven years in the Baltimore school system after serving 20 years as a city police detective.
"If anything," says Burns, "our depiction of an inner-city school system, its problems and its unwillingness to fully address those problems, is a very generous one."
The stories of Michael, Namond, DuQuan and Randy take place against the rise of a new narcotics empire in West Baltimore - replacing the fallen Barksdale organization - and the resulting struggle by Baltimore detectives to mount an investigation against this new power.
Returning cast regulars from the first three seasons of THE WIRE include Dominic West, Sonja Sohn, Lance Reddick, Wendell Pierce, Robert Wisdom, Deirdre Lovejoy, Clarke Peters, Domenick Lombardozzi, Seth Gilliam, Jim True-Frost, Aidan Gillen, Jamie Hector, Chad L. Coleman, Michael K. Williams, John Doman, Frankie R. Faison, Andre Royo, Isiah Witlock, JD Williams, Glynn Turman and Corey Parker-Robinson.
New cast regulars this season include Reg E. Cathey (HBO's "Everyday People") as Norman Wilson, Councilman Carcetti's advisor; Gbenga Akinnagbe as Chris Partlow, a ruthless assassin for drug lord Marlo Stanfield; and, playing the four friends who are classmates at Edward J. Tilghman Middle School, Jermaine Crawford ("A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Shakespeare Theater in Washington, D.C.) as Duquan "Dukie" Weems, Maestro Harrell ("Ali") as Randy Wagstaff, Julito McCullum ("Akeelah and the Bee") as Namond Brice and Tristan Wilds (Spike Lee's "Miracle Boys") as Michael Lee.
Among the directors this season are series veterans Dan Attias, Brad Anderson, Joe Chappelle, Ernest Dickerson, Agnieszka Holland, Christine Moore and Alex Zakrzewski. New directors this season include Jim McKay (HBO's "Everyday People"), Seith Mann ("Grey's Anatomy"), David Platt ("Law & Order") and Anthony Hemingway ("CSI: New York").
The writing staff of THE WIRE includes David Simon, who penned two books of narrative nonfiction, "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets," which inspired the hit series "Homicide: Life on the Street," and "The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood," which inspired the Emmy(r)-winning HBO miniseries "The Corner"; Ed Burns, a former Baltimore police detective and Baltimore city public school teacher who coauthored "The Corner" with Simon; Eric Overmeyer, a noted playwright ("On the Verge") and veteran TV writer for such dramas as "St. Elsewhere" and "Homicide: Life on the Street"; Bill Zorzi, a former political writer and editor for the Baltimore Sun; and David Mills, who was one of the writers on "The Corner," as well as a writer for "NYPD Blue" and "Homicide: Life on the Street." Also writing for the series this season are novelists Dennis Lehane ("Shutter Island," "Mystic River"), George Pelecanos ("Hard Revolution," "Right as Rain") and Richard Price ("Clockers," "Samaritan"), and playwright Kia Corthron ("Breath, Boom").
Beginning Sept. 4 with the season premiere, each weekly episode of THE WIRE will be available on HBO On Demand the Monday prior to its Sunday debut on the main HBO channel. The HBO On Demand debuts will continue for the entire 13-episode season.
September's episodes:
Episode #38: "Boys of Summer"
Debut date: SUNDAY, SEPT. 10 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Other HBO playdates: Sept. 12 (11:30 p.m.), 13 (midnight), 15 (10:00 p.m.), 16 (11:00 p.m.) and 29 (8:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Sept. 10 (11:00 p.m.) and 11 (9:00 p.m.)
Four boys from West Baltimore - Michael (Tristan Wilds), Namond (Julito McCullum), Randy (Maestro Harrell) and Dukie (Jermaine Crawford) - play out their summer vacation in the streets as the fall school semester approaches. Having failed to capture a potentially valuable homing pigeon, the boys are stirred to action when Dukie is beaten up, and Randy concocts a retaliation plan against the rival gang. The action is slower at Bodie's (JD Williams) corner, giving young Namond an excuse to take off early from his "summer job" as a runner. Meanwhile, Marlo (Jamie Hector) has solved the problem that baffled Stringer Bell: how to maintain discipline (i.e., murders) without bringing police attention. At the detail office, Freamon (Clarke Peters) and Sydnor (Corey Parker Robinson) press Pearlman (Deirdre Lovejoy) to issue City Hall subpoenas, while Daniels' (Lance Reddick) replacement, James Asher (Gene Terinoni), surveys the blueprints to his dream house. With the mayoral race heading into its final weeks, Mayor Royce (Glynn Turman) and his primary challenger, Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen), hit decidedly different campaign trails. Carcetti's deputy campaign manager, Norman Wilson (Reg. E. Cathey), and his campaign guru, Theresa D'Agostino (Brandy Burre), try to keep their candidate focused, despite the odds. Prez (Jim True-Frost) preps for a new career in higher education, while McNulty (Dominic West) turns down a promotion.
Teleplay by David Simon; story by David Simon & Ed Burns; directed by Joe Chappelle.
Episode #39: "Soft Eyes"
Debut date: SUNDAY, SEPT. 17 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: Sept. 19 (11:30 p.m.), 20 (midnight), 22 (10:00 p.m.), 23 (1:00 a.m.) and 29 (9:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Sept. 18 (9:00 p.m.) and 21 (8:00 p.m.)
Herc's (Domenick Lombardozzi) soft-duty job with the mayor takes an unexpectedly hard turn. Despite the potential damage to her career, Pearlman provides Freamon (Clarke Peters) and Sydnor with subpoena ammunition for their "grizzly-bear" hunt in City Hall. Carcetti concentrates on games he can win; Namond gets some grooming advice from his father, Wee-Bey (Hassan Johnson); Marlo plays Robin Hood with the neighborhood kids, though Michael isn't taking; Bubbles (Andre Royo) brings an apprentice into his mobile-emporium business; Cutty (Chad L. Coleman) juggles his landscaping job with a volunteer gig as a boxing mentor, eyeing Michael as a pupil; Prez braces for his first day as a schoolteacher. At the televised mayoral debate, Carcetti drops a bombshell on the mayor.
Teleplay by David Mills; story by Ed Burns & David Mills; directed by Christine Moore.
Episode #40: "Home Room"
Debut date: SUNDAY, SEPT. 24 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: Sept. 26 (11:30 p.m.), 27 (midnight), 29 (10:00 p.m.) and 30 (11:15 p.m.)
HBO2 playdate: Sept. 25 (9:00 p.m.)
With his lead dwindling in the polls, Royce resorts to extreme measures to stall Carcetti's momentum. At Bodie's corner, Michael proves adept as a runner, with both Bodie and Marlo taking notice. A re-up bodega is put under surveillance by Omar (Michael K. Williams) and Greggs (Sonja Sohn), for different reasons. Rawls (John Doman) replaces Asher with a "company man," Charles Marimow (Boris McGiver), who pushes a new agenda on the detail, to Freamon and Greggs' dismay. A domesticated McNulty invites Bunk (Wendell Pierce) over for dinner, which ends with the two remembering the good old days at a familiar spot. Randy enjoys a productive first day of school, though Prez, the new teacher, isn't so fortunate. Herc reaps an unexpected benefit, courtesy of the mayor. Colvin (Robert Wisdom) contemplates trading his new job in the private sector for one that gets him back on the streets.
Teleplay by Richard Price; story by Ed Burns & Richard Price; directed by Seith Mann.
THE WIRE's third season, which concluded in Dec. 2004, sparked critical raves. The New York Times called it "one of the smartest, most ambitious shows on television..." Entertainment Weekly said, "Grade: A...TV's richest, most satisfying experience," while Daily Variety hailed the series as "brilliant...one of TV's premier hours...meticulously written, superbly acted...engrossing."
HBO Video will release the third season of THE WIRE on DVD Aug. 8.
THE WIRE was created by David Simon; executive producers, David Simon and Nina Kostroff Noble; co-executive producer, Joe Chappelle; producers, Edward Burns and Karen Thorson; consulting producer, Eric Overmyer.
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