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All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire
The definitive oral history of the iconic and beloved TV show The Wire, as told by the actors, writers, directors, and others involved in its creation.
Since its final episode aired in 2008, HBO's acclaimed crime drama The Wire has only become more popular and influential. The issues it tackled, from the failures of the drug war and criminal justice system to systemic bias in law enforcement and other social institutions, have become more urgent and central to the national conversation. The show's actors, such as Idris Elba, Dominic West, and Michael B. Jordan, have gone on to become major stars. Its creators and writers, including David Simon and Richard Price, have developed dedicated cult followings of their own. Universities use the show to teach everything from film theory to criminal justice to sociology. Politicians and activists reference it when discussing policy. When critics compile lists of the Greatest TV Shows of All Time, The Wire routinely takes the top spot. It is arguably one of the great works of art America has produced in the 20th century.
But while there has been a great deal of critical analysis of the show and its themes, until now there has never been a definitive, behind-the-scenes take on how it came to be made. With unparalleled access to all the key actors and writers involved in its creation, Jonathan Abrams tells the astonishing, compelling, and complete account of The Wire, from its inception and creation through its end and powerful legacy.
Since its final episode aired in 2008, HBO's acclaimed crime drama The Wire has only become more popular and influential. The issues it tackled, from the failures of the drug war and criminal justice system to systemic bias in law enforcement and other social institutions, have become more urgent and central to the national conversation. The show's actors, such as Idris Elba, Dominic West, and Michael B. Jordan, have gone on to become major stars. Its creators and writers, including David Simon and Richard Price, have developed dedicated cult followings of their own. Universities use the show to teach everything from film theory to criminal justice to sociology. Politicians and activists reference it when discussing policy. When critics compile lists of the Greatest TV Shows of All Time, The Wire routinely takes the top spot. It is arguably one of the great works of art America has produced in the 20th century.
But while there has been a great deal of critical analysis of the show and its themes, until now there has never been a definitive, behind-the-scenes take on how it came to be made. With unparalleled access to all the key actors and writers involved in its creation, Jonathan Abrams tells the astonishing, compelling, and complete account of The Wire, from its inception and creation through its end and powerful legacy.
340 pages, Hardcover
First published February 13, 2018
676 people are currently reading
4802 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Abrams
10 books123 followersJONATHAN ABRAMS is an award-winning journalist who has covered the NBA for ESPN’s Grantland, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California.
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May 12, 2018
It made me miss The Wire.
ANDRE ROYO (REGINALD “BUBBLES” COUSINS):
“Not knowing about the addiction, that’s when I started doing my homework.”
“You start doing your homework. It was awesome. It was exciting to find different ways. I found out just talking to people. I talked to a ton of people. This woman named Fran Boyd was out there in Baltimore and she helped me out a lot. She was a recovered addict. She was the one they based the character on in The Corner, the miniseries. She was dope. We really hit it off. She had no apologies and took me around all over Baltimore talking to people in the midst of their addiction or coming out of their addiction or fighting their addiction. I was looking for a gimmick. I was just trying to find little movements that I can do that would just automatically go, “Oh, he’s a junkie.” I didn’t find it. Everybody was different. It got me a little scared. They were talking to me like, “Please don’t fuck it up. This is heroin. We’re not crackheads. There’s a difference between a crackhead and a meth head. There’s a difference between a meth head and a heroin addict.” I was like, “Are you fucking kidding me? I watch movies. They all act the same to me.”
DOMINIC WEST (DET. JIMMY MCNULTY):
“I’m from Sheffield, which is quite similar to Baltimore in a way in that it was a formerly industrial powerhouse, but it lost its industry, which happened to Baltimore as well. I grew up in the seventies and eighties, when Sheffield was in economic depression. All the steelworks were closed down, and there was no new industry replacing it. There was a lot of unemployment. It was quite similar to Baltimore, but the difference was that Baltimore was hot and sunny, and so anywhere that was sunny, when you come from England or certainly from Northern England, seems to be incredibly affluent and well off.
When I got to Baltimore and we went down the beautiful row houses and those streets in the hot, bright sunshine and blue skies, David Simon even—lots of people—kept saying, “Isn’t it terrible.?” There’s shooting galleries and there was empty house houses and a bit of derelict buildings, and I thought, No, I think it’s great. You should see Sheffield. I told that story in Sheffield, and it didn’t go down very well.
March 1, 2019
"All in the game yo, all in the game."
Omar Little, The Wire, HBO 2002-2008
Bar none, "The Wire" is the finest television series ever: in its realistic portrayal of drug-related crimes from various angles, law enforcement and news media coverage, as well as the greed and apathy in local politics and in its excellent exploration of societal problems surrounding these. This book demonstrates how this 5-year series from HBO was the groundbreaker for the explosion of superb TV drama series in the past ten years.
The Wire has served as the base point for sociology and screenwriting courses at universities from Harvard to Duke and Middlebury, from Syracuse to Washington State. Little wonder, the series came at society's ills from the POVs of law enforcement, drug dealers, drug addicts, street kids, politicians, the newspaper media, longshoremen and their union on the brink of extinction, and, to a lesser degree, the criminal justice system.
This 2018 book is a fine-tuned and definitive oral history which provides an in-depth look into the making, the actors and directors, the story lines, and the fact that The Wire wasn't appreciated in full until a few years after its 5th and final year, 2008.
I was most fascinated by the screenwriting process and the varied impacts that writing, great and true, can make on conversation, art and society.
Reading this whetted my appetite for another viewing, nearly blinding in its brilliance.
Omar Little, The Wire, HBO 2002-2008
Bar none, "The Wire" is the finest television series ever: in its realistic portrayal of drug-related crimes from various angles, law enforcement and news media coverage, as well as the greed and apathy in local politics and in its excellent exploration of societal problems surrounding these. This book demonstrates how this 5-year series from HBO was the groundbreaker for the explosion of superb TV drama series in the past ten years.
The Wire has served as the base point for sociology and screenwriting courses at universities from Harvard to Duke and Middlebury, from Syracuse to Washington State. Little wonder, the series came at society's ills from the POVs of law enforcement, drug dealers, drug addicts, street kids, politicians, the newspaper media, longshoremen and their union on the brink of extinction, and, to a lesser degree, the criminal justice system.
This 2018 book is a fine-tuned and definitive oral history which provides an in-depth look into the making, the actors and directors, the story lines, and the fact that The Wire wasn't appreciated in full until a few years after its 5th and final year, 2008.
I was most fascinated by the screenwriting process and the varied impacts that writing, great and true, can make on conversation, art and society.
Reading this whetted my appetite for another viewing, nearly blinding in its brilliance.
August 24, 2018
There is a quote by one of the actors from the wire towards the end of this book that goes "The show asked a lot of anyone who watched it. It was not easy viewing. It’s hard to make a casserole and watch the wire in the background...". For those of us who followed The Wire from day one, it raised the bar so high that we have found usual fare, say Law and Order, unwatchable. Therefore, it was a surprise to learn the insiders felt the series didn’t take off until the fourth season which almost didn’t get made. The struggles David Simon had with HBO to get the greenlight are wrenching, like a thriller where you already know the outcome, but are shaken nevertheless. Jonathan Abrams has titled the second chapter of this in-depth look over the creators’ shoulders “Like a Novel,” explaining the show’s appeal to those of us whose patience was rewarded multi-fold. When I asked, so many people would say “I watched a few episodes, but couldn’t get into it.” This was a show that required immersion from the get-go in order to make it work for a viewer. That was its strength, its power, and its ability to have such a long afterlife. Using his journalistic skills, Abrams has interviewed many of the participants both behind and in front of the camera. The result is fascinating reading, but only if you’re familiar with The Wire and never tire of reading about it. In fact, if you haven’t seen The Wire, it may be difficult to read this book since there are so many spoilers, plot choices that were shocking when viewed first-hand as the creators intended. We learn of the care taken with every aspect, every frame shot, every careful casting choice (John C. Reilly as McNulty?????) — hence the title, taken from dialogue by Det. Lester Freeman (Clarke Peters): All the Pieces Matter. So many great insights and revelations — Michael K. Williams’ discovery of Felicia “Snoop” Pearson provides a fascinating example of how Baltimore reality was utilized so effectively. The arc of her life story trajectory was changed by a chance encounter and acceptance onto the set. Recognition of the show's excellence has only grown in the almost 10 years since it aired its final season. Never recognized by awards voters, its appeal has strengthened thanks to technological advancements. The experience for many of the participants is evident in this book, in their willingness to be interviewed and to recall in retrospect the ways in which their lives were changed forever. Highly highly recommended.
(As an aside, it is thrilling to watch The Deuce on HBO, with creators David Simon and George Pelicanos examining the history of the porn industry in the 1970’s, to follow closely their novelistic approach and to see some of the actors reborn into new roles.)
(As an aside, it is thrilling to watch The Deuce on HBO, with creators David Simon and George Pelicanos examining the history of the porn industry in the 1970’s, to follow closely their novelistic approach and to see some of the actors reborn into new roles.)
November 27, 2022
Click here to hear my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!
December 6, 2017
All the Pieces Matter is an amazing oral history of The Wire. Jonathan Abrams interviewed most of the key players (David Simon and Ed Burns, the creators of the show; many of the main writers; the key actors, including Idris Elba, Dominic West, Michael K. Williams, and the list goes on) and does a very nice job of weaving their interviews together.
Although the book doesn't cover all of the episodes, it does move chronologically through the seasons and touches upon some of the key happenings behind the scenes and on the show. There are a lot of fun tidbits about the actors and writers, as well as interesting social commentary. This book will surely appeal to all fans of The Wire, but I think that it would also be interesting for those who are writers and those who are interested in a peek behind the scenes on a major show.
Although the book doesn't cover all of the episodes, it does move chronologically through the seasons and touches upon some of the key happenings behind the scenes and on the show. There are a lot of fun tidbits about the actors and writers, as well as interesting social commentary. This book will surely appeal to all fans of The Wire, but I think that it would also be interesting for those who are writers and those who are interested in a peek behind the scenes on a major show.
March 19, 2018
Fun and readable comprehensive collection of thoughts about The Wire from most of the major people involved. I enjoyed reading it, though I'm not sure it's super vital or especially insightful as a whole. It does provide some good trivia about the show's production and fills in some details on the backgrounds of cast and crew. But also there's a lot of filler that isn't all that interesting, like repeatedly informing the reader how the show is really, really good (like, I know--I'm reading a whole book about it) and overlooked in its time. Also lots of repetition of stories, or just actors talking about each other, or rehashing series plot highlights. Still, worthwhile if you'd want to read the equivalent of DVD extras about an all-time great show.
March 23, 2018
First, I appreciate the author got amazing access to many of the actors on and the people behind the show. There is a lot of material here for him to work with, and it covers a lot of ground within its 300-plus pages.
OK, that's what I liked about it. What I didn't like? That this book needed an editor, a serious editor who could have asked a lot more difficult questions of the author, his focus, the cohesion of the words on the page, and his overarching points. Like, why do you repeat the exact same idea Andre Royo expresses once, three times throughout the book? Why are you jumping from quote to quote without any concern for continuity or flow or the reader's right to a story that doesn't show so many seams? Did you challenge any of what these people said, or were you just a transcriber? What is the point of the book, other than to shower more praise on a show anyone who picks up this book already feels for it?
It frustrates me that a book about a show by Ed Burns and David Simon would be 'written' (and since the author only writes minor transitions between blocks and blocks and blocks of quotes, that is a term used loosely) by someone with no background in TV or direction or production or acting, little background in journalism beyond sports (basketball), and little obvious respect for the craft of an editor who could have helped the author harness so much more out of the breadth of quotes offered here. To me, that's kind of an affront to a huge point about the show itself: its brilliance stems in part from the depth of experience all the players in it brought to the show, which turned a story that could have been cops and robbers into a visual novel with endless arguments to make, deconstruct, and make again.
This is the book the author wanted to write. Cool. Just don't make it out to be more than it is. It's an ankle-deep, cheerleading dive into a show that deserves much more depth, given the title the book has and the reference that quote makes to a scene that is basically explaining the history of humankind in the form of the age-old game of chess.
So, I'll say something I never say: watch (or re-watch) the TV show. It's better than the book.
OK, that's what I liked about it. What I didn't like? That this book needed an editor, a serious editor who could have asked a lot more difficult questions of the author, his focus, the cohesion of the words on the page, and his overarching points. Like, why do you repeat the exact same idea Andre Royo expresses once, three times throughout the book? Why are you jumping from quote to quote without any concern for continuity or flow or the reader's right to a story that doesn't show so many seams? Did you challenge any of what these people said, or were you just a transcriber? What is the point of the book, other than to shower more praise on a show anyone who picks up this book already feels for it?
It frustrates me that a book about a show by Ed Burns and David Simon would be 'written' (and since the author only writes minor transitions between blocks and blocks and blocks of quotes, that is a term used loosely) by someone with no background in TV or direction or production or acting, little background in journalism beyond sports (basketball), and little obvious respect for the craft of an editor who could have helped the author harness so much more out of the breadth of quotes offered here. To me, that's kind of an affront to a huge point about the show itself: its brilliance stems in part from the depth of experience all the players in it brought to the show, which turned a story that could have been cops and robbers into a visual novel with endless arguments to make, deconstruct, and make again.
This is the book the author wanted to write. Cool. Just don't make it out to be more than it is. It's an ankle-deep, cheerleading dive into a show that deserves much more depth, given the title the book has and the reference that quote makes to a scene that is basically explaining the history of humankind in the form of the age-old game of chess.
So, I'll say something I never say: watch (or re-watch) the TV show. It's better than the book.
February 20, 2018
If you say you like The Wire, that means you like reading books. That means you give a [bad word] about the human race.– Andre Royo (“Bubbles”)
A completely enjoyable book by a fan for fans of this hit TV drama. If you haven't seen the series, watch it and love it. If you saw the series and didn't love it, you are dead to me.
The book is formatted mostly as interviews with the cast and crew of the show, with some connecting narrative. I was expecting that there would be some actors, especially those who are big stars now (esp. Idris Elba and Dominic West), who wouldn't give the author the time of day, but he seemed to be able to rope pretty much everybody connected with the show into participating. Everybody connected with the program seems to have a justifiably great sense of pride in their association with this exceptional series, and the recollections – even of the difficult moments – are almost uniformly positive.
As mentioned in another review, the book contains a lot of interesting and amusing Wire trivia about prosthetic body parts, discarded couches, and the difficulties that British actors have maintaining their American accents. There's also a lot of more serious stuff about the great efforts the show's creators and staff had to go through to get the show renewed year after year, and about the show's strange afterlife, when it became more popular than during its original appearance, and acquired prestige as President Obama's favorite television program and as the subject of university study.
Random trivia: At Kindle location 3393, actor Robert Wisdom says he had the idea to get the entire African-American cast together for a party and a photo. Wisdom says:
I was inspired by the Harlem musicians photo back in the day. There was a photo where all the jazz musicians of the day came together in Harlem.The photo Wisdom is referring to is the subject of a great 1994 documentary “A Great Day in Harlem”, and you can view the photo by following the link in this sentence.
Watch the scene from which this book derives its title here.
I received a free electronic galley copy of this book for review. Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Archetype for their generosity.
November 27, 2024
I loved this book.
Every single page had something illuminating/funny/thought-provoking/amazing/interesting. An oral history at 320 pages is a good length, however I wished for another 100 pages easily (Abrams had thousands of unused pages).
If you love The Wire, you will love this book. If you liked The Wire, but didn't watch it closely enough/watched it too long ago to understand the subtleties that helped craft it into one of the best (in my personal opinion, THE best) shows of all time, you will like this book. If you never watched The Wire, go watch the goddamn Wire and stop reading this review. If you watched The Wire and didn't like it, we can't be friends.
The book was filled with many great tidbits, but here's a few short quotes that stuck out to me:
David Simon: The audience is a child. If you ask the audience what they want, they'll want dessert. They'll say they want ice cream. They'll want cake. You ask them what they want next, they'll want more ice cream, more cake. "You like Omar?" "yeah I love Omar, give me more of Omar." No, I want to tell you a story, and the characters are going to do what they're supposed to do in the story, and that's the job of the writer. That's the storyteller's job. You don't write for anybody except the story. The moment you start thinking about the audience and the audience's expectarion, you're lost.". Sometimes a story needs its vegetables, and it's my job to know when that is.
Andre Royo: He really understood that the audience was starting to change and appreciate not being treated like they're stupid. Nothing has to be spelled out. They can stick with a story even though there's forty characters. All of a sudden, The Wire became that show where there's a hierarchy. If you say you like The Wire, that means you like reading books. It means you give a fuck about the human race. It made you feel like you went out and bettered yourself when you say, "My favorite show is The Wire." All of a sudden, people look at you differently, it became a badge of honour to tell somebody, "Have you heard about The Wire? You got to watch The Wire."
Every single page had something illuminating/funny/thought-provoking/amazing/interesting. An oral history at 320 pages is a good length, however I wished for another 100 pages easily (Abrams had thousands of unused pages).
If you love The Wire, you will love this book. If you liked The Wire, but didn't watch it closely enough/watched it too long ago to understand the subtleties that helped craft it into one of the best (in my personal opinion, THE best) shows of all time, you will like this book. If you never watched The Wire, go watch the goddamn Wire and stop reading this review. If you watched The Wire and didn't like it, we can't be friends.
The book was filled with many great tidbits, but here's a few short quotes that stuck out to me:
David Simon: The audience is a child. If you ask the audience what they want, they'll want dessert. They'll say they want ice cream. They'll want cake. You ask them what they want next, they'll want more ice cream, more cake. "You like Omar?" "yeah I love Omar, give me more of Omar." No, I want to tell you a story, and the characters are going to do what they're supposed to do in the story, and that's the job of the writer. That's the storyteller's job. You don't write for anybody except the story. The moment you start thinking about the audience and the audience's expectarion, you're lost.". Sometimes a story needs its vegetables, and it's my job to know when that is.
Andre Royo: He really understood that the audience was starting to change and appreciate not being treated like they're stupid. Nothing has to be spelled out. They can stick with a story even though there's forty characters. All of a sudden, The Wire became that show where there's a hierarchy. If you say you like The Wire, that means you like reading books. It means you give a fuck about the human race. It made you feel like you went out and bettered yourself when you say, "My favorite show is The Wire." All of a sudden, people look at you differently, it became a badge of honour to tell somebody, "Have you heard about The Wire? You got to watch The Wire."
April 4, 2018
All The Pieces Matter is a good companion recounting of HBO's landmark series The Wire.
Be forewarned: if you have not seen The Wire and plan to, do not read this book because it contains many, many spoilers.
For those that have seen the series, this book offers tidbits about the television show that add background to this masterful show.
Ok, enough of that. If you have not seen The Wire and enjoy exceptional acting and stories, then you need to watch The Wire. Additionally, also seek out about anything that involves David Simon and Ed Burns (NBC's Homicide - the earliest of seasons; the last parts lose quality; The Corner, Treme and Generation Kill).
When The Wire debuted the opening sequence was enough to show this viewer the show was going to be remarkable (this viewer also lucked out by downloading a character page from HBO's website which assisted with the complex storyline and enormous amount of actors).
Lastly, from personal experience and observations, The Wire was one of the best portrayals of crime, police, government, and politics. It is also much more than tales of television cops and robbers. It really is.......
Be forewarned: if you have not seen The Wire and plan to, do not read this book because it contains many, many spoilers.
For those that have seen the series, this book offers tidbits about the television show that add background to this masterful show.
Ok, enough of that. If you have not seen The Wire and enjoy exceptional acting and stories, then you need to watch The Wire. Additionally, also seek out about anything that involves David Simon and Ed Burns (NBC's Homicide - the earliest of seasons; the last parts lose quality; The Corner, Treme and Generation Kill).
When The Wire debuted the opening sequence was enough to show this viewer the show was going to be remarkable (this viewer also lucked out by downloading a character page from HBO's website which assisted with the complex storyline and enormous amount of actors).
Lastly, from personal experience and observations, The Wire was one of the best portrayals of crime, police, government, and politics. It is also much more than tales of television cops and robbers. It really is.......
October 16, 2019
"Sheeeeeeeeeit." - Senator Clay Davis.
Did you know that should be spelled with nine Es? I learned that and a lot of other interesting things from this outstanding book.
But first, let's make one thing clear: know that you are an utter, shameful jackass if you have never watched The Wire. You're doubly a fiend if you don't concede that it is one of the greatest if not the greatest thing ever made for a screen.
If you fit into neither of the above categories of unfettered stupidity, you will love this book. Abrams played it smart and just did a shitload of interviews with pretty much everyone involved with the making of the show and then built a book out of them. That's it, you get all the awesome perspectives of the showmakers and the actors on pretty much all the salient moments of the show's five seasons. Did you doubt that McNutty and Bunk partied hard as much the camera as off? Did you know that Felicia "Snoop" Pearson met Michael K. "Omar" Williams in a bar and got hired onto the show? Do you want to learn all about the articulated dummy that Chris Partlow stomps to death? Ziggy's false penis? The stories of all the real cops and gangsters behind the characters?
Look no further, motherfucker.
Did you know that should be spelled with nine Es? I learned that and a lot of other interesting things from this outstanding book.
But first, let's make one thing clear: know that you are an utter, shameful jackass if you have never watched The Wire. You're doubly a fiend if you don't concede that it is one of the greatest if not the greatest thing ever made for a screen.
If you fit into neither of the above categories of unfettered stupidity, you will love this book. Abrams played it smart and just did a shitload of interviews with pretty much everyone involved with the making of the show and then built a book out of them. That's it, you get all the awesome perspectives of the showmakers and the actors on pretty much all the salient moments of the show's five seasons. Did you doubt that McNutty and Bunk partied hard as much the camera as off? Did you know that Felicia "Snoop" Pearson met Michael K. "Omar" Williams in a bar and got hired onto the show? Do you want to learn all about the articulated dummy that Chris Partlow stomps to death? Ziggy's false penis? The stories of all the real cops and gangsters behind the characters?
Look no further, motherfucker.
November 1, 2017
So, I have finished All the Pieces Matter by Jonathan Abram, due out in February. Really, really liked it. (The book is due out in February but in full disclosure I received this eARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review. Thanks, NetGalley!)
One note for any prospective reader. This is not an introduction to The Wire. Do not read this book unless you have seen the show, preferably to a diagnosable number of repetitions. If you truly love The Wire, you will wallow in the rich detail that Abrams provides, from funny anecdotes to insights on the crafts of writing and acting. Things like Jay Landsman is in the show, but he doesn’t play Jay Landsman. Who the cop funeral was really for. Stuff like that.
To me, though, the truly fascinating parts of the book were about the craft of storytelling. Note, please, that in this case the lead storytellers weren’t guys with MFAs or film degrees, they were a reporter and a cop. And they were brilliant at it. One of my beliefs has always been that artists can come from anywhere. I write fiction and I didn’t get an MFA and lots of people are the same. Nothing against it if that is your path, but people with the ability to make art exist outside of universities.
So one of the things I love most about these HBO shows is that they thrill and delight their audiences without giving them what they want. When newbies complained about the end to The Sopranos, I was like, “no, you have to understand that David Chase is not going to tie this all up in a neat little bow just to make you happy.”
The Wire was the same in many ways. Glacial pacing. Many characters. Authentic-to-sometime-indecipherable dialogue. Things left unexplained. And few, if any, happy endings. This is no Law and Order. There are no good guys and no bad guys. There are human beings. And the beat goes on.
So, I found this quote from David Simon especially enlightening. Imagine having the balls to say this:
The audience is a child. If you ask the audience what they want, they’ll want dessert. They’ll say they want ice cream. They’ll want cake. You ask them what they want the next minute, they’ll say more ice cream, more cake…“You like Omar?” “Yeah, I love Omar. Give me more of Omar.” No, I want to tell you a story, and the characters are going to do what they’re supposed to do in the story, and that’s the job of the writer. That’s the writer’s job. That’s the storyteller’s job. You don’t write for anybody but the story, for yourself and for your idea of what the story is. The moment you start thinking about the audience and the audience’s expectation, you’re lost. You’re just lost. So, you’ve got to just put it out of your mind….
That’s a shocker right there. That’s a neutron bomb of artistic integrity and the courage and arrogance that comes with it. Because the easy way out is to give people what they want. Everybody loves ice cream. It makes people happy. But you decide to give them something new and different that doesn’t taste like anything else they’ve ever eaten and they don’t think they want and in fact would never order, and you say, you will eat this and like it and they do? Now you have created the basis for art…for changing minds and lives, for thrilling people, delighting people, for making a show people write oral histories about.
Remember what Henry Ford said: if I asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.
So, for aspiring storytellers, I think it’s an instructive lesson. It is hard. It is never going to be easy. The path of least resistance will never get you there. If you want to be average or even good, that’s fine. If you want to bring down the thunder, you can’t play it safe. You take the path of most resistance.
Here’s another piece of incredibly important advice that Ed Burns gave to the young actor playing Michael in Season Four.
Less is more. Remember that for the rest of your life. Anything that you apply. With Michael, especially this character, less is always more. The less you do, the more everybody will feel it. Because we’re so prone to seeing so much. With acting, with life, whatever. We’re so prone to seeing so much more. But when there’s less, the mystery behind it, it leaves people guessing. It feels so much more.
Again, that’s a wow, and that’s from a guy who was a cop and then a middle school teacher. Maybe the best storytelling advice you will ever get and it comes from that guy. This is the true strength of The Wire. You engage an audience but not filling everything in. Reward the audience for paying attention. All the pieces matter. The audience becomes a co-creator. Television has been described as a passive medium, but The Wire is only great when you engage with it and think along with it.
There’s tons more. This was an easy-to-read book with something I found interesting on literally every page. The actors are thoughtful and articulate as is the entire team, right down to the makeup people. For a fan of The Wire, this is a must read, and it might send you back to rewatch the show. Again.
One note for any prospective reader. This is not an introduction to The Wire. Do not read this book unless you have seen the show, preferably to a diagnosable number of repetitions. If you truly love The Wire, you will wallow in the rich detail that Abrams provides, from funny anecdotes to insights on the crafts of writing and acting. Things like Jay Landsman is in the show, but he doesn’t play Jay Landsman. Who the cop funeral was really for. Stuff like that.
To me, though, the truly fascinating parts of the book were about the craft of storytelling. Note, please, that in this case the lead storytellers weren’t guys with MFAs or film degrees, they were a reporter and a cop. And they were brilliant at it. One of my beliefs has always been that artists can come from anywhere. I write fiction and I didn’t get an MFA and lots of people are the same. Nothing against it if that is your path, but people with the ability to make art exist outside of universities.
So one of the things I love most about these HBO shows is that they thrill and delight their audiences without giving them what they want. When newbies complained about the end to The Sopranos, I was like, “no, you have to understand that David Chase is not going to tie this all up in a neat little bow just to make you happy.”
The Wire was the same in many ways. Glacial pacing. Many characters. Authentic-to-sometime-indecipherable dialogue. Things left unexplained. And few, if any, happy endings. This is no Law and Order. There are no good guys and no bad guys. There are human beings. And the beat goes on.
So, I found this quote from David Simon especially enlightening. Imagine having the balls to say this:
The audience is a child. If you ask the audience what they want, they’ll want dessert. They’ll say they want ice cream. They’ll want cake. You ask them what they want the next minute, they’ll say more ice cream, more cake…“You like Omar?” “Yeah, I love Omar. Give me more of Omar.” No, I want to tell you a story, and the characters are going to do what they’re supposed to do in the story, and that’s the job of the writer. That’s the writer’s job. That’s the storyteller’s job. You don’t write for anybody but the story, for yourself and for your idea of what the story is. The moment you start thinking about the audience and the audience’s expectation, you’re lost. You’re just lost. So, you’ve got to just put it out of your mind….
That’s a shocker right there. That’s a neutron bomb of artistic integrity and the courage and arrogance that comes with it. Because the easy way out is to give people what they want. Everybody loves ice cream. It makes people happy. But you decide to give them something new and different that doesn’t taste like anything else they’ve ever eaten and they don’t think they want and in fact would never order, and you say, you will eat this and like it and they do? Now you have created the basis for art…for changing minds and lives, for thrilling people, delighting people, for making a show people write oral histories about.
Remember what Henry Ford said: if I asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.
So, for aspiring storytellers, I think it’s an instructive lesson. It is hard. It is never going to be easy. The path of least resistance will never get you there. If you want to be average or even good, that’s fine. If you want to bring down the thunder, you can’t play it safe. You take the path of most resistance.
Here’s another piece of incredibly important advice that Ed Burns gave to the young actor playing Michael in Season Four.
Less is more. Remember that for the rest of your life. Anything that you apply. With Michael, especially this character, less is always more. The less you do, the more everybody will feel it. Because we’re so prone to seeing so much. With acting, with life, whatever. We’re so prone to seeing so much more. But when there’s less, the mystery behind it, it leaves people guessing. It feels so much more.
Again, that’s a wow, and that’s from a guy who was a cop and then a middle school teacher. Maybe the best storytelling advice you will ever get and it comes from that guy. This is the true strength of The Wire. You engage an audience but not filling everything in. Reward the audience for paying attention. All the pieces matter. The audience becomes a co-creator. Television has been described as a passive medium, but The Wire is only great when you engage with it and think along with it.
There’s tons more. This was an easy-to-read book with something I found interesting on literally every page. The actors are thoughtful and articulate as is the entire team, right down to the makeup people. For a fan of The Wire, this is a must read, and it might send you back to rewatch the show. Again.
Read
January 10, 2023Not what I thought it would be. Basically just a bunch of quotes from actors, producers, etc. on how amazing the show is and what a revolutionary piece of TV art it is.
Already agree with most of that but wanted something more interesting or critical.
Disappointing.
Already agree with most of that but wanted something more interesting or critical.
Disappointing.
February 16, 2019
[I would swear I posted a review of this book a week or two ago, but it didn't take, so here's my second try.]
Hardcore fans of The Wire, like me, will appreciate the range and depth of this book (another loan from Kerry). Jonathan Abrams interviewed every principal on the TV show that he could reach--David Simon, Ed Burns, other writers, producers, photographers, and many, many actors. He then stitched the interviews together into a narrative, with short explanatory introductions setting the scene for each section of interview excerpts.
Many things emerge from this nontraditional structure: a sense of how much the people involved with the show like and respect each other (and a sense of how they sometimes butted heads); a clear picture of why Simon made some key decisions; a demonstration of the range and variety of black actors across the five seasons; and a view into the minds of some key players, particularly including Andre Royo (who played Bubbles).
If you love the show, check this out. But be warned; you’ll want to watch the whole five seasons again--that’s what happened to me.
Hardcore fans of The Wire, like me, will appreciate the range and depth of this book (another loan from Kerry). Jonathan Abrams interviewed every principal on the TV show that he could reach--David Simon, Ed Burns, other writers, producers, photographers, and many, many actors. He then stitched the interviews together into a narrative, with short explanatory introductions setting the scene for each section of interview excerpts.
Many things emerge from this nontraditional structure: a sense of how much the people involved with the show like and respect each other (and a sense of how they sometimes butted heads); a clear picture of why Simon made some key decisions; a demonstration of the range and variety of black actors across the five seasons; and a view into the minds of some key players, particularly including Andre Royo (who played Bubbles).
If you love the show, check this out. But be warned; you’ll want to watch the whole five seasons again--that’s what happened to me.
October 1, 2020
[Audiobook] This book was a nice part II to watching The Wire earlier during the pandemic, with Yogarshi . We listened to the book on multiple drives between DC and NYC, and then some. It felt like an experience itself, since the audiobook actually uses different voices/ voice actors for the different characters in the book, and for those behind the scenes (Writers, directors, casting, etc). I highly recommend the (audio)book for anyone who has watched the show, and the show for anyone who hasn't!!
The book explains the backstory behind the show, highlighting how the show was about Baltimore, the city. Quotes from the various actors make the book extremely hilarious at times. I don't know much about the television industry, so it was really interesting to me to hear about how casting works, how negotiation with channels (here, HBO) works, what research goes into playing a role, the level of actor involvement beyond the show, and so much more. Nice experience reliving memories from the show, and adding to them some behind the scene quirks!
The book explains the backstory behind the show, highlighting how the show was about Baltimore, the city. Quotes from the various actors make the book extremely hilarious at times. I don't know much about the television industry, so it was really interesting to me to hear about how casting works, how negotiation with channels (here, HBO) works, what research goes into playing a role, the level of actor involvement beyond the show, and so much more. Nice experience reliving memories from the show, and adding to them some behind the scene quirks!
January 7, 2019
When I watched The Wire, I thought “this is a good show”. When I watched the series finale, I thought “this is a great show”. Reading this book, I thought “this is one of the greatest television shows ever”. I loved this book. As a companion piece, it elevated and enhanced the viewing experience. The interviews with the cast and crew shine a light on how the creative choices made both in front of the camera and behind the scenes all supported a larger goal to not only create a damn good television show, but to address issues very much prevalent in society today. I came away with an appreciation for The Wire both as a piece of entertainment but also as a work of television art.
March 2, 2019
Great review of the show with all the main players chiming in. Makes me want to re-watch the show.
April 29, 2018
A talking-head tome recommended for fans and those familiar with the once-ignored but now-praised 2002-2008 HBO ensemble crime-drama series set in urban Baltimore. Author Abrams did a commendable job of getting quotes / stories / anecdotes from, it seems, nearly EVERY performer and senior production member. (Also, any show that had established mystery writers George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane, and Richard Price churning out the scripts is certainly okay by me.) It's not an episode or character guide, but a fairly in-depth look at its development (it was conceived by a former journalist and a former police officer who had both worked the beat in 'Charm City'), the varied experiences of those involved. and the impact now realized ten years after cancelation.
January 4, 2023
I shouldn't be surprised at how thoughtful, complex, and just incredibly INTERESTING this book is, considering how thoughtful, complex, and interesting The Wire was as a show.
Still, I was blown away by this behind-the-scenes look at what is probably the best single piece of Television I have ever watched.
Understanding the mindset behind the creation of each season, story arc, and character just made me appreciate it all the more, and I have to admit I underlined tons of passages and quotes.
I would recommend this book whether you have actually seen The Wire or not. If you haven't, you'll want to after reading this. And if you have, you'll just appreciate the show even more.
Still, I was blown away by this behind-the-scenes look at what is probably the best single piece of Television I have ever watched.
Understanding the mindset behind the creation of each season, story arc, and character just made me appreciate it all the more, and I have to admit I underlined tons of passages and quotes.
I would recommend this book whether you have actually seen The Wire or not. If you haven't, you'll want to after reading this. And if you have, you'll just appreciate the show even more.
June 11, 2018
Fine. Enjoyable as a walk back through the show but nothing essential -- lots spent on challenges with the execs, and clearly had more access to the behind the camera staff than the actors (who add a lot with what they have). As with 90% of oral histories, might've been better as prose.
March 17, 2018
Really more like a 3.5 or 3.75. Reading this was a nice way to enjoy The Wire again without watching all the episodes. This book feels more important than it is good, if that makes any sense.
December 23, 2017
The Wire has aged remarkably well. Almost 10 years after airing its final episode, the show's themes and subject matter are just as relevant as ever, if not more so. It has also played a huge role in ushering in the era of "peak television" and slow-burning narrative dramas like Breaking Bad and House of Cards. While there are plenty of encyclopedic volumes analyzing episodes and story arcs and critically assessing the show through various academic lenses, there are no comprehensive accounts chronicling The Wire's history and production. Jonathan Abrams' All The Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of the Wire adeptly fills this gap, providing an illuminating and insightful oral history of the groundbreaking series. With participation from co-creators David Simon and Ed Burns, studio executives, production staff, and essentially every major actor involved with the show, Abrams is able to cobble together a captivating history of the show that should delight all of its fans.
The book traces the history of the show from creator David Simon's experiences as a crime reporter for The Baltimore Sun through its five seasons and its enduring legacy. Proceeding largely chronologically, Abrams explores the show's influences, its major themes, turbulent relationship with HBO, and more, largely through the eyes of those directly involved with it. One recurring subject in All the Pieces Matter is the show's obsession with realism and the painstaking lengths it took to cultivate it. From the first day of shooting, actors and production staff were taking steps to present an accurate depiction of the streets of Baltimore. Actors such as Felicia Pearson (Snoop) were able to bring their personal experiences into the show and help foster its authenticity, and this verisimilitude actually compelled a real-life criminal in Baltimore to surrender himself to Wire actors portraying local cops, believing he had come into contact with the real deal.
Although this is a departure in both format and subject matter from Abrams' last book (the excellent Boys Among Men about the preps-to-pros era in the NBA), he wrote several definitive oral histories on Grantland about basketball (my personal favorite is his history of the 2005 Pacers-Pistons "Malice at the Palace" brawl). Abrams clearly admires The Wire and writes knowledgeably on the subject, to the extent that I was surprised to realize he basically exclusively focused on basketball during his time at Grantland. Abrams begins each chapter with some exposition but then lets his prose take a backseat, letting the players tell their stories. Additionally, Abrams is able to get his interviewees to open up to him, admitting mistakes and offering candid opinions that greatly enrich the reading experience, and he logically organized his book by keeping things reasonably chronological but diving deeply into particular broader areas when applicable.
Staying consistent with its title, Abrams is able to hunt down virtually every major player involved with the show and the reader discovers the pivotal roles that supporting actors such as Andre Royo (Bubbles) and assistant directors had in the show's success. The only actor with a substantial role missing was Robert Chew (Prop Joe), who tragically died from a heart attack in 2013, and many of his castmates recounted stories about his valuable role as a mentor to younger actors such as the four young teenagers who were central to Season 4. Like many other fans who started watching The Wire after the show's conclusion (invariably after finally caving in after repeated fervid recommendations from friends) and it was strange to see how frequently the show flirted with cancellation. Not just after its languidly-developing first season or the dramatic departure from Season 1 to Season 2, but for virtually each of its 5 seasons (the city of Baltimore compounded matters by threatening to pull the show's shooting permits right before Season 2). Abrams is able to talk with several HBO executives about such matters and get their takes, but their explanations don't make this fact any less mind-boggling.
I have always enjoyed oral histories for their quick pace and colorful insider stories, but I also readily acknowledge their flaws. The two biggest problems with most oral histories is their disjointedness and limited participation. I Want My MTV was a fun read but plagued with random non-sequiturs and James A Miller's mammoth tomes on Saturday Night Live, ESPN, and Creative Artists Agency were generally entertaining but hindered by some key players such as Eddie Murphy sitting out. Thankfully, Abrams is able to avoid both pitfalls through herculean wrangling efforts and adopting a sound structure and format. Sometimes I wish Abrams would chime in a bit more and provide extra background in certain sections, but overall the book flows well, especially given its format. Talking with so many different players allows for multiple perspectives and opinions, and thankfully everyone seems to largely agree on most matters and stories and Abrams is not forced to mediate between multiple conflicting viewpoints. Simon and Burns and the actors (rightfully) are the biggest contributors to the book, but I also liked hearing from writers such as George Pelecanos and Richard Price about their roles in shaping the show.
The book is packed with anecdotes and trivia (John C. Reilly was one of the early actors considered for McNulty and actors were often prevented from interacting with their real-life inspirations). Yes, some of the trivia such as Omar being originally intended as a bit player are likely familiar to fans, but the insights from David Simon about his thought process about whether a gay character would fit in his gritty, inner-city world and how actor Michael K. Williams interpreted his role add extra color and new revelations to such stories. There was a period in college where I became obsessed with the show and devoured virtually every piece of content related to the series, which like most pop culture minutia has remained moored in long-term memory and crowded out bank passwords and other far more important information, and the book was still quite revealing.
All the Pieces Matter is designed with fans in mind, chock-full of spoilers and references that will fly over the head of the uninitiated, and it is a treat for those who have watched and enjoyed the series (even if they didn't care much for Season 5, like this particular reviewer). The Wire was one of the greatest television shows ever and All The Pieces Matter is the definitive history it deserves. Not only is it an excellent book, it also inspired me to restart the show on HBO Go with an even greater sense of appreciation for its craft and attention to detail. Perhaps this is a bit pessimistic given we're still in December 2017, but I would not be surprised (or bummed out) if All The Pieces Matter ends up being my favorite book published in 2018.
9 / 10
The book traces the history of the show from creator David Simon's experiences as a crime reporter for The Baltimore Sun through its five seasons and its enduring legacy. Proceeding largely chronologically, Abrams explores the show's influences, its major themes, turbulent relationship with HBO, and more, largely through the eyes of those directly involved with it. One recurring subject in All the Pieces Matter is the show's obsession with realism and the painstaking lengths it took to cultivate it. From the first day of shooting, actors and production staff were taking steps to present an accurate depiction of the streets of Baltimore. Actors such as Felicia Pearson (Snoop) were able to bring their personal experiences into the show and help foster its authenticity, and this verisimilitude actually compelled a real-life criminal in Baltimore to surrender himself to Wire actors portraying local cops, believing he had come into contact with the real deal.
Although this is a departure in both format and subject matter from Abrams' last book (the excellent Boys Among Men about the preps-to-pros era in the NBA), he wrote several definitive oral histories on Grantland about basketball (my personal favorite is his history of the 2005 Pacers-Pistons "Malice at the Palace" brawl). Abrams clearly admires The Wire and writes knowledgeably on the subject, to the extent that I was surprised to realize he basically exclusively focused on basketball during his time at Grantland. Abrams begins each chapter with some exposition but then lets his prose take a backseat, letting the players tell their stories. Additionally, Abrams is able to get his interviewees to open up to him, admitting mistakes and offering candid opinions that greatly enrich the reading experience, and he logically organized his book by keeping things reasonably chronological but diving deeply into particular broader areas when applicable.
Staying consistent with its title, Abrams is able to hunt down virtually every major player involved with the show and the reader discovers the pivotal roles that supporting actors such as Andre Royo (Bubbles) and assistant directors had in the show's success. The only actor with a substantial role missing was Robert Chew (Prop Joe), who tragically died from a heart attack in 2013, and many of his castmates recounted stories about his valuable role as a mentor to younger actors such as the four young teenagers who were central to Season 4. Like many other fans who started watching The Wire after the show's conclusion (invariably after finally caving in after repeated fervid recommendations from friends) and it was strange to see how frequently the show flirted with cancellation. Not just after its languidly-developing first season or the dramatic departure from Season 1 to Season 2, but for virtually each of its 5 seasons (the city of Baltimore compounded matters by threatening to pull the show's shooting permits right before Season 2). Abrams is able to talk with several HBO executives about such matters and get their takes, but their explanations don't make this fact any less mind-boggling.
I have always enjoyed oral histories for their quick pace and colorful insider stories, but I also readily acknowledge their flaws. The two biggest problems with most oral histories is their disjointedness and limited participation. I Want My MTV was a fun read but plagued with random non-sequiturs and James A Miller's mammoth tomes on Saturday Night Live, ESPN, and Creative Artists Agency were generally entertaining but hindered by some key players such as Eddie Murphy sitting out. Thankfully, Abrams is able to avoid both pitfalls through herculean wrangling efforts and adopting a sound structure and format. Sometimes I wish Abrams would chime in a bit more and provide extra background in certain sections, but overall the book flows well, especially given its format. Talking with so many different players allows for multiple perspectives and opinions, and thankfully everyone seems to largely agree on most matters and stories and Abrams is not forced to mediate between multiple conflicting viewpoints. Simon and Burns and the actors (rightfully) are the biggest contributors to the book, but I also liked hearing from writers such as George Pelecanos and Richard Price about their roles in shaping the show.
The book is packed with anecdotes and trivia (John C. Reilly was one of the early actors considered for McNulty and actors were often prevented from interacting with their real-life inspirations). Yes, some of the trivia such as Omar being originally intended as a bit player are likely familiar to fans, but the insights from David Simon about his thought process about whether a gay character would fit in his gritty, inner-city world and how actor Michael K. Williams interpreted his role add extra color and new revelations to such stories. There was a period in college where I became obsessed with the show and devoured virtually every piece of content related to the series, which like most pop culture minutia has remained moored in long-term memory and crowded out bank passwords and other far more important information, and the book was still quite revealing.
All the Pieces Matter is designed with fans in mind, chock-full of spoilers and references that will fly over the head of the uninitiated, and it is a treat for those who have watched and enjoyed the series (even if they didn't care much for Season 5, like this particular reviewer). The Wire was one of the greatest television shows ever and All The Pieces Matter is the definitive history it deserves. Not only is it an excellent book, it also inspired me to restart the show on HBO Go with an even greater sense of appreciation for its craft and attention to detail. Perhaps this is a bit pessimistic given we're still in December 2017, but I would not be surprised (or bummed out) if All The Pieces Matter ends up being my favorite book published in 2018.
9 / 10
February 20, 2018
Not long enough. I wish that the author had spent time on stories behind the squad (Lester Freamon, Lt. Daniels).
To quote Andre Royo (Bubbles):
[The audience] appreciated being treated like they're intelligent...the Wire became that show where there was a hierarchy. If you like the Wire it means you like reading books.
To quote Andre Royo (Bubbles):
[The audience] appreciated being treated like they're intelligent...the Wire became that show where there was a hierarchy. If you like the Wire it means you like reading books.
November 13, 2020
Esta es la historia oral de mi serie favorita, contada por los creadores, productores, actores, directores, escritores y equipo detrás de cámaras. Si no la han visto, pónganse las pilas.
February 23, 2023
Such a cool book. Definitely going to rewatch The Wire one of these days….
March 2, 2018
“All the sudden, The Wire became the show where there was a hierarchy. If you say you like The Wire, that means you like reading books. That means you give a f about the human race. It made you feel like you bettered yourself in the crowd.”- Andre Royo (Bubbles)
Incredible stories from the people who created the most important TV show we’ve seen.
Incredible stories from the people who created the most important TV show we’ve seen.
March 28, 2018
I am in the camp that believes The Wire to be the best television show in history.
For those in that camp this is book is a no brainer and should be your very next read.
For those that loved The Wire this is a must read that should be near the top of your list.
For those that haven't watched The Wire, um why? Go watch the show now and then read this book.
For those in that camp this is book is a no brainer and should be your very next read.
For those that loved The Wire this is a must read that should be near the top of your list.
For those that haven't watched The Wire, um why? Go watch the show now and then read this book.
December 21, 2020
Esta es la historia de (en mi opinión) la mejor serie de la TV, contada por sus creadores, directores, productores, actores y equipo detrás de cámaras. Nunca es tarde para ver la serie, no se pierdan de esta obra maestra de la televisión.
May 21, 2018
David Simon, a Baltimore Sun reporter, followed a drug-trafficking case in the winter of 1984. Two detectives, Ed Burns and Harry Edgerton, used wiretaps to set up an elusive drug dealer and his associates.
The case involved a trafficker named Melvin Williams. He imported a bulk of heroin into Baltimore over the years as economic opportunities dwindled. While forming an intricate communication system of beepers to work his drug trade, on the surface, he owned a few legitimate businesses and was a family man. Williams even took business classes at a local community college (like Stringer Bell).
Simons tracked Williams throughout the years, from when he was a respected member of his neighborhood to when he was incarcerated. Through writing a series of articles on Williams, entitled “Easy Money,” Simon made himself known to officers like Ed Burns.
After a majority vote in the department, Simon eventually observed a Baltimore police unit for a year. This close insight into the workings of the department led him to publish “Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets.” In his book, he provided a study of “how the detectives attempted to unravel murder cases and the humanistic toll it took on them.”
Burns, who worked as a patrolman, plainclothesman, and detective, often butted heads with his superiors. He was well-read and always asked the wrong questions. After ten years, after learning how frustrating it was to change the system, he quit the force to teach instead. Just then, Simon approached him for a collaboration. They interviewed dealers and users in West Baltimore, gaining their confidence, hearing their stories. After their in-depth research, “The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood” came out. This book, rather than romanticizing drug dealing or using, “offered a voice to those who had been left behind as forgotten casualties of the war on drugs.”
After Simon left journalism, he shifted his writing to television. His insistent curiosity led him to pitch a mini-series (The Corner) to HBO. Only they would allow him the freedom to capture the humanity, the realism, of the drug war from the perspectives of a struggling family. After “The Corner” won multiple awards, he finally got enough leverage to start a new project: The Wire.
Simon learned hard lessons from following the Williams case. While Melvin (avatar to Avon) and those lower in his organization were convicted, other members such as Chin (avatar to Stringer), went in for less time. The wiretap investigation, while elaborate, soon fell through. Before shooting “The Wire,” Simon found real examples for the tone of his new show in the failing drug war. He wanted to demonstrate that “everything can be replaced. Everything is endless. The dysfunction of this thing goes on.”
While many television shows were about redemption and happy endings, this show was about political dissent. Systems were not working, policies were not working, putting those policies into practice did not work. While “The Corner” dealt with a culture of addiction, not from an abstract place, but from your family, your neighborhood, “The Wire” expanded to the whole city. Every setting became a character.
The first season dealt with two institutions: the Barksdale organization (drugs) and the police department. Many characters were “composites drawn from real-life inspirations and often consigned names recognizable in Baltimore lore.” Both institutions showed similar issues in their hierarchies: inefficiency, corruption, greed, power struggles, addictions, and violence.
Many actors, to study the humanity of their parts, did extensive research. They spoke to former addicts and those still in the street, observed police at their work, watched film, and moved to Baltimore. Some of those reading for the show already grew up in the city. Others were actual people that the characters were based on.
Ranging from low-level drug dealers to high-ranking officials, from informants and addicts to judges and veteran cops, “The Wire” unfolded like a novel, each episode another chapter. It blended cinematic beauty with photojournalism and documentary presentation. In those law courts and low rises, in those grit alleys and round the harbors, every detail had to feel real. Even down to an orange couch.
“VINCENT PERANIO (PRODUCTION DESIGNER): In so many vacant houses where we were filming, we’re filming in a natural light or making it look like natural light, because it didn’t have electricity… Some of the lighting to me was almost like a painting from the past, like from the seventeenth century, a Rembrandt look about it, the darkness of the house and the sunlight searing through the boarded-up windows. I think the show was bleak and beautiful in the way that looking at ruins in a ruined civilization are.”
“The Wire” unraveled its realism with so many characters, in so many natural settings. The show allowed its audience to interpret scenes that were not so easily explained, like in the famously shot “fuck” scene, where McNulty and Bunk investigated an old murder case of a young woman. While the meanings layered from season to season, while the overarching themes developed, characters were still real, still human, in a rigged game. In Chekhovian fashion, people never said what they felt directly. They said what they wanted to believe, avoiding truths about themselves. They acted destructively with good intentions, feeling conflicted, afraid, vulnerable.
These characters were fully human: contradictory in their choices, flawed, suffering from their own environments. Even the “bad guys” weren’t completely sociopaths, not all the time. They rationalized their crimes, survived and adapted in unjust worlds.
Simon wrote that “By choosing a real city, we declare that the economic forces, the political dynamic, the class, cultural, and racial boundaries are all that much more real, that they do exist in Baltimore and, therefore, they exist elsewhere in urban America.”
Whereas season one showed life from the perspectives of cops and drug dealers, season two shifted to the decaying Baltimore waterfront. Through the Sobotka family, viewers got to see how drugs were smuggled into the city. Although radically different in its focus from former episodes, and sometimes called “the white season of The Wire,” season two set the scale for further seasons, widening the show to panoramic vision. Leaving the corners for the harbor, “The Wire” examined the industrial decline of the city, and the death of the working class.
Season three dealt with dirtiness in local politics, tackling issues of race, the failure of police procedures, corruption, drug decriminalization, the competition of criminal organizations in capitalistic society, and more. Mayor Tommy Carcetti (loosely based on Martin O’ Malley), young and naïve and full of altruism, began his career with hope but ended with political ambition. Other characters, like Major Bunny Colvin of the Baltimore police department, showed how small decisions in archaic institutions could still have a significant influence.
While Carcetti gained political power and didn’t want to damage his rising career, he chose to not bailout the Baltimore school system. In season four, the school system’s breakdown (like other institutions in previous seasons) led to children suffering from a lack of opportunities. Greed from one corrupted, bought system could negatively influence another. Innocent kids were pushed to the streets, unsupported. On normal days, they were exposed to drugs and crime, deprived of resources. At school, stunted emotionally and mentally, they strained to understand the strict expectations placed on them. Exhausted teachers, meanwhile, were struggling against their own limitations. Almost powerless in a dysfunctional institution.
While season four dealt with the hopelessness in the education system, season five continued to examine the police department and drug syndicates. They went after the newsroom as well, depicting the media’s role in modern decline.
Even though “The Wire” didn’t receive widespread attention until the fourth season, many of its writers were accomplished novelists, playwrights, and journalists. David Mills, Kia Corthon, Dennis Lehane, Richard Price, George Pelecanos, among others, competed and collaborated, combining their talents for naturalistic dialogue, intricate plots and themes, realistic people, and experience with crime drama.
As Richard Price said about the writing process, “In a script, there’s no writing. It’s just dialogue and directions. There’s not one sentence of prose. There’s no writer of a script. It’s a one-hundred-twenty-page memo to the director: ‘Do this. Say this.’ What ‘The Wire’ had that ‘Clockers’ didn’t have is, I kept ‘Clockers’ on the worm’s eye view. It rarely left the trenches. It rarely got higher than the Homicide Squad, if it did at all. He went top to bottom. It was like he went from the general’s tent to the grunts. I always admired that about the ambition of the show. I couldn’t have written it. I didn’t know anything about how the DA’s office works, the interoffice politics in the police department, how City Hall works—any of that. That’s a lot of Ed Burns because he had been a homicide cop. Before that, he was a military man. Zorzi had the city desk at ‘The Baltimore Sun.’ Simon was a police reporter for the most part. They each had different areas of expertise. I did best with the guys on the street, in my opinion.”
Sometimes the writers had to kill a main character, a beloved character, to further the narrative. As much as a character’s death devastated the crew, the story’s creators had overarching themes to cover. A storyteller’s job was to unfold a storyline as excellently as possible, not to play favorites with one character or think about fulfilling an audience’s expectations.
As Richard Price, one of the staff writers, said, “That’s what I love about the show. It always foiled expectations. Just when you thought you were gonna get an uplifting story, you got smacked in the face.”
“The Wire’s” story was what truly mattered. After years of almost being canceled, low ratings, crewmembers passing away, actor burnout, and depression, everybody pushed on. Everybody believed in the work, even if it took a while to see its fruition.
“CLARK PETERS (DET. LESTER FREAMON): It was more like [season] four when it started to feel like more than just a show. That’s when I think we all began to realize that we had been hired to be actors on a mission. The mission was to educate the public to connect the dots, between local government, the economic situation that a city might find itself in, what’s happening with your children in school, and while you might get frustrated about that, the drug situation, the so-called war on drugs, which we know is a complete farce… It’s that the American public, or American citizenry, rather than being sort of jerked around by sound bites of things, if they’re better informed, like any citizenry, then you have a better chance of surviving and moving forward as a nation, as a country. When we start looking at people who are strung out on drugs as criminals rather than victims, it changes our attitude toward all of that. How can we possibly heal anything like that if we have the wrong idea about it?”
“The Wire” confronted realities that many people were afraid to talk about. It showed—from a multi-dimensional perspective—the cyclical nature of crime, oppression in race and class, the failure in institutions, and the war on drugs. More than an examination of these subjects, the show challenged its viewers to ask themselves: What are we all going to do to help?
April 4, 2018
Note: This is an oral history of how The Wire got made. You should only read this if you have seen The Wire in its entirety. The spoilers in this review concern the show, not the book.
I loved Abrams' oral histories for Grantland but it might have been partially due to the fact that they were some of the first oral histories I had ever read. I feel like Abrams' strength with those was getting the story of a very specific event (or a series of events) from the mouths of those involved and presenting it in such a way that it was compelling (sometimes even tense) even if I specifically didn't care about that particular event (or series of events). I'm not sure the process works as well with a 60 hour program, which could use a little more criticism than what is usually provided by oral histories. This is a work of art we're talking about, not an event.
The book is very effective at showing us the human side of the making of the show - I learned so much more than I knew about the individual actors and what they went through making the show and I learned a lot more about the actual process of making of the show than I knew (and I've watched the DVD commentary tracks for all but season 5, I believe). If you are looking for a behind-the-scenes history of The Wire then you will not be disappointed.
Where the book fails, I think, is in examining the show as art. Abrams' assumes its greatness as do almost all the participants. (The one person who doesn't is Ed Burns, which is fascinating and could make for a very interesting story.) I have seen the show multiple times. I know it is mostly great. But I also value different perspectives and would be far more interested in a look at the show that delves a little more deeply into why it wasn't popular in its day, or why/how it got some bad reviews, and stuff like that. (Nearly) Everybody here is in love with the show, and that makes sense, but I would have liked a little more outside perspective.
SPOILER
This is particularly true when it comes to Season 5. To the extent that they discuss the massive problem that is Season 5, they discuss it in terms of Simon being accused of being bitter about his former employer. As someone who has watched that season twice, I find that a very odd thing to focus on. I found the media angle to be more compelling than the other part, namely when the show Jumped the Shark by having McNulty invent a serial killer. While Ed Burns was off location scouting for Generation Kill apparently his dictum that everything had to be real was totally forgotten. This is a huge flaw and makes it hard to recommend the fifth season to everyone. But it is only ever briefly mentioned; it's like he didn't ask anyone about it. Why not?
I enjoyed this. I enjoyed learning about the show's evolution and I especially enjoyed learning about casting decisions and how the experience affected the actors. But something is missing and that is a critical engagement with the actual show.
I loved Abrams' oral histories for Grantland but it might have been partially due to the fact that they were some of the first oral histories I had ever read. I feel like Abrams' strength with those was getting the story of a very specific event (or a series of events) from the mouths of those involved and presenting it in such a way that it was compelling (sometimes even tense) even if I specifically didn't care about that particular event (or series of events). I'm not sure the process works as well with a 60 hour program, which could use a little more criticism than what is usually provided by oral histories. This is a work of art we're talking about, not an event.
The book is very effective at showing us the human side of the making of the show - I learned so much more than I knew about the individual actors and what they went through making the show and I learned a lot more about the actual process of making of the show than I knew (and I've watched the DVD commentary tracks for all but season 5, I believe). If you are looking for a behind-the-scenes history of The Wire then you will not be disappointed.
Where the book fails, I think, is in examining the show as art. Abrams' assumes its greatness as do almost all the participants. (The one person who doesn't is Ed Burns, which is fascinating and could make for a very interesting story.) I have seen the show multiple times. I know it is mostly great. But I also value different perspectives and would be far more interested in a look at the show that delves a little more deeply into why it wasn't popular in its day, or why/how it got some bad reviews, and stuff like that. (Nearly) Everybody here is in love with the show, and that makes sense, but I would have liked a little more outside perspective.
SPOILER
This is particularly true when it comes to Season 5. To the extent that they discuss the massive problem that is Season 5, they discuss it in terms of Simon being accused of being bitter about his former employer. As someone who has watched that season twice, I find that a very odd thing to focus on. I found the media angle to be more compelling than the other part, namely when the show Jumped the Shark by having McNulty invent a serial killer. While Ed Burns was off location scouting for Generation Kill apparently his dictum that everything had to be real was totally forgotten. This is a huge flaw and makes it hard to recommend the fifth season to everyone. But it is only ever briefly mentioned; it's like he didn't ask anyone about it. Why not?
I enjoyed this. I enjoyed learning about the show's evolution and I especially enjoyed learning about casting decisions and how the experience affected the actors. But something is missing and that is a critical engagement with the actual show.
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