Last night, "The Wire" returned. Sort of. More accurately, creator David Simon and executive producer Nina Noble, and cast members Wendell Pierce, Michael K. Williams, Sonja Sohn, Seth Gilliam, Jim True-Frost, John Doman, Tristan Wilds, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., and Jamie Hector reunited at PaleyFest to talk about the HBO show nobody watched at the time, but that everyone now loves. And there was no shortage of stories to tell, but perhaps the most enticing tale is about "The Wire" spinoff we never got.
“We were actually trying to spin off the city hall show and do a political show,” Simon revealed to BuzzFeed News, explaining it would’ve focused on Aiden Gillen‘s politician Tommy Carcetti. “We wrote a bunch of scripts that would spin off after Season 3 of ‘The Wire.’ But HBO said, ‘No, we only want one show that nobody is watching in Baltimore, not two!’ ”
Our hearts are retroactively broken at the potential that would’ve offered, but it’s easy to understand why HBO balked. Considering they let the show even get to five seasons is nothing short of a miracle.
And well, while that proposed season sounds great, again it’s pretty amazing we managed to get as much "The Wire" as we did. Be sure to check out both Buzzfeed and Variety for more tidbits from the talk including the fact that Rawls might’ve been gay, and the cast reaction to the pilot (it wasn’t good). And if you haven’t seen "The Wire," we’d wager you’ll be able to stream it to your heart’s content when HBO launches their streaming service next year. And don’t forget, Simon is already at work on his next project for the network, the awesome sounding "Show Me A Hero."
Eh, I can see why HBO wouldn\’t have been too interested in that. If the spinoff had followed Carcetti to the Maryland\’s governor\’s mansion, on the other hand – now that would have been something.