Review | HBO drama review: We Own This City – The Wire’s David Simon returns for another gritty tale of American politics and police corruption
- The Wire’s David Simon is back on the mean streets of Baltimore with this story about the borderline tactics of a police department task force
- Having two women (Dagmara Domińczyk and Wunmi Mosaku) lead investigations into corrupt officers adds an extra edge to this intricately woven crime saga
4/5 stars
Adapted from the nonfiction book by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton, We Own This City is the latest series from David Simon to bring tales of cops, crime and corruption to the small screen.
Best-known for his landmark shows The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Streets, Simon once again hits the mean streets of Baltimore, Maryland, in a story about the underhand tactics employed by the police department’s Gun Trace Task Force.
His typically sprawling and immersive narrative stretches from the street corners to the highest offices of power, and We Own This City bristles with raw energy and unflinching realism. It puts police brutality under the spotlight at a time when tensions between law enforcement and the American public are more strained than ever.
Reinaldo Marcus Green, fresh from the success of the Oscar-winning drama King Richard, directs all six episodes of We Own This City. Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) and Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country) headline a vast and eclectic cast that also includes Josh Charles, Jamie Hector, Dagmara Domińczyk and a host of familiar faces from Simon’s earlier projects.
