Ed Burns, Writer and Producer

Marc Steiner talks with Ed Burns, a former Baltimore City cop and public school teacher. Ed is a writer and producer for The Wire, and also co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner City Neighborhood with David Simon. He talked with Marc and how his experiences informed his writing for The Wire, his future plans, and what he thinks the message of The Wire really is.

Ed Burns on the set of The Wire

David Simon, Series Creator

David Simon is the creator of The Wire. He was a Baltimore Sun police reporter when he took a year off to write the book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, the book that inspired the hitr NBC show Homicide: Life on the Streets, for which he was a writer and producer. His next project was a book and subsequent six part HBO miniseries called The Corner. He talked with Marc about the critical reception The Wire has received, and what he thinks it has to teach Baltimore.

Choice quotes:

“The Wire to me is one of the funniest shows about the decline of the American empire that’s ever been written.”

“Politically, I am a pessimist at this point. I don’t believe we can actually even recognize our fundamental problems, much less begin to address them. And that is what the last season of The Wire was about…I’d love The Wire to be wrong about everything. This is not a gleeful pessimism, it’s a worried pessimism. And if The Wire is wrong, nobody will be happier than me.”

“Every single drama that is offered up for popular entertainment is on some level a political or cultural form of pornography, and I’m tired of it and it bores the hell out of me.”

“I apparently am the angriest man in television, which, I take that as a vague manner of praise, but I think it’s rather faint. The second angriest man in television, I believe, is by a kidney shaped pool with his cellphone in Bel Air somewhere, and he’s screaming because he doesn’t have enough points on the DVD’s.”

Robert Chew, the Character "Proposition Joe"

Baltimore-based actor Robert Chew stopped by the studios to talk with Marc about the character Proposition Joe, the east side drug kingpin on The Wire that Robert spent the past several years portraying. They also discussed Chew's experience as an acting coach to the four young boys who were featured in season four.

A Visit to Viva House Soup Kitchen

A soup kitchen featured in the final season is actually a real place-and a rather special one. Marc visits Viva House, a Catholic Worker soup kitchen on the west side of Baltimore.

I have a lot of friends from out of town who love The Wire. I always kind of feel sorry for them because I feel like they aren’t getting the whole picture. Only someone really familiar with Baltimore can get all the inside jokes, references, and cameos that pepper the series. But sometimes the reference is arcane enough that not even Baltimoreans quite get what they are looking at. For example, how many people know that the soup kitchen Bubbles worked at in season five is a real place?

My co-producer Justin brought that up, and we decided that it would make a great podcast to go down and talk to the people who run that soup kitchen and learn about their experience being featured on The Wire. Their names are Brendan Walsh and Willa Bickham. They play themselves on television (well, sort of…listen to the podcast to find out more!) They are wonderful people and they have a lot of great things to say about Baltimore, social justice issues, and of course, The Wire.

Clarke Peters, "Detective Lester Freamon"

In an interview conducted at his Baltimore rowhome, Clarke Peters talks with Marc about the experience of spending the past several years portraying the intellectual cop, Detective Lester Freamon.

By interview, I mean a laid back conversation around the dining room table, talking about all sorts of things: Baltimore, theater, race, politics, culture, Europe, America, and of course, The Wire and his character, Detective Lester Freamon. Oh, have you heard there are discussions of a Wire movie? Clarke brings it up near the end of the interview. So, sit back, relax, and listen.

Andre Royo, the Character "Bubbles"

Bubbles is my favorite character on The Wire. I remember hearing an interview with David Simon before the fifth season premiered in which he promised that at least one character would experience a happy ending and total redemption by the end of the series. I immediately forget all about how much I cared about Dukie, Randy, and all the other kids on the show and found myself hopin’ and prayin’ for Bubbles to be the one with the happy ending.

Seems like he is doing pretty good so far this season…we’ll find out for sure tomorrow night whether or not Bubbles ends the season clean and sober. Before that, take a listen to Marc’s interview with Andre Royo, the actor who has so deftly portrayed Bubbles during the last few years. He’ll speak about how intense it was so carry this character over an extended period of time, and why he thinks the character of Bubbles moved so many people. You’ll hear Andre’s plans for the future and what he hopes The Wire has taught people.

Bob Wisdom, the Character "Major Bunny Colvin"

Major Bunny Colvin was a featured character in season three when he took it upon himself to drastically change drug policy in West Baltimore. He was portrayed by Bob Wisdom, who found time to get on the phone with Marc and discuss the role.

Photo by Anne Hefley

It’s been over a week since the series finale of The Wire aired. Sad time for Wire fans these days, but we’re continuing The Wire Podcast series to help you get through the end-of-show withdrawal. Speaking of which, having had a little time to reflect on it now, what did everyone think of the last episode, and Season 5 as a whole?

What was the real life inspiration for Hamsterdam? What does he think of the character he portrayed? What can the experience of The Wire tell us about race and acting in America today? (Preview quote: “Every actor of color in this country that I ever met wanted to be part of this show.”)

If Marc and Bob sound like old friends, it’s because they are. They met at Studio Theatre in Washington DC in 1986 or so, where they acted together in a production of American Buffalo by David Mamet. Bet you didn’t know that!

Nina Noble, Executive Producer

Nina Noble, Executive Producer for The Wire, spent the past several years doing all the behind the scenes work that is required for a successful show. She joined Marc to share her stories and experiences from the past few years.

Nina Noble and friends accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries for
HBO’s The Corner in 2000. She is on far left.

I have major sympathy for Nina Noble. We share a job title (okay, well her title has the fancy ‘Executive’ in front of it) and people are constantly asking me “What does a producer DO?” I imagine she gets the same question. I always like to answer, “I do all the work” and then flash a smile. If Marc is around, I will usually add jokingly, “…and he gets all the glory.” (Fair enough, really, considering he also has to bear the brunt of all the criticism!)

But seriously, Nina Noble had a gigantic job as Executive Producer of The Wire. From convincing the Port of Baltimore to let them shoot scenes on location to keeping track of the hundreds of characters David Simon and the other writers created, it’s a wonder she didn’t burn out long ago. But as she told Marc when she sat down for an interview about the experience of working on The Wire, this is the only job she is suited for.

"The Wire" Panel Discussion at Baltimore Museum of Industry

Here's a podcast of a panel discussion between four people who played integral, yet completely different, roles in creating the world of The Wire.  Listen to writer Bill Zorzi, executive producer Nina Noble, actor Chad Coleman, who played "Cutty," the gangster turned boxing coach/youth mentor/ladies' man, and Clark Johnson.  Clark played the city editor Gus in the last season, and directed a few episodes of The Wire, including the pilot and the finale.  The conversation, hosted by Marc Steiner, took place in front of a few hundred people at the Baltimore Museum of Industry on April 30, 2008 at the opening of their new exhibit "Local Scenes on the Silver Screen: featuring The Wire."

Don't have time to listen to the podcast right now?  Click here to read the transcript.

From Left: Bill Zorzi, Chad Coleman, Marc Steiner, Nina Noble, and Clark Johnson.  Photo credit: mojo40Design of Precise Management Company.