David Simon’s latest limited series on HBO, We Own This City, will easily draw comparisons to his greatest work — The Wire.
We Own This City, like The Wire, places the audience in the violent battlefield of inner city Baltimore. It’s a world of cyclical and unwielding tragedy where violent and insatiably greedy people run the streets and people trying to make a difference are crushed under the insurmountable wave of corruption, apathy and cowardice. The pacing, dialogue, cinematography, setting in this new series will transport the audience back to The Wire, and it doesn’t hurt that there are a lot of Wire alumni in this series as well.
The big difference between the two shows is this — We Own This City is based on true events (found in the book of the same name written by Baltimore Sun journalist Justin Fenton), while The Wire was cultivated and fictionalized from stories, characters, and events by Simon and his writing partner Ed Burns (not that one).
The Wire’s brilliance came in the tragic storylines the brilliantly crafted characters in the show experienced. While, We Own This City might not have a McNulty, Omar, Stringer Bell or Avon Barksdale — the fact the corrupt, immoral and violent characters in this series are actual human beings and not amalgams of different personalities, makes this show hit differently than The Wire. It’s more visceral, upsetting and uncomfortable — all intentional and well-executed.
We Own This City follows the corrupt story of Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force — a group of police officers who got rich off their work taking guns off the street. In the premiere episode the GTTF is represented by Daniel Hersl (Josh Charles, The Good Fight) and Wayne Jenkins (Jon Bernthal, The Punisher). These two could not be portrayed any more different. Hersel is a reputedly unreliable and written up cop who we see abusing his power throughout the episode, while Jenkins is this charismatic officer who seems to close all his cases and save the day — that is until the FBI gets on his case.
Charles and Bernthal deliver excellent, lived-in performances. Charles delivers a searing and snarling performance as the absolutely deplorable Hersel. He creates this portrait of an officer who is so hateful, racist and crooked that he comes off as a complete monster. Meanwhile, Bernthal’s grandiose performance works to perfection. Jenkins is supposed to be this hero cop, a leader of men and Bernthal does it so well — complete with a Mid-Atlantic accent and a wry “told-ya-so” grin.
However, the performance that all eyes should be glued to is Wunmi Mosaku as Nicole Steele, an attorney working for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Mosaku has been on a hell of a run the past two years — with terrific performances in Lovecraft Country and Loki. She’s an absolute scene-stealer in both these series and the smart money is that she’ll do it in We Own This City as well. She, like Bernthal and Charles, gives a lived-in performance as Steele, an attorney who knows the fight she’s in is not a winnable one, but is still going to fight the good fight. Mosaku, will be in Emmy content for this role, no doubt.
We Own This City, in its first episode thus far, is a fascinating look at a real-life situation that perpetuates the systemic brutality, corruption and racism that decimates the city of Baltimore. Will it be on par with Simon’s masterpiece remains to be seen, but this series is definitely a must-watch.
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